Halal Food Law in NJ Lacks Enforcement

Aref Assaf, Star Ledger  07-25, 2007

Dear Editor:

Two issues arise from your  recent story on Halal food establishments. A Muslim, if true to his religious beliefs, is not permitted to sell but Halal foods. Some  Muslims, however,  claim economic hardship for the practice of selling pork or liquor. Islam permits such deviation only under extreme and time limited situations but not as a long-term business enterprise. The other point is, unlike kosher laws and restrictions; the NJ Halal law lacks enforcement, enforceable specific set of guidelines and penalties, and above all, public awareness of its existence. 

I visited one of the sites you covered in your story and found their Halal food offering both limited and of questionable adherence to the dietary requirements of Muslim consumers. The NJ Halal law, enacted with much fanfare in 2001 by then Governor Christie Whitman, ensures access to information to consumers when they buy and consume products. Because observant Muslims would pay more for the same product if assured of its Halal certification, many vendors have misrepresented their products as being Halal.  In the restaurant I visited, their is no evidence that utensils are not  used interchangeably between Halal and non-Halal foods. There is no visible certification that the meats and other cooking products are similarly certified.

We did a random survey of all the Halal butcher shops in Paterson and estimated their daily sales at around 300 sheep or goats. When we called the certified Muslim Slaughter shops in NJ, we found that their average daily sales are around 160 sheep and goat. Where the other 140 come from, no one knows.

It may come as a surprise to some, but the largest Halal food processing company in North America, known as Al-Safa, is actually owned by non-Muslims. True, there are national certifying agencies, which are supposed to ensure strict adherence to the Islamic dietary laws.  But such agencies thrive on producing more certifications allowing for possible deviations from acceptable standards which themselves are a source of contention amongst the different Muslim sects or schools.

The NJ Halal law sounds a great idea but it lacks enforcement, leaving the door wide open for misrepresentation and consumer fraud.