The Cornucopia Institute Is Prepared To Kick Some Butt

"The Cornucopia Institute said Thursday it filed a legal complaint with the federal government against the certifiers of the country's largest private-label producer of organic milk.

The Cornucopia, Wis.-based group said it is so upset that the USDA found "willful violations" of organic regulations at Aurora's operation during an investigation earlier this year but failed to levy fines or yank the dairy's organic certification that is threatening civil litigation against Aurora.

Boulder, Colo.-based Aurora is the country's largest private label organic milk producer and maintains five farms in Colorado and Texas with more than 5,700 acres of certified organic pastureland.

The USDA launched an investigation based on a formal legal complaint over Aurora's management practices filed by Cornucopia in November 2005. Following a one-year investigation, the USDA sent a notice of noncompliance to Aurora in April saying it had "willfully violated" 14 provisions of the Organic Food Production Act regulations.

But instead of revoking the organic certification, the agency and Aurora worked out a settlement last month. That has Cornucopia stirred up."

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