It has been proposed that The Muslim Arbitration Tribunal (MAT) will judge as to whether it is acceptable as a policy to slaughter halal by machines in the poultry industry.
Food described as halal is required to have been slaughtered according to Islamic Shariah (law). Food Standards Agency (FSA) guidance published in 2010 states that, at the time of slaughter, the slaughter man must pronounce Bismillah Allahu Akbar (In the name of God, God is the Greatest) on each animal or bird.
Naved Syed, the halal adviser to the Yorkshire Asian Business Association, says a large number of machine slaughtered chickens are currently being promoted as halal and it is important that the topic is discussed.
He commented: “Due to the on-going concern in the Muslim community here in the UK regarding machine slaughter being halal, it is appropriate that this should be discussed and decided by Islamic scholars, presided over by the Muslim Arbitration Tribunal. In this way, each side would have an opportunity to debate and put their case forward.
“With over 1.75 million chickens being slaughtered by machine slaughter for the halal market every week by UK producers and certified by unregulated halal certifiers it has created a problem regarding halal slaughter.”
The tribunal will allow both sides of the case to be presented, as unregulated halal certifiers will have the opportunity to defend machine slaughter. A date for the trial is due to be announced shortly.
MAT was established to provide a viable alternative for the Muslim community seeking to resolve dispute in accordance with Islamic sacred law.
It is used as a form of alternative dispute resolution for the Muslim community, which operates under the Arbitration Act 1996.
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.
