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Another Sacramento mandate making California less affordable? No thanks

March 11, 2025

For more than 30 years, my company, H.C. Foods Co., has been one of the largest distributors of Asian food and beverage products in California. Located in Commerce, we import products and ingredients that are familiar brands to many Asian-American families, stocking the shelves of hundreds of family-run neighborhood stores. We know what our customers want, and have provided it at affordable prices for decades.

We also know that new legislation being debated in Sacramento is going to make it difficult if not impossible for people to continue to get these products. Senate Bill 45, introduced by Sens. Steve Padilla, D-San Diego, and Catherine Blakespear, D-Encinitas, will require all plastic beverage bottles less than three liters to have an attached bottle cap.

This is an impractical, one-size-fits-all proposal that ignores how global supply chains work. It also places an undue burden on small businesses like ours, as well as the makers of these products.

We are committed to maintaining the high standards we set for our products and services and do our part to promote recycling. But this proposed law introduces serious challenges that threaten both businesses and customers alike.

Retooling entire production lines to meet a regulation that applies to only one state is simply not feasible for our suppliers. The products made overseas are made for domestic markets or foreign markets – not for individual cities or states.

As a result, certain products could disappear from shelves altogether, including many of the authentic Asian foods our community relies upon. This isn’t just a matter of rising costs — it’s the very real risk of losing access to longtime staples.

This legislation would strip away foods that are essential to Asian culture and traditions. Many of our suppliers — small, family-run businesses across Japan, Korea and elsewhere — may be forced to stop selling their products in California entirely.

For products that do remain available, the added charges of complying with the measure would increase grocery prices at a time when inflation continues to rise. Sacramento politicians don’t seem to have considered the real costs of assembly line retooling, logistical hurdles, the potential for shipping delays, and increased administrative burdens that will inevitably be passed down to customers.

Simply put, this means higher prices at local Asian markets and restaurants. Small businesses struggling to stay afloat will be forced to absorb these costs or pass them on to their customers. That will cost employee work hours and even force some stores out of business.

Another crucial detail that is often overlooked is that tethered caps frequently use more plastic than traditional designs. Manufacturers are required to reinforce the caps to keep them attached, resulting in thicker, bulkier tops that use additional material. This raises an important question: if the ultimate goal is to reduce plastic waste, why implement a policy that ultimately increases it?

Senate Bill 45 is a flawed proposal, plain and simple. It burdens small businesses, raises costs for consumers, and appears to run counter to its stated objective. Instead of pursuing impractical half-measures, lawmakers must find a solution that balances environmental goals with the realities of running a business and serving our communities.

We believe that good business and good policy should go hand in hand — and this proposal does neither.

Timothy Sher is the Vice President of Business Development for H.C. Foods, Co. Ltd., a Los Angeles-based company and one of the largest importers of food products from Asia.

Orange County Register

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Another Sacramento mandate making California less affordable? No thanks

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