78R3347 CLG-D
By: Carona S.B. No. 213
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the labeling, advertising, and sale of food in
accordance with religious customs; providing a criminal penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 17, Business & Commerce Code, is amended
by adding Subchapter I to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER I. LABELING, ADVERTISING, AND SALE OF HALAL FOODS
Sec. 17.871. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Dealer" means a retail store or other
establishment, including a manufacturer, slaughterhouse, farm,
wholesaler, and restaurant, that is engaged in the business of
selling, preparing, or maintaining halal food or of growing animals
in a halal manner to become food for human consumption.
(2) "Halal":
(A) as applied to food, means food prepared and
served in conformity with Islamic religious requirements according
to a recognized Islamic authority; and
(B) as applied to growing animals to become food
for human consumption, means grown and maintained in a manner that
is in strict compliance with the laws and customs of the Islamic
religion, including those laws and customs of zabiha (slaughtered
according to appropriate Islamic code), according to a recognized
Islamic authority.
(3) "Label" means a display of written, printed, or
graphic matter on a food product or on the container or packaging of
a food product.
(4) "Retail store" means a grocery store,
delicatessen, butcher shop, or other place in which food is sold for
on-premises or off-premises consumption. The term does not include
a restaurant that does not display food the restaurant prepares and
serves to customers in a display window or case.
Sec. 17.872. SALE OF FOOD REPRESENTED AS HALAL. A person
may not represent, orally or in writing, as halal any food that the
person sells, prepares, serves, or offers for sale unless the
person knows or reasonably believes that the food is halal.
Sec. 17.873. LABELING OF PACKAGED FOOD. (a) A person may
not identify on a label or by other means an article of food in
package form as halal unless the person is the manufacturer or
packer of the food.
(b) A person may not identify on a label or by other means an
article of food in package form as halal by using the word "halal"
or "helal" or any other word, phrase, or symbol that would tend to
lead a reasonable person to believe that the food is halal, unless
the person identifying the food knows or reasonably believes that
the food is halal.
Sec. 17.874. SEPARATION OF HALAL AND NON-HALAL FOOD.
(a) A person may not sell or have in the person's possession for
the purpose of resale as halal any food not having attached to it
the original slaughterhouse mark, stamp, tag, brand, or other
identification device indicating that the food is halal.
(b) A person who sells both unpackaged food represented as
halal and unpackaged non-halal food in the same retail store may not
display both foods for sale in the same show window or other
location on or in the retail store unless the person:
(1) places conspicuous signs over or in another
location near the halal and non-halal foods that clearly identify
the foods as halal and non-halal, respectively;
(2) displays the halal food and the non-halal food in
separate display cases or containers or displays the foods
separated by a clearly visible divider; and
(3) slices or otherwise prepares the halal food for
sale with a utensil or device used solely for halal food, if the
food is sliced, served, or otherwise prepared with a utensil or
device when sold.
(c) A sign required under this section must be in block
letters.
Sec. 17.875. DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS. A dealer who
prepares, distributes, sells, or exposes for sale any food
represented to be halal shall disclose the basis on which that
representation is made:
(1) if the food is sold to the consumer, by posting the
information on a conspicuous sign in the premises at which the food
is sold or exposed for sale; or
(2) if the food is sold for resale, by providing the
purchaser with the information in writing.
Sec. 17.876. CERTIFICATION ENCOURAGED. A dealer should be
certified by a certifying Islamic entity specialized in halal food
or any other similar entity or organization before selling or
offering for sale:
(1) food represented as halal; or
(2) food produced from an animal represented to be
grown in a halal manner to become food for human consumption.
Sec. 17.877. CRIMINAL PENALTY. (a) A person who violates
this subchapter commits an offense.
(b) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor.
(c) It is a defense to prosecution under this section for a
violation of Section 17.872 that the person relied in good faith on
the representation of a slaughterhouse, manufacturer, processor,
packer, or distributor of the food at issue that the food is halal
or has been prepared in conformity with Islamic religious
requirements.
Sec. 17.878. APPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL LAW. This
subchapter may not be construed to exempt halal food or a person
from any applicable provision of the federal Humane Methods of
Slaughter Act of 1978.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.