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Washington Lamb, Inc., a Springfield, Va., meat processor, has been fined $15,000 and put on probation after pleading guilty to charges that the firm fraudulently mislabeled and sold ordinary meats as Halal, a term indicating that Islamic dietary and preparation requirements have been met, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service said today.
In a federal district court in Alexandria, Va., on March 28, Washington Lamb was ordered to pay $13,100 in fines and penalties; Chehade Sabbouh, the firm's president, was ordered to pay an additional $2,050. As part of the
Sabbouh had pled guilty on behalf of the firm on January 10 to three felony counts charging the firm with selling misbranded meat. At the same proceeding, he also pled guilty to one felony count charging him with similar violations.
Certain religious dietary laws, including those of the Islamic and Jewish faiths, require special slaughtering and handling of meat products. Products slaughtered and prepared in accordance with Islamic dietary laws are known as "Halal." Sellers of Halal meat often supply an Halal certificate with the meat or place an Halal stamp on the box, to show that the meat was slaughtered and prepared according to Islamic dietary laws. While federal meat inspection laws do not require the labeling of religious dietary products, any products labeled as "Halal" which do not meet Islamic standard are considered misbranded under federal law.
This action was the result of an investigation by FSIS compliance officers that revealed that in 1993 and 1994 Washington Lamb and Sabbouh placed false Halal stamps on meat and lamb products, used false Halal certificates, and made false oral representations to its customers claiming that ordinary meat met Halal requirements. The higher prices the firm charged cost consumers about $9,000. Washington Lamb's customers included area restaurants that relied on the firm's Halal certification and advertised Halal meat products on its menus.
Edited by Paul Hersch
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