Consuming Halal foods is one of the most important tenets of ones faith without which our actions and our prayers are at risk and said to remain unanswered.
The Halal meat industry is based on trust, but unfortunately, there have been many incidents over the past years where Halal meat and poultry has been falsely labelled.
The word Halal has been misused by many, with the word Halal being displayed everywhere without regulation. Consumers are led to believe that the products they are often eating are Halal, when unfortunately in many cases these products are not.
In order to overcome meat and poultry passing through the food chain, ZabihaFresh Halal Standard and Systems was a much needed. A system that can bring traceability to the supply chain and once again provide authenticity in the supply of genuine Halal.
The Islamic Affair Experts are responsible for ensuring that the products and services comply with the halal requirement in a scientific approach and adhere to the required standards.
What is Halal meat?
Halal literally means permissible. In Islam, it refers to a broader concept of permissible acts. But in terms of the eatery, it is understood as food specifically non-vegetarian that is perishable in Islam.
According to Islamic law, meat is allowed to be eaten if the animal is slaughtered through a cut to the jugular vein, carotid artery, and windpipe while God’s name is recited over it.
Animals must be alive and healthy at the time of slaughter and all blood drained from the carcass. Additionally, only those animals can be eaten which have been prescribed by Islam.
Why Halal is usually prescribed
In article entitled “The Revival” date on June 12, 2003, has discussed about the wisdoms behind Islamic methods of slaughtering animals, by including solid arguments from several well-known researchers such as Dr. Leonard Hill (1923), Sir Lovatt Evans, Professor Harold Burrow, I M Levingen (1979), Professor F R Bell, Mr. Openshaw, and Mr. Hayhurst. Through all their studies, they are in mutual argument emphasized that slaughtering method is the best method in obtaining a good quality of meat and the most humane method compared to other methods since the animals do not feel pain at all. In fact, the slaughtered meat is also fresh (Contributor, 2003).
Dr V. K. Modi, (Science of meat, 2017) who is the Head of department of meat technology at the Central Food Technology Research Institute in Mysore-India also held the same opinion that the slaughtered meat according to Halal method tend to be softer compared to the other meats. He continued, Halal method is effective in draining out most of the blood from a slaughtered animal, which is vital if its meat is to be soft.
Dr Modi, who was responsible to train butchers to implement right conducts of slaughtering at the institute’s abattoir, explains; another reason that makes the Halal meat softer is because the pH of meat is less than 7 as a result of less struggle by the slaughtered animal, since the struggling of animal will increase pH of meat which will lead the meat to become tougher and drier.
Dr. Karuna Chaturvedi, consultant nutritionist at Apollo Hospitals in New Delhi, confirms Dr. Modi’s opinion and says; Halal method is also healthier because after slaughter, blood is drained from the animal’s arteries, ejecting most toxins, as the heart continues to pump for a few seconds – leaving less room for growth of micro-organisms.
