DENVER—A second lawsuit seeking to stop one of the nation’s largest organic milk producers from selling its milk was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Denver.
Two St. Louis women filed a similar lawsuit there Tuesday against Boulder-based Aurora Organic Dairy. The Cornucopia Institute, a farm policy group that announced the St. Louis lawsuit, said then that the Denver suit would be filed.
The lawsuits both accuse Aurora Organic Dairy of misleading customers by selling milk labeled as organic though the dairy doesn’t meet federal organic standards.
Dairy officials have repeatedly said their organic certifications are valid.
“There is absolutely no basis for claims we defrauded consumers by selling milk that isn’t organic—none whatsoever,” dairy CEO Marc Peperzak said Tuesday.
In August, after investigating complaints from Cornucopia, USDA officials said they found the dairy had not ensured its cows were converted to organic cows, which involves how much organic feed the cows consume. Dairy officials said they were selling 1,000 cows that were in question.
