1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to food law; clarifying the basis on which 
  1.3             food can be labeled as kosher; amending Minnesota 
  1.4             Statutes 2002, sections 31.651, subdivision 1; 31.661. 
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 31.651, 
  1.7   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.8      Subdivision 1.  [KOSHER REQUIREMENTS.] No person shall sell 
  1.9   or expose for sale any poultry, poultry products, meat, or meat 
  1.10  preparations and falsely represent the same to be kosher, 
  1.11  whether such poultry, poultry products, meat, or meat 
  1.12  preparations be raw or prepared for human consumption; nor shall 
  1.13  the person permit any such products or the contents of any 
  1.14  package or container to be labeled or to have inscribed thereon 
  1.15  the word "kosher" in any language unless such products shall 
  1.16  have been display a stamp, label, or other type of indicia from 
  1.17  a rabbinic authority indicating that the products were prepared 
  1.18  or processed in accordance with orthodox Hebrew religious 
  1.19  requirements sanctioned by a recognized rabbinical council that 
  1.20  rabbinic authority, with the name and institutional affiliation 
  1.21  and denominational affiliation, if any, of the rabbinic 
  1.22  authority identified.  
  1.23     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 31.661, is 
  1.24  amended to read: 
  1.25     31.661 [MARKS, STAMPS, TAGS, BRANDS, OR LABELS.] 
  2.1      No person shall: 
  2.2      (1) willfully mark, stamp, tag, brand, label, or in any 
  2.3   other way or by any other means of identification, represent or 
  2.4   cause to be marked, stamped, tagged, branded, labeled, or 
  2.5   represented as kosher or as having been prepared in accordance 
  2.6   with the orthodox Hebrew religious requirements as prescribed by 
  2.7   a rabbinic authority, with the name and institutional 
  2.8   affiliation and denominational affiliation, if any, of the 
  2.9   rabbinic authority identified, food or food products not kosher 
  2.10  or not so prepared; 
  2.11     (2) willfully mark, stamp, tag, brand, label, or in any 
  2.12  other way or by any other means of identification, represent or 
  2.13  cause to be marked, stamped, tagged, branded, labeled, or 
  2.14  represented as Halal or as having been prepared in accordance 
  2.15  with the Islamic religious requirements, food or food products, 
  2.16  meat or meat products, or poultry or poultry products not Halal 
  2.17  or not so prepared; 
  2.18     (3) willfully remove, deface, obliterate, cover, alter, or 
  2.19  destroy or cause to be removed, defaced, obliterated, covered, 
  2.20  altered, or destroyed the original slaughterhouse plumba or any 
  2.21  other mark, stamp, tag, brand, label, or any other means of 
  2.22  identification affixed to foods or food products to indicate 
  2.23  that such foods or food products are kosher or have been 
  2.24  prepared in accordance with the orthodox Hebrew religious 
  2.25  requirements as prescribed by a rabbinic authority, with the 
  2.26  name and institutional affiliation and denominational 
  2.27  affiliation, if any, of the rabbinic authority identified; 
  2.28     (4) willfully remove, deface, obliterate, cover, alter, or 
  2.29  destroy or cause to be removed, defaced, obliterated, covered, 
  2.30  altered, or destroyed the original Halal sign, mark, stamp, tag, 
  2.31  brand, label, or any other means of identification affixed to 
  2.32  foods or food products, meat or meat products, or poultry or 
  2.33  poultry products to indicate that the foods or food products, 
  2.34  meat or meat products, or poultry or poultry products are Halal 
  2.35  or have been prepared in accordance with Islamic religious 
  2.36  requirements; 
  3.1      (5) knowingly sell, dispose of, or possess for the purpose 
  3.2   of resale to any person as kosher, any food or food products not 
  3.3   having affixed thereto the original slaughterhouse plumba or any 
  3.4   other mark, stamp, tag, brand, label, or other means of 
  3.5   identification employed to indicate that such food or food 
  3.6   products are kosher or have been prepared in accordance with the 
  3.7   orthodox Hebrew religious requirements as prescribed by a 
  3.8   rabbinic authority, with the name and institutional affiliation 
  3.9   and denominational affiliation, if any, of the rabbinic 
  3.10  authority identified, or any food or food products to which such 
  3.11  plumba, mark, stamp, tag, brand, label, or other means of 
  3.12  identification has or have been fraudulently affixed; or 
  3.13     (6) knowingly sell, dispose of, or possess for the purpose 
  3.14  of resale to any person as Halal, any food or food products, 
  3.15  meat or meat products, or poultry or poultry products not having 
  3.16  affixed the original Halal sign, mark, stamp, tag, brand, label, 
  3.17  or other means of identification employed to indicate that the 
  3.18  food or food products, meat or meat products, or poultry or 
  3.19  poultry products are Halal or have been prepared in accordance 
  3.20  with Islamic religious requirements or any food or food 
  3.21  products, meat or meat products, or poultry or poultry products 
  3.22  to which the original Halal mark, stamp, tag, brand, label, or 
  3.23  other means of identification has been fraudulently affixed.