Halal food marketing: an evaluation of UK halal standards

Abstract

Purpose Because of the economic significance of the Halal meat market, many food business operators have started trading in Halal meat products. Some businesses rely solely on the services of Halal certification bodies (HCBs) to assure Halal consumers as to the authenticity of Halal meat products. However, the lack of unified national or global Halal standards has resulted in confusion as to what is authentic Halal. This paper aims to survey HCBs in the UK to highlight the major differences between the various Halal standards with regard to Halal meat production. Design/methodology/approach Out of 15 HCBs that the authors contacted, 9 agreed to participate in the study. Respondents were asked to indicate what slaughter practices are acceptable according to their standard and further indicate if their respective organisations carried out speciation testing to detect the presence of foreign deoxyribonucleic acid in certified Halal products. Findings All nine certifiers indicated that they owned and operated according to a written Halal standard. The majority of certifiers indicated that they accepted pre-slaughter stunning if the stunning did not result in the death of animals prior to exsanguination, a Muslim should perform the slaughter and a short prayer must be recited and only manual (by hand) slaughter is acceptable. Research limitations/implications The findings give an insight into acceptable and prohibited procedures during Halal meat production in the UK. Abattoir operators, meat processors and retailers can use this as a guide when selecting suitable Halal certifiers for their businesses. Originality/value The study reveals that there are a number of HCBs in the UK who are all operating according to the different interpretation of the Halal dietary laws. The paper further highlights the different slaughter procedures that are acceptable and prohibited to different certifiers.

Between awareness of halal food products and awareness of halal-certified food products

“…One’s commitment to the teachings of his religion is reflected by the attitudes and behavior of individuals (Johnson et al , 2001). This statement is supported by various previous studies, such as Briliana and Mursito (2017), Ahmadova and Aliyev (2021), Tuhin et al (2020) and Fuseini et al (2020). Therefore, it can be stated that people’s feelings and consumption behaviors are dependent on their Islamic faith obligation to religion and faith effects (Jamal, 2003).…”

A Review on Halal Food Research

“…It is critical to ensure that the integrity of halal products is maintained throughout the supply chain, from upstream to downstream, all the way to the point of consumption. However, it is extremely difficult to maintain halal integrity throughout the supply chain when there is a possibility of cross-contamination or when the producer of halal products tends to process halal and non-halal products concurrently, which is quite likely throughout the entire supply chain processes (Fuseini et al, 2020;Mohamed et al, 2020).…”

The Application of Chemometrics in Metabolomic and Lipidomic Analysis Data Presentation for Halal Authentication of Meat Products

“…In addition, the regulation of halal status is indeed important to assure the quality and standard of halal meat products [ 28 ]. This can be accomplished through an official certification and placement of an official logo on the products as a mean to provide security to consumers [ 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 ].…”