Legislation passed today by the Senate Agriculture, Water, Natural Resources & Parks Committee would make it a crime to mispresent the content or preparation of halal food products.
“This is a basic truth-in-packing bill that might be compared to the way sellers can be prosecuted for misrepresenting foods identified as kosher,” said Sen. Claire Wilson (D-Auburn), the sponsor of SB 5799. “Just as Jews purchase kosher products with the confidence that they comply with dietary guidelines set by traditional Jewish law, Muslims should be able to trust that halal products meet Islamic standards.”
Known as the Halal Food Consumer Protection Act, SB 5799 requires that no one knowingly sell or offer for sale any food product marked, stamped, tagged, branded, labeled, or represented as halal when that person knows that the food product is not halal. Violators would be guilty of a gross misdemeanor. Food in transit from one processing facility to another processing facility to complete its preparation for sale would be exempt from the labeling requirements but would be otherwise subject to all applicable provisions.
“The growing market for halal food has created an urgent need to ensure product integrity,” Wilson said. “What makes this especially important is that halal foods are typically more costly than other food products, making their sale more profitable and thus increasing the incentive to misrepresent products as halal when a seller knows better.”
