Koha Oriental Foods has been fined $100,000 by the state Department of Health for allegedly operating a food storage warehouse in Waipahu without a state permit from November 2015 to August.

The Health Department’s Sanitation Branch issued a notice of violation related to Koha Oriental Foods’ warehouse at 94-150 Leokane St., where, it said, the company stored frozen seafood, among other products, for sale and distribution.

The company has been ordered to pay an administrative penalty of $100,000 and may contest the order at a hearing.

While investigating Oahu’s hepatitis A outbreak in August, the Health Department said it discovered the unpermitted food warehouse, which had been operating from October 2015 without a state food establishment permit.

The department said Koha Oriental Foods immediately applied for and received a permit.

Food companies without Health Department permits face fines of up to $1,000 per day for each violation.

“In this case, when determining the monetary penalty amount, we considered the lower risk factors involved in operating a static frozen food storage facility where food is not prepared and directly handled by the employees,” Peter Oshiro, sanitation branch chief, said in a statement. “Operating without a permit is a serious matter, and under state rules the company could have been fined nearly $300,000 for conducting business operations at the facility without a permit for almost a year.”