Five Guys’ “Kosher Style” Hot Dog May Violate Washington Law, Blogger Argues

The sale of hot dogs described as “Kosher Style” by Five Guys Enterprises LLC
may violate a Washington state law that describes what food products may be
labeled kosher, according to a blogger for George Washington Law Professor
Jonathan Turley’s blog. Darren Smith, a former deputy sheriff in Washington,
writes that Five Guys advertises one of its products as a “Kosher Style” hot
dog because, according to the company’s website, “the dogs are cooked on
the same grill as our burgers,” even though “the way we cook them and serve
them is not [kosher].”

This label may violate Washington’s RCW 69.90.020(1), which states, “No
person may knowingly sell or offer for sale any food product represented as
‘kosher’ or ‘kosher style’ when that person knows that the food product is not
kosher and when the representation is likely to cause a prospective purchaser
to believe that it is kosher,” with kosher defined as “a food product which has
been prepared, processed, manufactured, maintained, and sold in accordance
with the requisites of traditional Jewish dietary law.” Any person, partnership,
corporation, or association found in violation of the section is guilty of a gross
misdemeanor.

Arguing that the law unduly criminalizes seemingly innocuous behavior,
Smith points out the difficulties of abiding by state laws while operating a
business in several states when “serving something as ordinary as a hot dog
might possibly constitute a crime; it can make any business worry.” For more
information on the constitutionality of such kosher labeling laws, see Issue
439 of this Update. See Jonathan Turley, June 14, 2014.

Issue 527