McDonald's Settles Suit Claiming It Served Non-Halal Meat To Muslim Customers

McDonald's agreed to pay a group of Muslim customers $700,000 to settle an allegation that one of its franchises falsely advertised that certain menu items met religious standards.

The McDonald's location in Dearborn, near Detroit, is one of two locations in the U.S. that sells halal products. About 150,000 Muslims live in the area, according to Jeff Karoub at the Associated Press.

One of the plaintiffs, Ahmed Ahmed, said he bought a chicken sandwich in September 2011 and later found it wasn't halal.

"Islam forbids consumption of pork, and God's name must be invoked before an animal providing meat for consumption is slaughtered," Karoub wrote.

Ahmed's attorney alleged that the McDonald's was selling non-halal products when it ran out of halal.

The settlement money will be shared by Ahmed, a Detroit health clinic, the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn and lawyers, according to the AP.

The franchise said it is retraining employees on halal standards:

In the settlement notice, Finley's Management said it "has a carefully designed system for preparing and serving halal such that halal chicken products are labeled, stored, refrigerated, and cooked in halal-only areas." The company added it trains its employees on preparing halal food and "requires strict adherence to the process."

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