A federal judge ruled Tuesday that a Muslim KFC franchisee cannot advertise his fried chicken to the Chicago-area Muslim community as halal because KFC’s corporate policy prohibits franchisees from making religious dietary claims about its food.
“Under the franchise agreement, defendant has every right to bar plaintiff from advertising his products as halal, even if defendant allowed that advertising in the past,” U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey wrote in a 14-page opinion.
Afzal Lokhandwala, owner of eight Kentucky Fried Chicken franchises in Illinois, says KFC permitted him for the last 14 years to market chicken served at his restaurants as “halal.”