HALAL FOODS
House Bill 5480
Sponsor: Rep. Gary Woronchak
Committee: Agriculture and Resource Management
Complete to 1-2-02
A SUMMARY OF HOUSE BILL 5480 AS INTRODUCED 12-06-01
The bill would provide penalties for consumer fraud in the sale of halal food or food products prepared in accordance with Islamic religious requirements.
Under the bill, a person who did any of the following with the intent to defraud would be guilty of a misdemeanor:
· Selling or exposing for sale any meat, meat preparation, article of food, or food product, and falsely represent it to be halal, either by an oral or written statement, which was reasonably calculated to deceive a person or lead a reasonable person to believe that the food were halal.
· Falsely representing any food product to be halal, by having or permitting the word "halal" to be inscribed on the package or container in any language.
· Selling or exposing for sale in the same place of business both halal and nonhalal meat or meat preparations, or both halal and nonhalal food or food products, and failing to indicate on his or her window signs and all display advertising, in block letters at least four inches in height, "halal and nonhalal meat sold here" or "halal and nonhalal food sold here".
· Displaying both halal and nonhalal meat or meat preparations, or halal and nonhalal food products, and failing to label each accordingly in block letters at least four inches in height.
· Displaying words or letters in Arabic characters other than the word "halal", or displaying any sign, mark, or symbol meaning the same, without also displaying in English letters of the same size, the words "we sell halal meat and food only", or "we sell nonhalal meat and food only", or "we sell both halal and nonhalal meat and food".
The bill also states that the possession of nonhalal food, in any place of business advertising the sale of halal food only, would be presumptive evidence that the person in possession exposes the nonhalal meat and food for sale with the intent to defraud.
In addition, a person who did any of the following would be guilty of a misdemeanor:
· Willfully identifies or represents, or causes to be identified or represented, nonhalal food or food products as being halal.
· Willfully removing or altering, or causing to be removed or altered, the original slaughterhouse plumba or any other identification mark or tag affixed to food or food products to indicate that those food or food products are halal.
· Knowingly selling, disposing of, or possessing, with the purpose of reselling to any person as halal, any food or food product that does not have the original slaughterhouse plumba or any other tag that indicates that the food or food product is halal affixed to the food or food product, or any food or food product which has a fraudulently affixed tag.
The Department of Agriculture would be required to investigate, inspect, and supervise the sale of halal meat and meat preparation, and would enforce the bill. The department could promulgate any rules necessary for the enforcement and administration of the bill.
MCL 750.297f
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This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House staff for use by House members in their deliberations, and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.