Muslim companies lied about preparing meat to religious standards

Two Iowa companies owned by a Muslim family have been charged with conspiracy to export meat wrongfully labelled as lawful for Muslims, or “halal.”

Prosecutors said Midamar Corp. and Islamic Services of America entered guilty pleas in federal court in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, over meat destined for Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, and Malaysia. The companies’ spokesmen admitted to making false statements on export certificates and selling wrongly branded meat, as well as wire fraud.

Halal meat is pervasive in parts of Britain and other countries since many food businesses prefer to use all-halal products to attract Muslim clients. In those countries, the general clientele often eats halal without awareness that the food was slaughtered in an Islamic ritual.

Two Michigan McDonald’s started and then stopped serving halal meat after a lawsuit brought by Detroit-area Muslims who charged the restaurants with false advertising and mixing halal and non-halal products in the food preparation area.

Compared with Britain, many U.S. restaurants do not yet cater to the halal demand because the Muslim minority here is tiny—less than 1 percent of the U.S population. And just as gluten-free foods have been slower to catch on in the fast-food market due to the need to store them separately, making space in commercial kitchens for halal preparation is not seen as cost effective.

Prosecutors allege the Aossey family, which founded Midamar, lied to customers in saying all its beef had been through a hand-slaughter ritual by Muslim slaughterers trained to recite prayers over it in the prescribed way. Bill Aossey Jr., the head of Midamar, was convicted of directing his employees to remove an uncertified Minnesota slaughterhouse’s establishment number from meat packaging and replace it with labels falsely linking the meat to a Nebraska slaughterhouse that is correctly certified and staffed.

Midamar also advertised its beef as untouched by bolt stunning, a process commonly used in meatpacking where the animal’s death comes as a steel rod penetrates its brain. But its primary meat supplier not only used bolt stunning, it also often had no Muslim slaughterers present.

The scheme involved the complicity of Aossey’s sons and Islamic Sevices of America to certify beef that was not killed in compliance with required Muslim prayer and slaughter techniques. Aossey, a former Peace Corps volunteer, is now in federal custody, seeking a new trial while awaiting his sentencing. He could serve several years in prison.

His son Yahya Aossey also pleaded guilty last week as director of meat distributor Midamar. Another son, Jalel Aossey, pleaded guilty as representative of Islamic Services of America (ISA), which provides Midamar its certification as a halal exporter. ISA also gave its halal stamp of approval to other companies’ food products, and, until this year, was one of the few U.S. organizations officially trusted to certify beef for some of the world’s more prosperous Muslim nations such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

Though Midamar had a 40-year reputation as a pioneer in halal foods, the company issued a statement last week saying it has now “taken full responsibility for wrongful conduct” in a scheme that went undetected from 2007 through 2012.

As part of the plea agreement, both companies are liable for a $600,000 fine, a fraction of the proceeds derived from the scheme. The directors may also be subject to a term of probation and additional fines, depending on the sentencing.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.