Hawaii-2013-HB1125-Introduced

SECTION 1. Chapter 486, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§486- Hawaii-grown cacao; labeling requirements. (a) In addition to all other labeling requirements, no identity statement used for labeling or advertising cacao, chocolate, cacao butter, or other product produced in whole or in part from cacao, shall contain the phrase "Hawaii-grown cacao", or similar language, except:

(1) For any product that contains cacao ingredients made from Hawaii-grown cacao and no other cacao or chocolate flavoring; and

(2) For any product containing any cacao ingredients of a blend of Hawaii-grown cacao and cacao not grown in Hawaii or other natural or artificial cacao flavoring, the per cent cacao by weight of the Hawaii-grown cacao used in the blend, followed by the geographic origin of the weight-specified cacao and the term "Cacao Blend".

Each word or character in the identity statement shall be of the same type size and shall be contiguous. The smallest letter or character of the identity statement on packages of sixteen ounces or less net weight shall be at least one and one-half times the type size required under federal law for the statement of net weight or three-sixteenths of an inch in height, whichever is smaller. The smallest letter or character of the identity statement on packages of greater than sixteen ounces net weight shall be at least one and one-half times the type size required under federal law for the statement of net weight. The identity statement shall be conspicuously displayed without any intervening material in a position above the statement of net weight. Upper and lower case letters may be used interchangeably in the identity statement.

(b) A listing of the geographic origins of the various Hawaii-grown cacao and the regional origins of the various cacao not grown in Hawaii that are included in a blend may be shown on the label. If used, this list shall consist of the term "Contains:", followed by, in descending order of per cent by weight and separated by commas, the respective geographic origin or regional origin of the various cacaos in the blend that the manufacturer chooses to list. Each geographic origin or regional origin may be preceded by the per cent of cacao by weight represented by that geographic origin or regional origin, expressed as a number followed by the per cent sign. The type size used for this list shall not exceed half that of the identity statement. This list shall appear below the identity statement, if included on the front panel of the label.

(1) Use the identity statement specified in subsection (a) or similar terms in labeling or advertising unless the product contains cacao from that one geographic origin;

(2) Use a geographic origin in labeling or advertising, if the product contains less than ten per cent cacao by weight from that geographic origin;

(3) Use a geographic origin in advertising a product without disclosing the percentage of cacao used from that geographic origin as described in subsection (a);

(4) Misrepresent, on a label or in advertising of a product, the per cent cacao by weight from a geographic origin;

(5) Use the term "All Hawaiian" on a label or in advertising of a cacao if the cacao is not produced entirely from cacao produced in geographic origins defined in this chapter;

(6) Use a geographic origin on the front label panel of a cacao product other than in the trademark or in the identity statement as authorized in subsection (a) unless one hundred per cent of the cacao contained in the product is from that geographic origin;

(7) Use more than one trademark on a package of a product unless one hundred per cent of the cacao contained in the product is from that geographic origin specified by the trademark;

(8) Use a trademark that begins with the name of a geographic origin on a product unless one hundred per cent of the cacao contained in the product comes from that geographic origin or the trademark ends with words that indicate a business entity; or

(9) Print the identity statement required by subsection (a) in a smaller font than that used for a trademark that includes the name of a geographic origin pursuant to paragraph (5) and in a location other than the front label panel of a cacao product.

(d) Manufacturers and other persons who package cacao products covered by this section shall maintain, for a period of two years, records on the volume and geographic origin or regional origin of cacao purchased and sold and any other records required by the department for the purpose of enforcing this section. Authorized employees of the department shall have access to these records during normal business hours.

(e) For the purpose of this section:

"Geographic origin" means the geographic regions in which Hawaii-grown cacao are produced; provided that the term "Hawaiian" may be substituted for the geographic origin "Hawaii".

"Per cent cacao by weight" means the percentage calculated by dividing the weight in pounds of cacao of one geographic or regional origin used in a production run of the product, by the total weight in pounds of the cacao used in that production run of the product, multiplying the quotient by one hundred."

SECTION 2. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	1125
TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2013
STATE OF HAWAII