The Hawaii Coffee Association recently launched a partnership with international product traceability company Oritain that it says will help local coffee farmers.
Through the partnership, Hawaii Coffee Association and Oritain are building a statewide database that will verify the origins of Hawaii-grown coffee. By proving the origins of where coffee is grown, the association said the database will help reduce counterfeiting, in order to build marketability for Hawaii-grown coffee.
“Coffee counterfeiting is a major problem for Hawaii’s coffee industry, particularly in the current economic climate of rapidly rising costs for producers — fuel, fertilizer, labor,” Chris Manfredi, executive director of Hawaii Coffee Association, said in an email to PBN. “Since the cost of production is so high in Hawaii as compared to other coffee growing regions, we must price our coffee at a point where farmers can earn a living. We need to earn that price every day by producing exceptionally high-quality coffees.
"Yet, we’re forced to compete on store shelves and the internet with products that are not grown in Hawaii," he said. "This creates downward price pressure and undermines our brands rooted in quality.”
Oritain’s process involves measuring the chemical compositions of plants and animals that are specific to a region, and using this data to create what it calls an “origin fingerprint.” A sample of a product can then be tested against the “fingerprint” to determine its origin.
“The partnership between HCA and Oritain will enable us to test coffees for authenticity and take action wherever the fraud is occurring,” Manfredi said. “Additionally, it will build trust and integrity, and enhance marketability for authentic Hawaii-grown coffee.”
Hawaii Coffee Association declined to disclose the financial details of the agreement.
“Hawaii-grown coffee has earned a world-renowned reputation for its specialty status, farming practices and flavor profile. It is coffee that is unrivaled from anywhere else in the world,” Oritain CEO Grant Cochrane said in a statement. “However, with such a strong reputation, brings a temptation to cheat by substituting coffee from other origins and labelling it as Hawaiian. This partnership marks a significant step in deterring this type of behavior by protecting the integrity and reputation of an important specialty crop.”
Oritain will discuss the technology and how it will be applied it to the Hawaii coffee market in a presentation at 12:45 p.m. on Saturday, May 21, as part of HCA’s annual conference.
The conference, which kicked off Thursday afternoon and continues through Saturday at the Outrigger Kona Resort & Spa, also includes interactive workshops, a trade show and talks on a range of topics such as soil health, on-farm technology, and legislative issues.
For more information, visit hawaiicoffeeassoc.org.
