HF 149

4th Engrossment - 82nd Legislature (2001 - 2002) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to food; regulating the serving, selling, and 
  1.3             labeling of certain religion-sanctioned food; amending 
  1.4             Minnesota Statutes 2000, sections 31.59, subdivision 
  1.5             4; 31.661; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota 
  1.6             Statutes, chapter 31.  
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 31.59, 
  1.9   subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subd. 4.  [HUMANE METHODS.] "Humane methods" means: 
  1.11     (1) Any method of slaughtering livestock which normally 
  1.12  causes animals to be rendered insensible to pain by a single 
  1.13  blow of a mechanical instrument or shot of a firearm or by 
  1.14  chemical, or other means that are rapid and effective, before 
  1.15  being shackled, hoisted, thrown, cast, or cut; or 
  1.16     (2) The methods of preparation necessary to safe handling 
  1.17  of the animals for Halal ritual slaughter, Jewish ritual 
  1.18  slaughter and of slaughtering required by the ritual of 
  1.19  the Islamic or Jewish faith, whereby the animal suffers loss of 
  1.20  consciousness by anemia of the brain caused by the simultaneous 
  1.21  and instantaneous severance of the carotid arteries with a sharp 
  1.22  instrument. 
  1.23     Sec. 2.  [31.658] [HALAL PRODUCTS.] 
  1.24     Subdivision 1.  [HALAL FOOD REQUIREMENTS.] A person must 
  1.25  not:  
  1.26     (1) serve, sell, or expose for sale food or food products, 
  2.1   meat or meat products, or poultry or poultry products that are 
  2.2   falsely represented as Halal; 
  2.3      (2) permit food, food products, meat or meat products, or 
  2.4   poultry or poultry products, or the contents of a package or 
  2.5   container to be labeled or inscribed with the "Halal" sign 
  2.6   unless the food or food products, meat or meat products, or 
  2.7   poultry or poultry products have been prepared and maintained in 
  2.8   compliance with the laws and customs of the Islamic religion; or 
  2.9      (3) make an oral or written statement that deceives or 
  2.10  otherwise leads a reasonable person to believe that non-Halal 
  2.11  food or food products, meat or meat products, or poultry or 
  2.12  poultry products are Halal. 
  2.13     Subd. 2.  [PRESUMPTION.] Possession of non-Halal food or 
  2.14  food products, meat or meat products, or poultry or poultry 
  2.15  products in a place of business is presumptive evidence that the 
  2.16  person in possession of them exposes them for sale. 
  2.17     Subd. 3.  [DEFENSE.] It is a defense against a charge of 
  2.18  misrepresenting non-Halal food or food products, meat or meat 
  2.19  products, or poultry or poultry products as Halal that the 
  2.20  person relied in good faith upon the representation of a 
  2.21  slaughterhouse, manufacturer, processor, packer, distributor, or 
  2.22  person or organization which certifies or represents a food or 
  2.23  food product, meat or meat product, or poultry or poultry 
  2.24  product as having been prepared under or sanctioned by Islamic 
  2.25  religious requirements. 
  2.26     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 31.661, is 
  2.27  amended to read: 
  2.28     31.661 [MARKS, STAMPS, TAGS, BRANDS, OR LABELS.] 
  2.29     No person shall: 
  2.30     (1) willfully mark, stamp, tag, brand, label, or in any 
  2.31  other way or by any other means of identification, represent or 
  2.32  cause to be marked, stamped, tagged, branded, labeled, or 
  2.33  represented as kosher or as having been prepared in accordance 
  2.34  with the orthodox Hebrew religious requirements food or food 
  2.35  products not kosher or not so prepared, or; 
  2.36     (2) willfully mark, stamp, tag, brand, label, or in any 
  3.1   other way or by any other means of identification, represent or 
  3.2   cause to be marked, stamped, tagged, branded, labeled, or 
  3.3   represented as Halal or as having been prepared in accordance 
  3.4   with the Islamic religious requirements, food or food products, 
  3.5   meat or meat products, or poultry or poultry products not Halal 
  3.6   or not so prepared; 
  3.7      (3) willfully remove, deface, obliterate, cover, alter, or 
  3.8   destroy or cause to be removed, defaced, obliterated, covered, 
  3.9   altered, or destroyed the original slaughterhouse plumba or any 
  3.10  other mark, stamp, tag, brand, label, or any other means of 
  3.11  identification affixed to foods or food products to indicate 
  3.12  that such foods or food products are kosher or have been 
  3.13  prepared in accordance with the orthodox Hebrew religious 
  3.14  requirements, or; 
  3.15     (3) (4) willfully remove, deface, obliterate, cover, alter, 
  3.16  or destroy or cause to be removed, defaced, obliterated, 
  3.17  covered, altered, or destroyed the original Halal sign, mark, 
  3.18  stamp, tag, brand, label, or any other means of identification 
  3.19  affixed to foods or food products, meat or meat products, or 
  3.20  poultry or poultry products to indicate that the foods or food 
  3.21  products, meat or meat products, or poultry or poultry products 
  3.22  are Halal or have been prepared in accordance with Islamic 
  3.23  religious requirements; 
  3.24     (5) knowingly sell, dispose of, or possess, for the purpose 
  3.25  of resale to any person as kosher, any food or food products not 
  3.26  having affixed thereto the original slaughterhouse plumba or any 
  3.27  other mark, stamp, tag, brand, label, or other means of 
  3.28  identification employed to indicate that such food or food 
  3.29  products are kosher or have been prepared in accordance with the 
  3.30  orthodox Hebrew religious requirements or any food or food 
  3.31  products to which such plumba, mark, stamp, tag, brand, label, 
  3.32  or other means of identification has or have been fraudulently 
  3.33  affixed.; or 
  3.34     (6) knowingly sell, dispose of, or possess for the purpose 
  3.35  of resale to any person as Halal, any food or food products, 
  3.36  meat or meat products, or poultry or poultry products not having 
  4.1   affixed the original Halal sign, mark, stamp, tag, brand, label, 
  4.2   or other means of identification employed to indicate that the 
  4.3   food or food products, meat or meat products, or poultry or 
  4.4   poultry products are Halal or have been prepared in accordance 
  4.5   with Islamic religious requirements or any food or food 
  4.6   products, meat or meat products, or poultry or poultry products 
  4.7   to which the original Halal mark, stamp, tag, brand, label, or 
  4.8   other means of identification has been fraudulently affixed.