THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	519
THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2019
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating to food safety.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that Hawaii is the most geographically isolated state in the country and imports approximately ninety-two per cent of its food, according to the Pacific Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments Program. Each food product imported to Hawaii is a lost opportunity for local economic growth. According to the University of Hawaii college of tropical agriculture and human resources, an increase in the production and sale of Hawaii-grown food would contribute to significant job creation. Increasing the amount of locally grown food by ten per cent could keep hundreds of millions of dollars circulating within Hawaii's economy, stimulate growth in agriculture, and create over two thousand new jobs. Such diversification would help make Hawaii's food supply and economy more resilient to worldwide events.

The federal Food and Drug Administration is implementing more comprehensive food safety regulations for agriculture under the 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The deadline for FSMA compliance for small farms is January 2019, and for very small farms the deadline is January 2020. Ninety per cent of Hawaii's 3,682 farms are small to very small farms, many of which are adversely affected both by the cost of food safety certification and the time needed to develop and implement the requirements. By January 2020, most local retailers and distributors will only purchase products from safety-certified farms. To meet existing customer demand, buyers will import products no longer available from local sources, increasing the State's dependency on imported food.

In Hawaii, small and medium sized farms are key to increasing the supply of locally grown food. Many farms currently grow only what can be sold in direct-to-consumer markets, often leaving much of their land uncultivated. Compliance with food safety regulations and increasing demand for locally grown food provides an opportunity for small and medium size farms to expand production to meet these new market conditions.

The legislature additionally finds that food safety certification of Hawaii farms, a critical first step toward FSMA compliance, can lead to increased market access and opportunities to increase production. The United States Department of Agriculture created the Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) certification program, the most common certification standard required by produce buyers. The GAP is a voluntary program designed to reduce the risk of foodborne illness originating with produce at the farm level through implementation of preventative food safety best practices and record keeping. Hawaii's small to medium farmers require direct training assistance to successfully implement good agricultural practices and obtain GAP or an equivalent certification.

The preservation of small, diversified farming businesses adds to, and diversifies Hawaii's economy, helps redress the imbalance in agricultural trade, and promotes food resiliency. Reducing the burden on small to medium farmers seeking costly, but necessary, certifications and inspections will allow many farms to secure GAP certification or an equivalent before the January 2020 FSMA compliance deadline and will provide an ongoing food safety resource of Hawaii.

The purpose of this Act is to require the department of agriculture to partner with the agricultural community to establish a certification focused food safety training program to assist small to medium sized farms in obtaining food safety certification.

SECTION 2. The department of agriculture shall partner with the agriculture community of Hawaii to establish a food safety certification training program that will provide direct implementation assistance to small and medium sized farms to obtain a United States Department of Agriculture Good Agricultural Practice certificate or an equivalent.

For purposes of this section "small and medium sized farm" means a farm that has an annual food sale revenue of $500,000 or less.

SECTION 3. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $150,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2019-2020 and the same sum or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2020-2021 for the department of agriculture to implement a food safety certification training program as provided in section 2 of this Act.

The sums appropriated shall be expended by the department of agriculture for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2019.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Department of Agriculture; Food Safety; Certification Training Program; Appropriation

Description:

Requires the department of agriculture to partner with the agriculture community to establish a food safety certification training program to provide assistance to small and medium sized farms to get certified by the United States Department of Agriculture's Good Agricultural Practices certification program. Appropriates funds.

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.