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Kokua Line

By June Watanabe

Friday, September 29, 2000


The skinny on
labeling fat content

Question: I went to Foodland and bought hamburger. I came across some marked 7 percent fat and compared it to one marked 20 percent fat on the shelf. The 7 percent seemed to have the same amount of fat as the 20 percent hamburger. Is there any regulation as to the quantity of fat as labeled? I checked with the state and they said they don't monitor the percentage of fat.

Answer: It's true that the state Food and Drug Branch does not regularly check whether fat percentages on labels are correct.

Inspectors will go out on specific complaints, but basically, it boils down to knowing and trusting your store.

In the case of Foodland and Sack 'n Save, it also means the company has to have confidence in Palama Meat Co., which supplies the majority of its meat.

This includes ultra lean ground beef (7 percent of the meat is fat), ground chuck (15 percent), ground round (15 percent), ground sirloin (12 percent) and ground beef (30 percent).

As far as Foodland is concerned, Palama "accurately measures fat content using their equipment," spokeswoman Sheryl Toda said. "They grind it, test it, record it and make adjustments if necessary to confirm the fat percentage of each batch sold to us."

In the meantime, Foodland/ Sack 'n Save grinds some meat in its stores, "using trimmings that are lean enough to grind to a fat content of 20 percent or less," Toda said. The label "conservatively states" that the meat is "not more than 20 percent fat," but it often is much leaner than that, she said.

"Foodland is committed to giving our customers the best quality and value," Toda said. If customers have questions about its meat, she suggests talking to a meat manager at one of the stores or contacting Palama Meat Co.

Q: Can Social Security numbers on driver's licenses be removed because of the possibility of identity theft?

A: Beginning Jan. 1, a Social Security number will no longer be required as the driver's license number in Hawaii. You can either wait to renew your current license and get a random, computer-generated number at that time, or, if you don't want to wait, you can pay $5 for a replacement license.

FYI: Although the visible ID number no longer will have to be a Social Security number beginning next year, Social Security numbers still will be encoded on bar codes on the licenses, as required by federal law.

Mahalo

To Michael Hoskin from San Francisco, who is visiting friends in Kuapa Isle at Hawaii Kai for coming to the aid of a senior citizen who fell face down on the sidewalk. God bless you and have a nice time. -- No Name

Auwe

To Pokai Bay juvenile boogie boarders. This happened at the end of August, but it's been bothering me ever since. You took my son's brand new boogie board, which he and we worked very hard to buy. A kid asked to use the board and just ran off with it. We were guests at the Army Recreation Center and returned home with hurt feelings and no board.

We try to teach our children right from wrong. We can only hope other parents do, too. We had helped out monetarily when FM100 put out a plea for Leeward Coast donations several years ago, but we will think very deeply about doing it the next time. Parents need to check when their kids suddenly appear with some material good. I hope that boogie board kid gets what's due him. -- Mrs. L.





Need help with problems? Call Kokua Line at 525-8686,
fax 525-6711, or write to P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu 96802.
Email to kokualine@starbulletin.com




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