Bakery fined by state to pay half of it | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

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Craig T. Kojima / Oct. 21

Paalaa Kai Bakery in Waialua has reached a settlement with the state to pay a $6,000 fine for food temperature violations, half the $12,000 penalty that had been assessed against it. The bakery was shut down after the state Health Department issued a temporary suspension of its food safety permit for improper temperature controls. Above, workers install new refrigeration units.

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A Waialua bakery will pay a $6,000 settlement for food safety violations that prompted the state Department of Health to temporarily close the store.

Paalaa Kai Bakery will pay half of the $12,000 fine imposed for improper temperature control violations in its refrigeration equipment. The state closed the bakery, known for its “snow puffies” pastries, on Oct. 6 after inspectors issued a red “closed” placard and temporarily suspended its food permit due to the violations.

The bakery reopened Nov. 3 after installing new refrigeration equipment and passing an inspection. The new equipment cost more than $40,000.

Attorney Richard Ing, who represents the bakery, said it has agreed to pay $6,000 to resolve disputed allegations “with no admission as to any wrongdoing.”

The Health Department also withdrew a $10,000 fine for alleged sale and distribution of baked products a day after the closure. The department’s withdrawal was in response to a time-stamped surveillance video the bakery provided that showed employees, not customers, gathering at the site for a meeting.

Ing said the meeting was held to discuss the ramifications of the shutdown. The video also showed empty display cases at the bakery and that no one left with baked goods.

Although the state withdrew the allegation and $10,000 fine, Ing said the state’s “knee-jerk reaction” to levy the fine without fully vetting the allegation was disappointing. “To me they jumped the gun,” he said.

The bakery’s business is now faring well, but it’s not as profitable as it was prior to the closure, Ing said. He maintains that the allegation may have had an economic impact on the establishment.

Sanitation Branch Manager Peter Oshiro said the $10,000 fine was based on a sworn statement from a witness. “We did not get good information from someone who signed a sworn statement,” he said. “We were relying on someone’s sworn statement. That turned out to be false.”

Oshiro said the department’s reaction wasn’t “knee-jerk.” As a regulatory agency it’s the department’s responsibility to respond to public complaints, he said. “We do rely on the public to be our eyes and ears,” he said.