Stores hike prices on milk free of synthetic hormones

Some supermarkets are raising their Hood and Garelick milk prices to nearly $4.50 a gallon as they shift to new products using milk from cows not injected with artificial growth hormones.

Hood and Garelick say they are trying to win back customers who switched to organic milk because of concerns about farmers using synthetic hormones to boost the production of their dairy herds. But that change is coming at a premium of 20 to 50 cents a gallon in some stores.

Andrew Burchett , a spokesman for Monsanto Corp., the St. Louis company that developed the synthetic growth hormone that Hood and Garelick are now shunning, said consumers are paying more for nothing.

``There's no difference between their new milk and their old milk other than the new price and the new label," he said.

Hood and Dallas-based Dean Foods, which manufactures Garelick-brand milk in Franklin, acknowledge the milks are chemically indistinguishable. They say they are asking their farmers not to use artificial growth hormones because some consumers, particularly those shifting to organic milk, are not comfortable with them.

Even though the Food and Drug Administration and most scientists say Monsanto's synthetic growth hormone Posilac is perfectly safe for humans, some consumers are concerned it causes cancer or premature development in children.

Sales of organic milk represent only 2.4 percent of total milk sales, but organic is growing quickly while sales of conventional milk are flat. The trend is even more pronounced here in the Northeast, where organic's share of the market is 3 percent.

Under federal standards, organic milk must come from cows not treated with artificial growth hormones or antibiotics. The cows also must be fed organically grown feed and have access to pastures.

Organic milk typically costs $6 to $8 a gallon, twice as much as conventional milk. But the price disparity narrowed this week as Hood and Garelick rolled out their new milks, which do not qualify as organic. Both dairies are mounting advertising campaigns in support of the rollouts.

Retail prices for milk have topped $4 a gallon in the past, but it's rare. In mid-2004, prices for Hood and Garelick milk topped $4 a gallon, but only after the federally regulated price dairy farmers receive for milk went above $2 a gallon. Currently, the farm price is $1.34 a gallon, which is up 11 cents since last month.

The Shaw's Supermarket on Morrissey Boulevard in Dorchester yesterday was charging $4.45 a gallon for Garelick-brand milk and $4.35 a gallon for Hood milk, both with stickers saying their farmers had pledged not to use artificial growth hormones. The Shaw's-brand milk, which doesn't carry the same disclaimer, cost $3.85 a gallon.

At a Stop & Shop down the street, prices were similar. A Hood gallon was $4.49, and a Garelick gallon was $4.29. The Stop & Shop brand of milk, which made no claim about the use or nonuse of artificial growth hormones, cost $3.79 a gallon.

Prices were lower at a Hannaford in Quincy, which was charging $3.59 for a Garelick gallon and $3.49 for a Hood gallon. The Hannaford-brand of milk, which made no claim about artificial growth hormones, was priced at $3.19 a gallon.

Officials at Hood and Shaw's did not return requests for comment on the Columbus Day holiday. A spokeswoman for Hannaford said the chain's dairy officials were on vacation yesterday.

Marguerite Copel, a spokeswoman for Dean Foods, said part of the increase in price is due to the 11-cent rise in the regulated price paid to farmers.

A spokeswoman for Stop & Shop, Faith Weiner , said the chain's prices reflect increases passed along by suppliers. She declined to be more specific. She also said the Stop & Shop brand will eventually be made with milk from cows not treated with artificial growth hormones.

Dennis Lane , the owner of a 7-Eleven store in Quincy, said the prices he is being charged by Garelick for milk have increased about 20 cents a gallon. Nevertheless, he sells 1 percent Garelick milk for $1.99 a gallon and charges $2.49 to $2.99 a gallon for the other types of milk.

Bruce Mohl can be reached at mohl@globe.com.