70 percent lamb imports from NZ to UK is halal, and not put on label

LONDON - Over 70 per cent of the New Zealand lamb sold in Britain comes from halal slaughterhouses and this fact is not declared on the label.

All the slaughterers in these establishments must be Muslim and say a prayer when making the cut across the animal’s throat, which kills it, the Daily Mail reports.

The New Zealand meat industry has taken the step to ensure its lamb can be sold in Muslim markets round the world.

It emerged last week that British restaurant chains and venues such as Wembley and Ascot are serving up different types of halal meat without telling customers.

In conventional slaughterhouses, animals are stunned before having their throats cut.

However, in most Muslim countries, halal means the animals must not be stunned first.

The trade body-Beef and Lamb New Zealand-said the form of halal slaughter used there does allow for the animals to be stunned.

A spokesman said: ‘In New Zealand the process for halal slaughter is virtually the same as for non-halal slaughter.’

He said there was no need to label the meat as halal on animal welfare grounds and it would too expensive to introduce labelling simply to provide the information. (ANI)