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Virginian-Pilot - January 22, 2006
Proposed law protects Muslims from false labeling
BY STEVEN G. VEGH
VIRGINIA BEACH - At Sunrise Indian Groceries & Spices, owner Salim Ali walked past a selection of bagged curry and plucked a box of pineapple gelatin mix off a shelf. He pointed at a block-lettered label on the colorful cardboard: HALAL.
For Muslims, Ali said, the term offers assurance that the food was prepared according to Islamic dietary rules. That guarantee was surely true for the gelatin, which was made in predominantly Muslim Pakistan.
But to give the state's growing Muslim population equal assurance about food sold or produced in Virginia, Del. Kenneth C. Alexander has proposed a law making it a misdemeanor to fraudulently label products as halal.
Alexander, D-Norfolk, said he filed HB153 after Muslim constituents asked for the bill.
"This is by request," he said. "I don't know anything about the religion."
But Alexander said he knows that in Virginia, it is illegal to fraudulently sell or advertise food as kosher if it does not conform to Jewish dietary regulations. Offenders face a misdemeanor charge and a maximum penalty of 12 months in jail and a $2,500 fine.
Alexander's bill would impose the same punishments for halal infractions. Enforcement probably would fall to the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which oversees Virginia's kosher law. Spokeswoman Elaine Lidholm said that although the department has occasionally investigated complaints of false kosher products, she knew of no confirmed violations.
Alexander said his bill does not oblige the state to intrude into religious affairs any more than it already does with the kosher regulation law or the ban on concealed weapons in churches….
http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=98446&ran=81487
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