PORTLAND – The attorney for Oakhurst Dairy said Friday that “there’s nothing new to report” in settlement talks that began more than a week ago between the Portland-based independent dairy and chemical giant Monsanto of St. Louis.

Monsanto maintains that Oakhurst’s label, which proclaims “Our Farmers’ Pledge: No Artificial Hormones,” is misleading and implies there is something unsafe or harmful about milk from cows that have been treated with artificial hormones.

Monsanto is the only producer of the artificial hormone Posilac.

The parties sought a continuance of the lawsuit, originally scheduled for January in Boston Federal Court, to allow the settlement talks to proceed.

John Ciraldo of Perkins, Thompson, Hinckley and Keddy in Portland said, “The talks are still ongoing” but could not provide further information.

Stanley Bennett II, president of Oakhurst, did not return calls Friday.

The dispute centers on consumers’ perception of Posilac, or recombinant bovine growth hormone, known as rBGH, that is injected into cows every two weeks to increase their milk production. About one-third of the United States’ 9 million dairy cows are given the hormone.

The Food and Drug Administration says milk produced by rBGH-injected cows is indistinguishable from milk from cows that are not treated, posing no health risks to humans or cows.

Opponents of rBGH use say there is no consensus in the international scientific community over its safety, and point out that it is banned in Canada and Europe. They also say it is harmful to cows, and that the use of rBGH poses a threat to family farms.

Monsanto is not asking Oakhurst to change the label, but rather to modify it to contain wording that informs the consumer that the FDA has found no difference in the milk from treated and untreated cows. The FDA recommends the additional wording but does not require it.