§ 21-16-1. Violations or deception as to religious dietary laws by dealers in meats. A person, firm, or corporation shall be guilty of a misdemeanor:

(1) Who shall knowingly sell or expose for sale any meat or meat preparation, either raw or prepared for human consumption, and falsely represent it to be kosher or as having been prepared under the supervision of a rabbi or as a product or products sanctioned by the traditional or orthodox Hebrew religious requirements and dietary laws;

(2) Who shall falsely represent any food product or the contents of any package or container to be constituted and prepared, by having or permitting to be inscribed on it the word "kosher" in any language;

(3) Who shall sell or expose for sale in the same place of business both kosher and non-kosher meat or meat preparation, either raw or prepared for human consumption, who fails to indicate on the window signs and all display advertising, in block letters at least four inches (4") in height, "kosher and non-kosher meat sold here";

(4) Who shall expose for sale in any show window or place of business both kosher and non-kosher meat or meat preparation, either raw or prepared for human consumption, who fails to display over each kind of meat or meat preparation so exposed a sign in block letters at least four inches (4") in height reading "kosher meat" or "non-kosher meat," as the case may be;

(5) Who shall, while dealing or purporting to deal in kosher meat or meat preparations, prepare or handle or sell, or cause to be prepared or handled or sold, any food product which, when prepared or handled or sold together with kosher meat or meat preparation, constitutes a violation of the traditional or orthodox Hebrew religious requirements and dietary laws, and by which renders the kosher meat or meat preparation non-kosher;

(6) Who shall in the preparation, handling, or sale of kosher meat or meat preparation fail to comply strictly with the religious requirements and dietary laws necessary to constitute the meat or meat preparation genuinely kosher;

(7) Who shall, without complying with Hebrew religious or dietary laws, issue or maintain any sign or advertisement in any language purporting to represent that he or she sells or deals in kosher meat or meat preparations; or

(8) Who shall display on his or her window, door, or in his or her place of business, words or letters in the Hebrew language, or any sign, emblem, insignia, symbol, or mark in simulation of Hebrew words or letters, the display of which might reasonably be calculated to deceive or lead a person to believe that a representation, express or implied, is being made that the meat or meat preparation exposed for sale is kosher and in conformity with the traditional or orthodox Hebrew religious requirements.

History of Section. (P.L. 1937, 2497, 2496, § 1; G.L. 1938, ch. 613, § 1; G.L. 1956, § 21-16-1; P.L. 1989, ch. 542, § 38; P.L. 2002, ch. 292, § 48.)