The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is sharing a consumer survey about Qurbani meat and offal supplied from slaughterhouses in England and Wales during the period of Eid al-Adha.
The survey is for consumers to complete during the Qurbani period, which starts this year on 28th June.
Eid al-Adha is also referred to as the Festival of Sacrifice, a four-day Islamic holiday where animals are sacrificed and consumed as part of the celebration.
Some Muslims prefer to collect their Qurbani meat and offal as soon as possible after slaughter as this signifies the beginning of the festival.
Meat and offal needs to be chilled according to a clear legal framework as this helps to provide food safety protection for consumers.
The FSA says that whilst it is respectful that Qurbani is a religious custom and practice, collection of the meat and offal before full chilling currently does not align with the its regulatory framework.
The survey responses from consumers on how they collect, chill and cook their Qurbani meat will inform future FSA risk assessments and risk management advice.
Broadening the discussion
James Cooper, deputy director of Policy at the FSA said: “It is important to acknowledge that Qurbani is an act of religious significance for the Muslim community and should be respected. Qurbani meat should be made available to consumers that wish to prepare and consume it.
"We encourage consumers who are taking part in Qurbani to complete the survey which we hope will help to broaden the discussion to ensure that this practice can continue, whilst providing for highest food safety and hygiene standards possible to protect consumers.”
The FSA said its proposed new approach builds on the joint statement from the Partnership Working Group Sub-Group on Qurbani (QPWG SG) and the FSA’s continued engagement with the group over the last year. This included producing a Risk Assessment (RA) on the direct supply of Qurbani meat and offal.
The consumer survey can be completed here.
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
