Truth In Labeling Bill
July 5, 2002

HONOLULU - Hawaii Governor Benjamin J. Cayetano is expected to sign into law today a bill that will require specific disclosure of the percentage of Hawaii coffee used in coffee blends. It is House Bill 2169, and it amends existing statutes regulating coffee labeling for locally produced coffee. "This is a very important development for our industry," said Hawaii Coffee Association (HCA) President Frank Kiger. "The labeling requirements in the revised law will allow consumers to clearly distinguish a 100-percent Hawaiian Coffee from a blend that uses both Hawaiian coffee and foreign coffee," he explained. "Most of the coffee roasted and sold in Hawaii that carries Hawaii identifiers are blends using only 10 percent Hawaiian Coffee and 90 percent imported foreign coffee. Now, roasters will be able to distinguish a Premium Blend coffee - one that may contain 30 percent or 50 percent Hawaiian Coffee - from one containing only 10 percent."

The new measure is the result of two years of work spearheaded by the Hawaii Coffee Association. "The Hawaii coffee industry represents an extremely wide array of perspectives: five-acre family farms, large corporate farming operations, local and regional coffee roasters, and retail coffee vendors of all sizes," said Steve Hicks, HCA vice president. "We met and worked with the Kona Coffee Council, Kona Farmers Alliance, Hawaii Farm Bureau, members of the Hawaii Coffee Association, and the Department of Agriculture in order to reach a common ground on the issue of labeling. The consensus reached focused on consumer awareness," Hicks added.

The new law allows coffee producers with existing label supplies that do not comply with the new requires one year in which to use them before re-printing labels. "The Hawaii Coffee Association will post the new requirements on their Website and work with any interested party that may be affected by this change over the next year," Hicks said.

The Truth in Labeling Bill

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