WHEREAS, cargo containers with frozen food remain idle on the docks in Hawaii for approximately two weeks before they are inspected by the Food and Drug Administration; and

WHEREAS, if a problem is found with a frozen food shipment, a specimen from the shipment is sent to San Francisco for further inspection which prolongs the wait for another three weeks; and

WHEREAS, the cost of maintaining frozen food is expensive because of refrigeration costs and storage, security, and other expenses; and

WHEREAS, frozen food retailers and shippers, who have incurred these costs through no fault of their own, have no choice but to pass these costs on to consumers who ultimately pay for these long delays; and

WHEREAS, these delays not only add to the high cost of shipping goods to Hawaii, but also add to an already high cost of living in the State; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2005, that the Food and Drug Administration is urged to expedite the inspection of frozen cargo arriving dockside in Hawaii; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, the Food

and Drug Administration Resident Investigator-in-Charge, Honolulu Office, and members of Hawaii's congressional delegation.

Report Title:

Frozen Food Inspection; FDA