Minnesota Session Laws - 2004, Regular Session

                            CHAPTER 232-H.F.No. 2864 
                  An act relating to food law; clarifying the basis on 
                  which food can be labeled as kosher; amending 
                  Minnesota Statutes 2002, sections 31.651, subdivision 
                  1; 31.661. 
        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
           Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 31.651, 
        subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
           Subdivision 1.  [KOSHER REQUIREMENTS.] No person shall sell 
        or expose for sale any poultry, poultry products, meat, or meat 
        preparations and falsely represent the same to be kosher, 
        whether such poultry, poultry products, meat, or meat 
        preparations be raw or prepared for human consumption; nor shall 
        the person permit any such products or the contents of any 
        package or container to be labeled or to have inscribed thereon 
        the word "kosher" in any language unless such products shall 
        have been display a stamp, label, or other type of indicia from 
        a rabbinic authority indicating that the products were prepared 
        or processed in accordance with orthodox Hebrew religious 
        requirements sanctioned by a recognized rabbinical council that 
        rabbinic authority, with the name and institutional affiliation 
        and denominational affiliation, if any, of the rabbinic 
        authority identified.  
           Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 31.661, is 
        amended to read: 
           31.661 [MARKS, STAMPS, TAGS, BRANDS, OR LABELS.] 
           No person shall: 
           (1) willfully mark, stamp, tag, brand, label, or in any 
        other way or by any other means of identification, represent or 
        cause to be marked, stamped, tagged, branded, labeled, or 
        represented as kosher or as having been prepared in accordance 
        with the orthodox Hebrew religious requirements as prescribed by 
        a rabbinic authority, with the name and institutional 
        affiliation and denominational affiliation, if any, of the 
        rabbinic authority identified, food or food products not kosher 
        or not so prepared; 
           (2) willfully mark, stamp, tag, brand, label, or in any 
        other way or by any other means of identification, represent or 
        cause to be marked, stamped, tagged, branded, labeled, or 
        represented as Halal or as having been prepared in accordance 
        with the Islamic religious requirements, food or food products, 
        meat or meat products, or poultry or poultry products not Halal 
        or not so prepared; 
           (3) willfully remove, deface, obliterate, cover, alter, or 
        destroy or cause to be removed, defaced, obliterated, covered, 
        altered, or destroyed the original slaughterhouse plumba or any 
        other mark, stamp, tag, brand, label, or any other means of 
        identification affixed to foods or food products to indicate 
        that such foods or food products are kosher or have been 
        prepared in accordance with the orthodox Hebrew religious 
        requirements as prescribed by a rabbinic authority, with the 
        name and institutional affiliation and denominational 
        affiliation, if any, of the rabbinic authority identified; 
           (4) willfully remove, deface, obliterate, cover, alter, or 
        destroy or cause to be removed, defaced, obliterated, covered, 
        altered, or destroyed the original Halal sign, mark, stamp, tag, 
        brand, label, or any other means of identification affixed to 
        foods or food products, meat or meat products, or poultry or 
        poultry products to indicate that the foods or food products, 
        meat or meat products, or poultry or poultry products are Halal 
        or have been prepared in accordance with Islamic religious 
        requirements; 
           (5) knowingly sell, dispose of, or possess for the purpose 
        of resale to any person as kosher, any food or food products not 
        having affixed thereto the original slaughterhouse plumba or any 
        other mark, stamp, tag, brand, label, or other means of 
        identification employed to indicate that such food or food 
        products are kosher or have been prepared in accordance with the 
        orthodox Hebrew religious requirements as prescribed by a 
        rabbinic authority, with the name and institutional affiliation 
        and denominational affiliation, if any, of the rabbinic 
        authority identified, or any food or food products to which such 
        plumba, mark, stamp, tag, brand, label, or other means of 
        identification has or have been fraudulently affixed; or 
           (6) knowingly sell, dispose of, or possess for the purpose 
        of resale to any person as Halal, any food or food products, 
        meat or meat products, or poultry or poultry products not having 
        affixed the original Halal sign, mark, stamp, tag, brand, label, 
        or other means of identification employed to indicate that the 
        food or food products, meat or meat products, or poultry or 
        poultry products are Halal or have been prepared in accordance 
        with Islamic religious requirements or any food or food 
        products, meat or meat products, or poultry or poultry products 
        to which the original Halal mark, stamp, tag, brand, label, or 
        other means of identification has been fraudulently affixed. 
           Presented to the governor May 15, 2004 
           Signed by the governor May 19, 2004, 1:30 p.m.