Halal means permissible in Arabic. Halal food abides by Islamic law as set out in the Koran. Dab’iha, the Islamic method of slaughtering animals and poultry, entails severing the jugular vein, carotid artery, and windpipe. The animal must be in good health and conscious during slaughter, and the meat should be completely drained of blood. A Muslim will recite a pledge of allegiance called the tasmiya or shahada during this time. The permissibility of stunning is one of the halal requirements for discussion.

Criteria For Meat, Poultry, And Other Animal Species

Businesses looking to become halal-certified should look to certifying bodies as potential partners. These groups will be invaluable resources for guidance on halal slaughtering, production, quality control, product flow systems, hygiene, sanitization, packaging, labelling, transportation, and storage.

Birds and Land Animals

Bovines, sheep, goats, buffalo, deer, and camels are all examples of acceptable land mammals. Birds such as chicken, turkey, pigeon, ostrich, goose, swan, duck, and similar species are considered acceptable. Moreover, the approved birds and animals must be alive and healthy at the slaughter.

Swine, the source of pork and byproducts, is considered an unacceptable species, and Muslim law prohibits the consumption of swine. Likewise, mammals such as lions, wolves, dogs, cats, tigers, jackals, monkeys, elephants, and others are also not permissible.

Furthermore, donkeys kept as pets, along with other insects and animals such as rodents, snakes, spiders, scorpions, cockroaches, fleas, are all considered Haram. Similar restrictions apply to consuming products made from or containing the milk or eggs of banned animals.

Aquatic Animals

All seafood, including fish, is deemed halal and does not require slaughtering. Poisonous, intoxicating, or otherwise harmful to human health species are not included.

Slaughterers and Supervisors

Sane Muslims familiar with Islamic slaughter regulations should be responsible for carrying it out and supervising those who do. The certifying body requires that they have received training in halal slaughtering procedures. The halal certification agency is the best source for finding qualified individuals to fill the roles of slaughterers and managers at slaughterhouses and meat processing factories.

Slaughtering Equipment

Knives, swords, fixed blades, and so on are all suitable options for the slaughtering tool since they have a single, sharp edge and do not rely on weight to do the cutting. The tool can’t be claws, teeth, nails, or anything else that lacks a sharp edge.

Slaughter Techniques

Slaughtering an animal or bird by hand involves using a tool the slaughterer holds in their hand. The Muslim slaughterer must be knowledgeable about animal care and slaughter practices to ensure the animal feels no pain or distress. They must be physically capable of handling the obligations that come with slaughtering.

Poultry that has been mechanically butchered is now widely accepted in many Muslim nations. However, in cases where mechanised slaughtering is employed, a sufficient number of Muslims must supervise the slaughter. The following prerequisites need to be satisfied:

The automatic knife must have a single, razor-sharp blade that can make a clean slash across the bird’s throat. There should be no dorsal slits.

The necessary vessels must be effectively severed by such devices—the two primary arteries and veins in the neck, the trachea, and the oesophagus.

It is necessary to butcher the birds by hand if they somehow manage to avoid the mechanical knife.

When properly slaughtered, the birds should show signs of convulsions.

Although stunning is discouraged, it is allowed so long as the animal or bird does not perish immediately after being stunned. If required, animals and birds should be stunned using an acceptable method and dosage approved by Islamic and health authorities.

The Slaughtering Process

1. a) A Muslim slaughterer must say the Tamiya and the Takbir over the animal or bird before killing it.
2. b) It’s crucial to minimize the animals discomfort and pain during the slaughtering process.
3. c) The animal should bleed thoroughly and quickly by having the knife cut through the skin, trachea, esophagus, and two major blood vessels. In no circumstances should the animals or birds spinal cord be cut during the killing.
4. d) Prior to extreme measures such as scalding or evisceration, the animal or bird should be allowed sufficient time to die from bleeding.
5. e) It is recommended that slaughterhouses undertake a full halal slaughter since this removes the need for additional controls, labelling of corpses, and supervision and lowers the potential for contaminated meats and cross-contamination.
6. f) It’s not right to kill or process animals of unsuitable species in the same facility as animals of suitable species.
7. g) The halal slaughterer must constantly keep records of the slain dates, hours, and quantities of animals and birds.

Labelling And Packing

Carcasses must be identified and tracked from the time of slaughter through all processing and packaging stages to ensure that halal killed meat is not mixed with non-halal meat unless the facility is halal. The certifying body will ensure that all products and containers bear the correct information and halal label/logo. Meat that has been certified as halal must be shipped with a Halal certificate from the appropriate certifying body. The Muslim manager in charge must always keep a tight rein on using halal branding elements, like stamps and seals.

Transport and Storage

A Muslim inspector is required to check the refrigeration unit to ensure it is suitable for storing halal foods. Halal products, including raw and exposed meat, must always be kept separate and in designated areas. Equipment used for storing halal meat and meat products should be kept free of non-halal substances and maintained in a clean condition. Halal foods should be kept refrigerated or frozen in specially labelled and segregated places.

Conclusion

Halal foods are compliant with Islamic dietary regulations and are acceptable for eating. If slaughtered or harvested correctly, various meats such as beef, lamb, goat, deer, bison, chicken, turkey, fish, and shellfish can all be considered halal. Alcohol and pork are prohibited in Islam, and the meat can only be declared halal if it was taken from a healthy, living animal that was slaughtered in the islamic way.