| Abstract: |
Counterfeiting isn’t a crime limited to printing fake currency. Falsifying a brand name, for instance, can be just as profitable, providing sellers and distributors access to markets and price points they could never achieve otherwise. It’s unclear just how frequently coffee counterfeiting has happened around Kona, Ka‘u and other popular Hawaii brands since the recession required the state to roll back a number of inspector positions at the state Department of Agriculture. But by clearing the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Environment, Senate Bill 869 came one step closer Friday to reinstating a mandatory certification process for green coffee coming out of the state, protecting brand integrity and the bottom lines of farmers alike. “ |
