Law Designed to Protect New Mexico Chiles

For many years now, there have been some con men and women who have used just about any pepper imaginable and called it a New Mexico Chile, even though it wasn’t really one. The state of New Mexico is known for its fantastic Chiles and now, the product will finally be up on the same level as some of the other types of fruits and vegetables. For example, many people use Idaho potatoes, which obviously come from Idaho. Those who choose to use other peppers and refer to them as NM Chiles when they really aren’t from New Mexico will be found guilty of trademark infringement, leading to penalties, fines and more.

Legislators in the New Mexico area did not get a trademark for the Chiles that have become so popular in the United States are known for their bold and delectable taste. However, a law has now been approved that will protect this pepper so that its New Mexican origin cannot be used on peppers that are not really from New Mexico. The law starts this week and those who are in violation of the law will have to face the serious consequences. Under the new law, which is now referred to as the New Mexico Chile Advertising Act, vendors are not going to be allowed to refer to any pepper as being a New Mexico Chile unless the pepper actually came from New Mexico. All vendors must abide by these rules, which will include grocery stores, restaurants, and various other stores that often sell such peppers.

The State Representative in New Mexico, Andy Nu-ez, said that he was tired of people being deceptive about where the peppers come from if they are not actually grown in New Mexico. Nu-ez made it clear that the Chiles that come from New Mexico are the absolute best and it is essential for the state to protect its peppers and not allow others to use the name on peppers that have not come from New Mexico at all. Under the new law, there will be inspectors who will be responsible for figuring out which peppers have been grown in New Mexico and which have not but are being referred to as New Mexican Chiles. Nu-ez says that the quality of the Chiles that come from New Mexico was what truly inspired him to create the bill because he wants people to know that these Chiles are of the highest quality and that the impostors simply cannot compare. Every single year, the state of New Mexico grows about 72,000 tons of Chiles, which means that there are plenty of these top quality peppers to go around, without the need of any of those imposturous peppers.