Kaʻū News Briefs, Saturday, March 18, 2023

Leo Norberte, winner of the 2022 Hawai'i Coffee Association's cupping contest for Kaʻū, is one of the many Hawaiian coffee farmers who depend on truth in labeling to keep their 100 percent Hawaiian grown brands  viable in the market. Photo by Julia Neal

THE TRUTH IN LABELING BILL FOR COFFEE GROWN IN HAWAI'I passed second reading in the state House of Representatives on Friday after passing the Senate and is apparently headed toward becoming law. Senate Bill 745 would extend the offense of false labeling of Hawai'i-grown coffee to include roasted coffee, impose a $10,000 fine for each separate offense of false labeling of Hawai'i-grown coffee, and make an appropriation to fund enforcement. Kaʻū's Sen. Dru Kanuha co-introduced the measure.
    Executive Director of Hawai'i Coffee Association, Chris Manfredi, sent in testimony in support. "Hawai'i’s growers work tirelessly to produce some of the finest coffee grown anywhere. Exceptionally high quality is vital so producers can earn a relatively high price for their products - to stay in business, pay their employees and feed their families. When they visit the supermarket, they are

outraged that counterfeit Hawai'i grown coffee is offered on the same shelves as their own at a price less than their cost of production.
    "Unethical sellers introduce foreign grown coffee into the market to defraud consumers by representing these fakes as Hawai'i-grown products. Hawai'i’s coffee growers are squeezed between a high cost of production and unfair price competition. Moreover, these inferior fakes do not share the same quality attributes of the genuine product, further undermining Hawai'i’s reputation and brands, and they are not required to comply with Hawai'i’s minimum grade standards. When someone cashes in on our hard-fought reputation by offering fake products in a package labeled as being of Hawaiian origin, it undermines the work of our entire industry."
     Volcano resident Marsha Hee wrote: "This bill closes an important loophole where counterfeiters have been escaping oversight. By granting Hawai'i Department of Agriculture the ability to verify the authenticity of a roasted coffee’s origin, it opens the door for better enforcement and higher profits to farmers. The less counterfeit coffee in the marketplace, the greater the demand for real Hawaiian coffee."
    Sharon Hurd, Chair of the state Board of Agriculture, wrote: "DOA supports the appropriation of funds to hire one full time measurement standards specialist/inspector (approximate appropriation request of $100,000) for the purpose of labeling and packaging enforcement and inspection. The inspector will help rebuild DOA’s capability to address labeling enforcement challenges in various Hawai'i products especially with roasted coffee. The inspector will take the lead in researching and utilizing new recognized testing measures to identify different products geographically such as Oritain technology (https://oritain.com), which can generate science-based data from specific coffee growing regions as a proof and confirmation of truth or false labeling."
  Suzanne Shriner, Administrator of Synergistic Hawai'i Agriculture Council wrote: "SHAC receives Federal marketing funds to promote 100% Hawaiian origin products around the world, including coffee, papaya, floriculture and macadamia nuts. Frequently we find that the demand for 100% Hawaiian products far exceeds available supply. Quite simply, there is not enough Kona, Kaʻū or Maui coffee to meet the global desire for Hawaiian coffee. This makes our coffees highly vulnerable to counterfeiting.
    "We appreciate the Legislature working with the coffee industry through protection of origin products from cherry all the way through roasted coffee. The technology exists to test the authenticity of both grade and origin of Hawaiian coffee. Enforcement of this bill is expected to be on an as-needed basis, such as a consumer complaint. Having said that, inclusion of a FTE position is necessary to protect coffee and other crops from fraud."
    Hawai'i Farm Bureau Executive Director Brian Miyamoto noted: "Hawai'i-grown coffee is recognized for its high quality and aromatic flavor. Hawaiʿ'i-grown coffee is held to a set of quality standards that makes it one of the most expensive coffees in the world. It is one of Hawai'i’s signature crops. The 2021-2022 USDA National Agriculture Statistics Service (NASS) of Hawai'i Agriculture estimated the value of Hawaiʿi-grown coffee at $61.9 million and ranked as coffee fifth in the top twenty agricultural commodities in the State." Miyamoto testified that "in addition to the geographic origin, stricter enforcement of the labeling restrictions based on the quality of the coffee being sold is critical to prevent further counterfeiting of Hawaiʿi’s recognized high-quality coffee. Furthermore, the criminal penalties for false labeling should apply not only to cherry, parchment, and green coffee but also to roasted coffee."
    Hawai'i Farmers Union President Kaipo Kekono testified: "We believe that it is time for Hawai'i's coffee industry to have the same protections as the many other agricultural industries in the state. We understand that honest labeling in the coffee industry is widely regarded as important in maintaining trust among consumers, and this bill will help ensure that all coffee labeled as Hawai'i Grown is actually grown in the islands. This level of transparency is necessary in order to protect the reputation of Hawai'i’s coffee industry."
    For earlier testimony submitted on this issue, see http://kaunewsbriefs.blogspot.com/2023_02_21_archive.html and http://kaunewsbriefs.blogspot.com/2023/02/kau-news-briefs-tuesday-feb-28-2023.html