CHICAGO  —  A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit Tuesday that had sought to reverse the city's ban on the duck-liver delicacy known as foie gras.

The lawsuit, filed in August by the Illinois Restaurant Association and Allen's New American Cafe, claimed the city had no right to regulate the sale of a product that is produced legally.

But the ban is not unconstitutional, U.S. District Judge Blanche M. Manning said Tuesday in summing up her ruling.

Animal rights activists and others object to the sale of the delicacy because of how geese and ducks are force-fed through a pipe to plump their livers. Violators of Chicago's ban are ordered to pay a fine.

Messages left for the Illinois Restaurant Association and its attorney Barry Rosen were not immediately returned Tuesday evening.

The lawsuit followed months of protest by restaurateurs who claimed the ban violated consumers' right to eat what they choose.