Posted on: Thursday, March 3, 2005

By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser Staff Writer

Q. Who checks to see that hamburger meat labeled in the supermarkets at 10 percent, 20 percent or 30 percent fat is accurate?

A. State Health Department spokeswoman Laura Lott said the department's Food and Drug branch oversees ground beef and other foods. But she said federal officials do the actual inspections in the plant, so the state accepts that label. "We no longer sample for percent fat," Lott said. Since most ground beef is processed at a U.S. Department of Agriculture-inspected plant, the declaration of fat content falls under their labeling requirements.

Q. I went to Costco Iwilei to buy a 24-pack case of bottled water in the single-serving size. I saw palettes of them up high and asked for help getting them. But the clerk said those cases don't have the HI 5 label required by the new bottle deposit law that went into effect this year. And that meant the bottles can't be sold unless they break the cases open and individually label the bottles with stickers. And then they'd have to sell them in the vending machines after the case was no longer sealed. Can the store hand out stickers with each case so they can sell these bottles?

A. "Yes, the stores can hand out stickers with each case," said state Health Department spokeswoman Laura Lott. So no stores should be stuck with hard-to-sell bottles because of labeling. She said the department is trying to be flexible with stores during this start-up period.

She said those stickers can be purchased from the state Health Department or the Hawaii Food Industry Association. At some point, that won't be an option, she said. But for now, Lott said, the stickers can help ease the transition.

Q. We have a problem where cars park illegally on both sides of Winam Avenue between Kapahulu Avenue and Makaleka Avenue. There are signs on both sides of the street restricting parking. We have called the police numerous times. However, cars continue to park illegally every day. Can you tell me whom I can contact to try to solve this problem of illegal parking which causes a hazardous situation?

A. We called the police, too. Police Officer Herb Shriner acknowledged that parking is a problem in that area. He said police will respond to complaints and issue tickets. He notes that sometimes police will tag cars again and again. Over a recent two-week period, police issued 33 citations, one tag for an abandoned vehicle and four warnings, Shriner said. So, calling to report the violations can help even if it doesn't solve the problem permanently.

Phone: 535-2454 and leave a message. Be sure to give us your name and daytime telephone number.