{"id":2052,"date":"2026-07-01T08:37:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T08:37:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2052"},"modified":"2026-07-01T08:37:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T08:37:17","slug":"new-hawaii-law-to-require-ahi-labels-to-disclose-origin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2052","title":{"rendered":"New Hawaii law to require ahi labels to disclose origin"},"content":{"rendered":"
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HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Starting July 1, some retailers in Hawai\u02bbi will be required to give customers more information about the ahi they\u2019re buying, including where the fish was caught.<\/p>\n

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Supporters of the new law say the added labeling will provide more transparency and help local fishermen compete in a market dominated by imports.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think a lot of consumers didn\u2019t know that most of the ahi poke sold at retailers is not from Hawaii,\u201d said Eric Kingma, executive director of the Hawaii Longline Association.<\/p>\n

Kingma said if consumer products like clothing are required to disclose where they are made, seafood should be no different.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIf our clothes are required to say where they\u2019re manufactured, why not what we eat?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Hawaii Longline Association estimates about 90% of ahi sold in Hawaii is imported and often previously frozen.<\/p>\n

According to Kingma, much of that imported fish comes from countries including Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and, to a lesser extent, the Marshall Islands. He added that much of the ahi imported from Vietnam is caught by Chinese vessels.<\/p>\n

Imported frozen tuna can also be significantly cheaper than locally caught fresh fish.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can kind of see the frozen import can almost be at least 50% less,\u201d said Michael Goto, vice president and auction manager at United Fishing Agency.<\/p>\n

In some cases, industry leaders say processing goes beyond freezing.<\/p>\n

Kingma said some lower-grade tuna is treated to restore color before reaching store counters, a product known in the industry as \u201cvitamin tuna.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cThat\u2019s being injected with additives like ascorbic acid, which is vitamin C, hence the name vitamin tuna, and then other additives like beet juice for color, sodium nitrate,\u201d Kingma said.<\/p>\n

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For some consumers, those additives are concerning.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want really any dye or any type of things that\u2019s going to make it fresher because it should already be fresh,\u201d said Amaya Thomas, host at Nico\u2019s Pier 38. \u201cIt\u2019s grown in the ocean. It should just be caught and then I should eat it. There shouldn\u2019t be any additives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Visitors also said clearer labels could influence how they shop while in Hawai\u02bbi.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving the comfort of knowing where their food is coming from and where it\u2019s locally sourced at, that\u2019s really important,\u201d said Hannah Patcheck, a tourist from Colorado.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Baylen Patcheck said the law could also help support local businesses and fishermen.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe come from a smaller town, so supporting locals there is huge,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I think if it does it here, that\u2019s even better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beginning July 1, the rule applies to larger retailers licensed under the federal Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act, including stores such as Foodland, Times, Safeway, Whole Foods, Costco and Don Quijote.<\/p>\n

State officials said enforcement will begin with education and outreach to retailers, though violations could eventually result in fines.<\/p>\n

Read more Knife found hidden in passenger\u2019s prosthetic at HNL airport TSA checkpoint<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Starting July 1, some Hawaii retailers must disclose where their ahi was caught, whether it was previously frozen and if it was treated with carbon monoxide, giving consumers more transparency at the seafood counter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2051,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nNew Hawaii law to require ahi labels to disclose origin - Hawaii Moving Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2052\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New Hawaii law to require ahi labels to disclose origin - 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