The Kona Coffee Farmers Association is calling for a nationwide boycott of Safeway stores, alleging that the supermarket chain is tarnishing the reputation of the premium coffee grown along the upland slopes of the Big Island.
The trade association says that the “Safeway Select Kona Blend,” that reads “revel in the unmatched taste of savory beans from Hawaii’s Big Island,” doesn’t tell consumers what percentage of Kona coffee is in the blend – and their belief is that it’s very small.
The untoward discovery was made by a member of the farmers association during a recent trip to California.
The concern is that the poor labeling misleads customers into drinking an inferior product that they think is Kona coffee.
“Any reasonable consumer reading that package is going to believe that it’s all Kona,” said Bruce Corker, the associations’s chair. “There’s not one word that gives any indication that anything other than Kona beans are in the package.”
Corker said the Safeway Select blend of Kona beans – sans proper labeling – is only sold on the Mainland.
The product is not sold in Hawaii where state statute requires that blends must contain at least 10 percent of Kona coffee, and they must be labeled so that consumers know the percentage, said Corker.
A “cease and desist” letter of sorts was sent to Safeway’s corporate headquarters three months ago by Russell Kokubun, chairman of the Hawaii Department of Agriculture, strongly urging the supermarket to comply with Hawaii’s laws, even though they don’t apply on the Mainland.
Kokubun couldn’t be reached for comment, but Corker said that Safeway never responded, despite follow-up calls from the ag department.
A surprised Safeway spokeswoman in the company’s California headquarters, seemed caught off guard when contacted by Civil Beat for a response.
“What? Who called for a nationwide boycott of Safeway?” said Susan Houghton, director of public and government affairs.
In a follow-up email, she said that, “it appears the letter did not get to the right individuals.” She said that the company has placed calls to the Department of Agriculture and Kona Coffee Farmers Association to apologize for the delay in responding.
Asked about the strategy of the association, which represents 230 farmers, in getting the word out about the boycott, Corker said, “the standard publicity.”
