Fit statements Meadow Gold is falsely promoting its mainland milk as a nearby merchandise

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A Hawaii food supplier has filed a federal lawsuit towards Meadow Gold and its lover dairies, stating they are falsely advertising and marketing their mainland milk as a local product or service.

Chad Buck, the head of the Hawaii Foodservice Alliance, claims Meadow Gold’s milk is imported to Hawaii from California.

But he states the company’s promotion and labels are deceptive, generating individuals imagine they are supporting area.

“Which just one would I acquire to guidance nearby? You’d in all probability decide the just one … that states ‘Hawaii’s Dairy.’ You’d most likely select the a person … that claims produced with aloha,” Buck claimed.

He included that Meadow Gold is pricier than its competitors in Hawaii.

Over the past two decades, Buck claims he’s watched about a dozen local dairies go out of business due to the fact they couldn’t contend with mainland operations and selling prices.

In April 2020, then Texas-based mostly Dean Food items filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and bought the nostalgic Meadow Gold brand to a Big Island dairy farmer.

The corporation now has a processing plant in Hilo and a new facility in Waipahu, but Buck says all their milk comes from out of state.

“It’s not proper for the point out. It is not right for dairy farmers in this state,” Buck said.

“And if we’re ever likely to create a sustainable Hawaii again, we can not allow mainland agriculture deliver their products and solutions into Hawaii and pretend that they’re local.”

In response to the suit, Meadow Gold explained it has “never claimed that all our milk is community.”

In this article is Meadow Gold Dairies’ comprehensive statement:

“Former Large Island dairy farmer, Bahman Sadeghi assumed functions of Meadow Gold Dairies in May perhaps 2020 to regulate and keep the legacy of the Meadow Gold model alive and has been diligently doing work to make the procedure extra sustainable. As Hawaii’s sole milk processor, we procedure 100% of the milk made in Hawaii and 100% of the milk processed in Hawaii to fulfill the need for Hawaii’s inhabitants that could not possibly be fulfilled with the existing out there community dairy farmers.

“We have by no means claimed that all our milk is regional, but we do think about ourselves Hawaii’s Dairy due to the fact we are dedicated to Hawaii and its community and will carry on to be even though we get the job done toward constructing a far more sustainable procedure.

“Furthermore, almost everything we do is with aloha! This is portion of our company tradition, and we are grateful to the previous and present neighborhood dairy farmers who have arrived at out to convey their guidance for us as we operate with each other to construct a far more sustainable community foods method in Hawaii.

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