Pig (Sus sp.) and pig by-products are considered as najasa (impurities) in Islam and forbidden in Muslim consumer products. Animals fed on najasa are categorised as al-jallālah (contaminated animals) which are allowed to be consumed as long as they have been quarantined for a certain period of time. During this quarantine period the animals will have undergone a natural purification process or istihālah. African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) are commonly consumed in Malaysia and may be fed on najasa. This study was carried out to estimate the istihālah period for catfish after feeding with pig offal, based on the absence of pig DNA in catfish gut and to suggest the quarantine period in catfish fed with pig offal. The results indicated that the maximum istihālah period could reach 36h in the stomach, 6h in the midgut and less than 2h in the hindgut although in many cases shorter periods were observed. Based on these results it is estimated that the minimum quarantine period for catfish fed with pig offal is 1.5days.
Mackerel (Scombridae; Rastrelliger) are small commercially important pelagic fish found in tropical regions. They serve as a cheap source of animal protein and are commonly used as live bait. By using a truss morphometrics protocol and RAPD analysis, we examined morphological and genetic variation among 77 individual mackerel that were caught using long lines and gillnets at 11 locations along the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Nineteen morphometric traits were evaluated and genetic information was estimated using five 10-base RAPD random primers. Total DNA was extracted from muscle tissue. Morphometric discriminant function analysis revealed that two morphologically distinct groups of Rastrelliger kanagurta and a single group of R. brachysoma can be found along the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. We also found that the head-related characters and those from the anterior part of the body of Rastrelliger spp significantly contribute to stock assessment of this population. RAPD analysis showed a trend similar to that of the morphometric analysis, suggesting a genetic component to the observed phenotypic differentiation. These data will be useful for developing conservation strategies for these species.