Bill Text: HI HCR72 | 2016 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: Fish Labeling; Violations; DOH

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)

Status: (Passed) 2016-04-22 - Resolution adopted in final form. [HCR72 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2016-HCR72-Amended.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	72
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2016		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

URGING THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO VIGOROUSLY ENFORCE LAWS REGARDING THE LABELING OF PREVIOUSLY FROZEN FISH.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, catching, selling, and consuming fresh fish are important to the culture, economy, and diet of the State; and

 

     WHEREAS, fresh fish is prized by many consumers, is a necessary ingredient for many traditional dishes, and can command higher prices than frozen fish; and

 

     WHEREAS, some retailers of frozen fish have mislabeled their previously frozen fish as fresh fish after treating the fish with carbon monoxide to preserve the color, but not the quality, of the fish; and

 

     WHEREAS, part III of chapter 328, Hawaii Revised Statutes, requires that previously frozen food products be clearly labeled with the words "previously frozen"; and

 

     WHEREAS, treating fish with carbon monoxide as a color stabilizer is permissible in the United States but has been banned in other places, including the European Union; and

 

     WHEREAS, carbon monoxide may mask visual evidence of fish spoilage and mislead consumers into purchasing fish they would not otherwise purchase; and

 

     WHEREAS, some consumers do not want to eat previously frozen fish, or any fish that has been treated with carbon monoxide, because they do not enjoy the taste or have concerns about possible negative health effects; and

     WHEREAS, mislabeling previously frozen fish as fresh fish misleads consumers and allows vendors of previously frozen fish to unfairly compete with vendors of genuine fresh fish; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Department of Health is authorized to seek an injunction and assess a fine of up to $500 for each violation of the requirement that previously frozen fish be labeled as such, pursuant to sections 328-63 and 328-64, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

 

     WHEREAS, the authority of the Department of Health to enforce labeling requirements of part III of chapter 328, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is subject to the department's discretion; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Department of Health may determine that, in some cases, issuing a warning, rather than seeking an injunction or assessing a fine, is a better way to enforce the labeling requirements pertaining to frozen fish; and

 

     WHEREAS, the ultimate responsibility of the Department of Health is to enforce laws to protect the public health generally; and

 

     WHEREAS, some vendors of mislabeled frozen fish may seek to exploit the Department of Health's discretion regarding enforcement, and may repeatedly mislabel carbon monoxide-treated previously frozen fish as fresh fish because they believe they will face no serious consequences if they are caught; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2016, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Health is urged to vigorously enforce part III of chapter 328, Hawaii Revised Statutes, by pursuing injunctions and fines against persons who mislabel previously frozen fish as fresh fish, especially in cases where the same violation has occurred multiple times and the Department has previously warned the violator of the laws pertaining to labeling previously frozen foods; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Health is requested to submit to the Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health and the Chair of the House Committee on Health, the following:

 

(1)  The number of offenses, including repeat offenses; and

 

(2)  The history of any injunctive or abatement actions taken by the Department of Health,

 

with regard to the mislabeling of previously frozen fish as fresh fish within the past five years; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Health.

 

 

 

Report Title:

Fish Labeling; Violations; DOH