Frozen or fresh baked bread?

ILWU members at Love’s Bakery are negotiating a new labor agreement and the company wants cuts in wages and benefits. The company claims the cuts are needed because of stiff competition from frozen bread. Grocery stores are selling the thawed, previously frozen bread which comes from the mainland on the same shelves as the fresh baked bread produced by Love’s Bakery. Because of higher profit margins, many grocery chains are giving the frozen bread the best shelf positions and pushing the locally produced Love’s bread to the bottom shelves.

Bread sales have also been hit by the popularity of the Atkins and other low carbohydrate diets. In 2003, Americans consumed an average of 139 pounds of wheat each year. This is down from a high of 147 pounds per person in 1996-1997. Wheat consumption figures for Hawaii were not available but would be much lower as we eat more rice.

Consumer deception 
Love’s members have complained that the thawed bread is not labeled as “previously frozen” and the placement of this bread next to fresh bread may mislead shoppers to think they are buying a fresh product.

To protect the public, many states have laws that require accurate and proper labeling to allow consumers to make an informed decision when they buy a product. For example, Hawaii had a “bread weight law” that required bread to be 1/2 pound, 1 pound, 1.5 pound, 2 pounds, etc.

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