Halal: How your chicken is certified in the holy henhouse
August 12, 2015 11:30pm
Matthew BennsThe Daily Telegraph
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/ne...he-holy-henhouse/story-fni0cx12-1227481035264
AUSTRALIA’S chickens are blessed — literally — by an accredited Muslim man as they whiz down the production line to the beheading machine at the rate of 200 a minute.
But the practice adopted to get the chooks halal certified has upset Islamic traditionalists, who believe an animal can only be eaten if it has been slaughtered by hand.
Chicken producers are among an unprecedented number of food producers, including Vegemite and Cadbury, who are tapping into the largely unregulated halal certification market.
Halal Certification Authority Australia CEO Nadia El-Mouelhy said every chicken is blessed before it is killed “as gratitude to god”.
The company’s website says halal chicken processing plants must be cleansed according to Islamic rites before a “mature and practising Muslim” slaughterman turns on the killing machine.
“Before pushing the button, the Backup Slaughterman must say once: “Bismillahi-Allahu-Akbar” (In the name of God, God is the Greatest).”
Ahmed Kilani, the former General and Halal Integrity Manager for Fresh Poultry, explained on the Muslim Village website how the chickens are suspended upside down and blessed.
“A mechanical blade slaughters these chickens with a Muslim slaughter man placing his hand along the processing line and physically touching the chickens just before they are slaughtered by the mechanical blade. He is constantly reciting “Bismillah” as the chickens run past at a speed of 200 chickens a minute,” he wrote.
But he said traditionalists argue mechanical slaughter does not make a halal chicken because “it is virtually impossible to recite Bismillah on each bird at this line speed for hours on end.”
An RSPCA spokeswoman said: “All Halal slaughter of chickens in Australia includes prior stunning. RSPCA does not support slaughter without prior stunning of the animal.”
Most Australian chicken producers and products are now halal certified with Steggles and Red Lea among those carrying the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils stamp of approval. The hiring of Muslim slaughtermen is a required part of the certification.
Last year AFIC made almost $6 million, much of which was put towards Islamic schools and supporting Muslim students.
But critics, including the Australian Food and Grocery Council, which represents major food producers, have called for greater transparency in the halal certification industry.
Halal Australia CEO Muhammad Khan said the foods were certified after testing to ensure they did not include banned products such as pork.
SACRED SLAUGHTER
For a chicken to be certified as halal it must be slaughtered by a single blade in a processing plant that has been cleansed according to Islamic tradition.
The slaughterman, a mature and practising Muslim man, must say “Bismillahi-Allahu-Akbar” (In the name of God, God is the Greatest) once when the machine is turned on.
He then recites “Bismillah” continuously under his breath as each bird is pushed through the slaughtering device.
The bird is then bled out.