Nearly three-quarters of halal poultry falsely labeled in UK

LONDON - Nearly three-quarters of poultry and a small amount of beef and lamb meat sold as halal in the United Kingdom is labeled falsely, according to Naved Syed of the English Beef and Lamb Executive Halal Steering Group.

The UK does not have a single standard for halal slaughter. Many Muslim countries have outlawed the practice after the internationally recognised Malaysian Halal Standard MS 1500 removed machine slaughtering as an acceptable practice last year.

Syed said machines rather than individuals slaughtered the majority of halal-labelled poultry and a part of beef and lamb.

The meat was being sold off as halal because the slaughter method was not usually printed on labels.

“If you told Muslims it was done by a machine they wouldn’t buy it. Practically, all imams in this country have said that machine killing is not halal. Otherwise there’s no difference between halal and non-halal,” The Mirror quoted Syed, as saying.

The Birmingham Council of Mosques said last week that it did not accept machine slaughter.

Syed said his organisation was carrying out consumer research into attitudes towards halal production, The Mirror reports.

The study will cover the growth of the Muslim population in England, the demand for halal products, the supply chain and changing consumption trends, Syed told The Grocer magazine. (ANI)