McDonald's to pay $700K for lying about halal menu items

The fast food chain falsely claimed food was prepared in accordance with Islamic law

Published April 17, 2013 4:52PM (EDT)

A judge has approved a $700,000 settlement between McDonald's and members of Michigan's Muslim community over a Detroit-area franchise that falsely claimed its menu was prepared in accordance with Islamic law.

Ahmed Ahmed, the plaintiffs' representative in the class-action case, said he bought a chicken sandwich at a Dearborn, Mich., McDonald's but found it wasn't actually halal. The six-figure settlement will be split among Ahmed, an area health clinic and the Arab American National Museum.

As the Associated Press reports:

The McDonald's restaurant chain and one of its franchise owners agreed in January to the tentative settlement that would be shared by Ahmed, as well as a Detroit health clinic, the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn and lawyers. Ahmed's portion is considered an "incentive award" and represents his work on the case, his attorneys say.

"As a firm, we've borne the burden of litigating this case for over 19 months, and have paid a steep price in time and money to do so," Kassem Dakhlallah, an attorney whose firm represents Ahmed and the class, told The Associated Press in an email. "We are happy that we are able to finalize this case and get the settlement funds paid to the Huda Clinic to be used for medical care for the community, and to the Arab American National Museum to be used to allow our young ones to continue their educations after high school."

 


By Katie McDonough

Katie McDonough is Salon's politics writer, focusing on gender, sexuality and reproductive justice. Follow her on Twitter @kmcdonovgh or email her at kmcdonough@salon.com.

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Fast Food Halal Mcdonalds Muslims