Halal Research Council is an organization working globally on Halal certifications in order to cater the needs of food and nutrition agencies and side by side non-food agencies especially in the FMCG sectors.Halal Research organized “One Day Specialized International Workshop on Halal Meat” on 8th October, 2013 at Dubai. The key goal of the International Workshop was to highlight the importance of consuming Halal Meat, Halal Meat export, Halal International Meat Market Potential and development of Halal Meat Concept among the masses.
2. HALAL SLAUGHTER AND
MEAT QUALITY
Prof. Dr. Javaid Aziz Awan
Halal Resear Council
www.halalrc.org
10/22/13
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3. INTRODUCTION
Meat indispensable for sound human
health
Provides several essential nutrients:
Proteins
Essential amino acids
Mineral elements
Vitamins
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4. INTRODUCTION
Meat subject to spoilage by:
Chemical reactions
Biochemical reactions
Biological agents, including bacteria
and moulds
Responsible for food-borne diseases
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5. INTRODUCTION
Hence meat be produced so as to:
Minimize chemical and biochemical
changes
Prevent chances of microbial
contamination and growth
Preserve quality
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7. SELECTION OF ANIMALS
“Forbidden to you (for food) are: dead meat,
blood, the flesh of swine, and that on
which hath been invoked the name of
other than God; that which hath been
killed by strangling, or by a violent blow, or
by a head long fall, or by being gored to
death; that which hath been partly eaten
by a wild animal, unless ye are able to
slaughter it (in due form) ……………….
(Al Maida - V:4)
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8. SELECTION OF ANIMALS
Islam permits consumption of few animals
and birds only
Strictly prohibited:
Pork
Blood
Carrion
Dead animals
All carnivorous animals
All birds of prey
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9. SELECTION OF ANIMALS
Permitted animals:
All herbivorous, even-toed ruminants
Animal for Halal slaughter be:
Healthy
Free from any apparent or
hidden disease
Must be legally owned
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11. PRE-REQUISITES FOR SLAUGHTER
Slaughtering of lawful animals and birds
essential to prepare for food purposes
Pre-slaughter management and bleeding
methods regulated by:
religious practices and
legislations
Ahadith by the Holy Prophet (pbuh) guide us
on handling, care and slaughter of animals
These guidelines over 14 centuries old
Modern science just testified implications
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12. PRINCIPLES OF HALAL SLAUGHTER
Islamic method of slaughtering - based on
two important principles:
Tasmiya - invoking name of Allah slaughter being done with His
permission
Tazkiyah - means purification
This in accordance with several
commands given in the Holy Quran and
Ahadith
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13. PRINCIPLESD OF HALAL
SLAUGHTER - TASMIYA
Tasmiya means invoking the name of Allah on
the animal or bird being slaughtered
Allah’s name may be invoked as:
Subhan Allah, or
La illaha illila ho, or
Allah-o-Akbar or
Bismillah Allah-o-Akbar
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14. HALAL SLAUGHTER REQUIREMENTS
Tazkiyah means purification - cleaning
meat of blood
Consumption of blood prohibited in Holy
Scriptures:
Holy Bible - Leviticus 3:17 and 7:26
Holy Quran – Al Anaam - VI:146
All lawful animals and birds contain blood
Blood must be drained as per these
commands
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15. HALAL SLAUGHTER REQUIREMENTS
Slaughtering rules apply to animals and
birds in complete physical control of man
Any animal or bird gone wild and cannot
be reached or caught, falls under
category of ‘game animal’ - different
rituals apply
Camel slaughtered by ‘nahr’ - Involves
piercing throat with sharp, spear-like
instrument while standing
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17. ESSENTIALS OF HALAL
SLAUGHTERING
The Holy Prophet (pbuh) gave
comprehensive guidelines on slaughtering
of animals in following Hadith:
“Verily Allah, has prescribed proficiency in
all things. Thus, if you kill, kill well; and if
you slaughter, slaughter well. Let each
one of you sharpen his blade and let him
spare suffering to the animal he
slaughters.”
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18. HALAL SLAUGHTERING - Slaughterer
Process of slaughtering in Islam consolidated
Slaughterer:
must be adult Muslim or
one who believes in Holy Scriptures
should be in possession of his mental
faculties
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19. SLAUGHTERING INSTRUMENT
The Holy Prophet (pbuh) advised
companions to use very sharp instrument
Further instructed that sharpening of
knife not be performed in front of slaying
animal – avoid excitement
and nervousness
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20. ANIMAL POSITIONING
Lay animal (except camel) on its left
flank, preferably facing Kibla
Recite name of Allah:
Subhan Allah, or
La illaha illila ho, or
Allah-o-Akbar or
Bismillah Allah-o-Akbar
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21. ESSENTIALS OF HALAL
SLAUGHTERING
Give quick incision using very sharp knife
on front of the neck to severe:
Wind pipe
Oesophagus
Carotid arteries
Jugular veins
Prohibited - practice of cutting off part of
an animal or removing its skin while still
alive
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22. REST PRIOR TO SLAUGHTERING
Islam promotes calm and rested animals
prior to slaughtering:
Not fatigued
Not excited
Not nervous
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23. STRESS PRIOR TO SLAUGHTERING
Prohibited - any act that causes neurosis
or excitement or other abnormal
behavioural changes in animal
Prohibited in Islam - Practice of collective
slaughtering - other animals do not view
their companion being killed
Research reveals
practices inhumane
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25. Stress prior to slaughtering
Generally regarded undesirable that
animal awaiting slaughter view
slaughtering process – causes stress
Animals under stress - lead to:
Undue emotional instability
Fatigue
Anorexia, etc.
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26. Stress prior to slaughteringScientific evidence
Discharge hormones from adrenal
glands:
adrenaline from adrenal medulla
17 hydroxy- and 11-deoxycorticosterones from adrenal cortex
Hormones deplete muscle glycogen and
potassium
Deleterious effects on meat quality
To prevent these adverse effects,
tranquilizers recommended to calm
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27. Rest prior to slaughtering –
Scientific evidence
Modern methods require animal prior to
slaughtering not be subjected to:
Stress
Fatigue
Neurotic
Otherwise excited
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28. Rest prior to slaughtering –
Scientific evidence
Rough handling of animals in preslaughter period adversely affects meat
quality
Result - dark, firm and dry meat (dark
cutting meat)
Fatigued or starved animals
Organisms from gut may invade blood
stream and eventually muscles
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29. Rest prior to slaughtering –
Scientific evidence
Proper relaxation before slaughtering:
Helps animal to bleed well – better
eating and keeping quality of meat
Builds up muscle glycogen essential to
lower pH of meat
Increases storage life by reducing
chances of microbial growth
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30. Rest prior to slaughtering –
Scientific evidence
Improves taste due to conditioning/
tenderness
Helps delay or reduce fermentation in
stomach
may otherwise give meat
characteristic smell known as ‘bone
taint’
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31. FEEDING THE ANIMALS
Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) advised
that animals destined for slaughtering be:
well fed
provided with drinking water
Preferable that animals have free access
to feed and water prior to slaughtering
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32. FEEDING THE ANIMALS – SCIENTIFIC
EVIDENCE
Two schools of thoughts:
Animal to remain hungry - Fasting
Animal be well fed
Fasting animals - Fasting animals before
slaughter recommended in modern
abattoirs
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33. FEEDING THE ANIMALS –
SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE
Fasting animals - Advantages claimed:
Bleed better
Carcass easier to dress
Carcass has brighter appearance
Reduced bulk of animal’s stomach
Reduced chances of bacterial
contamination from gut
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34. FEEDING THE ANIMALS – SCIENTIFIC
EVIDENCE
Fasted animals - Disadvantages:
Loss in weight of carcass and liver
Lower glycogen reserves in muscles
Reduced gustative quality of meat
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35. FEEDING THE ANIMALS –
SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE
Well-fed animals:
Glycogen level in muscle reaches higher level
Ensures production of adequate lactic acid
Lowers pH of meat
Such meat has good:
Appearance
Taste
Tenderness
Longer shelf-life
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36. FEEDING THE ANIMALS –
SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE
Meat spoilage bacteria prefer growth at high
pH levels - around pH 7.0
Meat of soothed and well-fed animals:
pH attains 5.5 or even lower level
Meat of fatigued or neurotic animals:
pH varies from 6.5 to 7.0
Feeding animals prior to slaughtering often
recommended to produce good quality meat
In some cases sugar solution fed to quickly
restore glycogen level in tissues
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37. SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE
Conventionally, slaughtering process
consists of two to three different stages
Depends on religious practices and
legislations
Posture of animal and bleeding method
governed by religious and national
legislations
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38. SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE
Modern method - Stunning
Western countries require animals be
stunned
Stunning widely practiced in Western
abattoirs:
To make animal unconscious for gentle
and painless death
No standard method for all animals under
all conditions
Muslims & Jews not in favour of stunning
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40. SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE
Modern method - Stunning
Stunning effective in having calm animal
Stunning may adversely affect quality of
carcass
cause injury to medulla oblongata in
brain - controls blood circulation and
respiration
Desirable these systems continue to
function - help pump blood out of carcass
when blood vessels cut
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41. SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE –
Modern method - Stunning
Method of shooting by free bullet - too
dangerous to use in abattoirs
Captive bolt - discarded
Carbon dioxide anesthesia - exact dose
of gas important for specific length of time
does not seem possible with all animals
under all conditions
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42. SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE –
Modern method - Stunning
Electrical stunning widely used
increases frequency of ‘blood splash” appearance of small dark red areas in meat
also lowers glycogen reserves of muscle
approximately in 5 % electrically stunned
animals heart failure - animal dead before
incision made
consumers eat carrion and not meat
Objectionable in West, also prohibited by
Holy Scriptures
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43. SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE –
Modern method - Stunning
Stunning - outcome of industrial revolution
Initially meant to protect the slaughterer and
other employees
Reality - no relation with mercy on animals
More animals be slaughtered in least time
Industrial revolution - provided mankind with
innumerable benefits
Also inflicted damaging blows on some aspects
of human nutrition
Example - refinement of wheat flour
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44. SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE
Animal positioning
Islamic method - lay animal on left flank
preferably facing Kibla
Scientific evidence
When laid on left flank, likelihood of more blood
to drain due to body pressure on heart
Laying animal enables it to convulse
results from contraction of muscles due to
lack of oxygen in brain cells when incision
made in neck
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45. SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE
Animal positioning - Scientific evidence
During convulsions blood squeezed out of
vessels
Hence more blood drains out
a pre-requisite for meat of superior
eating and keeping quality
Evidence suggests more blood lost from
sheep in horizontal position than those
hung vertically
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46. SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE
Bleeding techniques
Islam permits use of sharp knife or any
sharp object for bleeding
Incision made in neck with simultaneous
recitation of the name of Allah - Takbir
Takbir has religious significance to
believer
makes submission to Allah
life taken out of animal with His
permission
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48. SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE
Bleeding techniques
Slaughtering not in name of any person
or deity in accordance with following
commands:
“Eat not of meats on which God’s name
has not been pronounced: that would be
impiety. But the evil ones ever inspire
their friends to commit end with you if ye
were to obey them, ye would indeed be
Pagans” (Vl:121).
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49. SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE
Bleeding techniques - Islamic method
Cut throat transversely without injuring
spinal cord to severe:
carotid arteries
jugular veins
oesophagus and
trachea
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50. SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE
3. Bleeding techniques Islamic method
Two requirements in slaughter of animals
for meat:
animals be dispatched without
unnecessary suffering
bleeding be as complete as possible
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51. SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE
3. Bleeding techniques – Scientific evidence
When both carotid arteries and veins
severed connection between brain and
body retained via spinal cord
Brain sends messages to heart and lungs
Heart pumps blood to parts of body
drained out from severed blood
vessels in neck
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52. SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE
3. Bleeding techniques – Scientific evidence
Results of a comparison of study on
different methods of slaughtering:
Maximum blood lost in Kosher method
Jewish method similar to Islamic as
regards physical details
Minimum when chicken simply beheaded
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53. SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE
3. Bleeding techniques – Scientific evidence
Islamic method ensures maximum blood
drainage from body before completion of
death process
Unconsciousness induced between 3 to
6 seconds
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54. SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE
Bleeding – Scientific evidence
Blood excellent medium for growth of
microorganisms
Meat retaining more blood than critical level
liable to bacterial spoilage
Blood retention in tissues can cause
unpleasant appearance and discolouration in
meat
Keeping and eating qualities of meat depend,
in part, on removal of maximum blood from
carcass
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55. SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE
Bleeding techniques – Scientific evidence
To produce good carcass animal be bled
effectively
Heart and respiratory system must
function continuously as long as possible
after severance of blood vessels
This attained most thoroughly when heart
and respiratory functions retained by
maintaining medulla oblongata/spinal cord
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56. SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE
Bleeding techniques – Scientific evidence
Positioning of animal in Islamic method:
clearly prevents retraction of carotids
ensures rapid onset of unconsciousness
and painless death
In Islamic method of slaughtering
maximum blood drained - outranks other
slaughtering techniques
HENCE BETTER QUALITY OF MEAT
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57. EXTRODUCTION
Current scientific data reveals Islamic
recommendations for slaughtering animals
highly rational
Good physique and health considered basic
requirement for selection of food animals
Pre-slaughter management of animals requires
they should not be fatigued, excited or neurotic
Proper rest, absence of hunger and thirst and
use of sharp knife alleviate pains of death
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