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What is Halal Food, Exactly?

Aug 15, 2012

If you’ve ever gone to a grocery store, you may have noticed on packages of meat, the word, “halal.” If you’re not of the Islamic faith or not acquainted with it, you may wonder what does halal mean?

 

Halal food is the type of food that followers of Islam must eat in order to follow Islamic dietary guidelines. This includes types of food and how the food is prepared. For example, a halal diet ensures that:

  • no pork products or pork by products be eaten
  • no blood or blood by products products be eaten
  • no alcohol is consumed
  • no birds of prey be eaten
  • no carnivorous animals be eaten
  • animals cannot be dead before being slaughtered
  • the slaughtering of animals must be done in the name of Allah and the method must conform to halal procedure
Halal Guys
Halal Guys catering sign

 

What is the halal method for slaughtering animals? One of the key points in slaughtering animals is to do it as humanely as possible; this is done by “using a well sharpened knife to make a swift, deep incision that cuts the front of the throat, the carotid artery, wind pipe and jugular veins but leaves the spinal cord intact. The animal is positioned in order to have its blood completely drained (if size permits) and left to exsanguinate.

 

More about the method here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halal

 

Around the world, in grocery stores, restaurants and butcher shops, halal foods are becoming increasingly available. D’Cost Seafood restaurant chain based out of Indonesia is one of the most recently certified hala restaurants. Are you searching for halal food products? Check out this great site: http://www.zabihah.com/ and if you’re wondering how your restaurant can become halal certified, contact Synergy Consultants.