A number of meat factories, slaughter plants and butcher counters were among 25 food businesses audited for halal claims last year by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI).

The scope of the audit was to focus on the assessment of food business operators (FBOs) controls in place to verify any halal claims being made regarding products being produced or offered for sale.

Audits included assessments of each food business’ traceability and supplier controls related to halal meat and poultry.

Effective control at meat plants

In each of the five meat processors and slaughter plants, there were documented and operational procedures in place to ensure segregation of halal and non-halal slaughtered products, the audit found.

“In one slaughter plant, the documented procedures did not fully reflect the operational controls in place, in that there were additional controls implemented in the event of a halal carcase being declared as non-halal.

“The FBOs controls relating to halal products, at the time of this audit, were found to be effective,” auditors said.

Other consumer-facing businesses audited included restaurants, grocery shops with butcher counters and an airline caterer.

Breaches of legislation

Overall, there were nine breaches of legislation found by the audit; three breaches in relation to the regulations on food hygiene and six breaches in relation to the provision of food information to consumers.

There was only one recommendation from the audit – that food businesses making claims with regards to the halal status of the meat and poultry they sell should ensure that the information provided to consumers at point of sale is accurate and up-to-date.

The FSAI said the audit did not assess the religious aspects of halal slaughter, nor the varying methods of slaughter that are considered to come under the classification of halal slaughter.

What is halal?

The FSAI defines halal as: “An Arabic word meaning lawful or permitted. In reference to food, it is the dietary standard, as prescribed in the Qur’an (the Muslim scripture). The term halal is commonly used in relation to food products, meat products, cosmetics, personal care products, pharmaceuticals, food ingredients, and food contact materials.”

Animals are not stunned for halal slaughter.

Can halal meat be sold without being labelled as halal?

The FSAI told the Irish Farmers Journal that there is nothing in the regulation on the Provision of Food Information for the Consumer (FIC) or other legislation that makes it mandatory to label meat as halal.

“Therefore, a butcher or supermarket could sell meat at a serve over or as a prepacked meat without having to make the consumer aware that it is halal. However, where a label does declare halal on the product, then this must be the case, or this would be considered as misleading under Article 7 of FIC. Our audit focused on claims where meat was being sold as halal meat only and did not look at meat not labelled as halal.”