Halal (permissible or lawful) poultry meat production must meet industry, economic, and production needs, and government health requirements without compromising the Islamic religious requirements derived from the Qur'an and the Hadiths (the actions and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him). Halal certification authorities may vary in their interpretation of these teachings, which leads to differences in halal slaughter requirements. The current study proposes 6 control points (CP) for halal poultry meat production based on the most commonly used halal production systems. CP 1 describes what is allowed and prohibited, such as blood and animal manure, and feed ingredients for halal poultry meat production. CP 2 describes the requirements for humane handling during lairage. CP 3 describes different methods for immobilizing poultry, when immobilization is used, such as water bath stunning. CP 4 describes the importance of intention, details of the halal slaughter, and the equipment permitted. CP 5 and CP 6 describe the requirements after the neck cut has been made such as the time needed before the carcasses can enter the scalding tank, and the potential for meat adulteration with fecal residues and blood. It is important to note that the proposed halal CP program is presented as a starting point for any individual halal certifying body to improve its practices.
A total of 360 samples including fresh fecal droppings, neck skins, and swab samples was collected from 24 broiler flocks and processed by 12 modern processing plants in 6 states in Malaysia. Ninety samples from 10 traditional wet markets located in the same states as modern processing plants were also collected. Microbiological isolation for Campylobacter was performed following ISO 10272-1:2006 (E). The overall rate of contamination for Campylobacter in modern processing plants and in traditional wet markets was 61.1% (220/360) and 85.6% (77/90), respectively. Campylobacter jejuni was detected as the majority with approximately 70% for both facilities. In the modern processing plants, the contamination rate for Campylobacter gradually declined from 80.6% before the inside-outside washing to 62.5% after inside-outside washing and to 38.9% after the post chilling step. The contamination rate for Campylobacter from processed chicken neck skin in traditional wet markets (93.3%) was significantly (P<0.01) higher than in modern processing plants (38.9%).
This study proposes critical limits (CL) for control points for halal slaughter (CPHS). Previously, 6 control points (CP) were determined, and CL for these 6 CPHS are suggested based on: 1) a literature survey for the CL for CP 1 (poultry breeding, rearing, and poultry feed) and CP 2 (welfare of poultry during transportation and lairage); 2) a field survey of slaughter plants in Kuantan (Malaysia) for CP 3 (immobilization), CP 4 (slaughter), CP 5 (time for full bleed-out), and CP 6 (washing and packaging); and 3) controlled experiments to refine the CL for CP 3, 4, and 5. The CL for CP 1 focused on stress reduction during rearing and use of substances that could compromise poultry meat wholesomeness. The CL for CP 2 emphasizes humane best-practices for handling poultry during lairage. The CL for CP 3 suggests a gap of 5 s between 2 shackles if only one shackler is employed and shackling times of <1 min for live chickens. In countries permitting water-bath electrical stunning of halal poultry, the stunning current needed to induce unconsciousness must be defined for the breed and bird size but not cause any chicken deaths. The CL for CP 4 mandates the recitation of the tasmiyah (the invocation), which if done for every chicken, will require ≥5 s between stunning and neck cutting. The CL for CP 4 also includes information about the slaughter knife. In CP 5 the recommended minimum time between neck cutting and scalding is 9.5 min. Finally, the CL for CP 6 emphasizes good supply chain hygiene and zero adulteration from haram species and substances.
Intentions form the basis of behavioral action to improve animal welfare; however an intention-behavior gap has been previously identified. Livestock stakeholders in China, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand (n = 1041) involved in slaughter and transport completed a survey in which they were asked their level of intention to improve animal welfare, and their level of confidence in their ability to do this. Chinese respondents had the most confidence in their ability to improve animal welfare, and veterinarians showed more confidence than livestock team leaders. Those with high or low intentions, and either high or low confidences were compared for key influencing factors to identify the circumstances that may be most conducive to behavior change. Respondents with high intentions and low confidence in their ability to improve animal welfare identified extrinsic factors associated with their immediate workplace and different company priorities, and the intrinsic factor of lack of personal knowledge. It is concluded that targeting these areas to improve confidence in stakeholders in livestock transport and slaughter could bring the most improvements in animal welfare initiatives.
Halal food is that which is permissible or lawful for Muslims to consume. Meat products must abide by a number of requirements in relation to their preparation, condition and content to be considered halal. We conducted a survey in order to assess the knowledge of, and attitudes towards, halal meat products in two contrasting countries, one with a majority non-Muslim population (Australia, respondent n = 565), where the most commonly followed religion is Christianity, and one with a majority Muslim population (Malaysia, n = 740). The most common reasons for avoiding halal food were animal welfare, religion and meat quality. Malaysians generally believed that halal processes led to improved meat quality, whereas Australians did not. The general consensus was in favour of legally controlling animal welfare during slaughter, supported by both Muslims and Christians. Malaysians were more aware of the main tenets of halal slaughter than Australians. However, some non-compulsory, incorrect practices were thought to be required practices by respondents in both countries, but especially in Australia. Muslims were more concerned about humane treatment of animals during halal slaughter. They generally believed that stunning is never allowed and that this view was acceptable, whereas people from other belief systems generally held the view that this was unacceptable. Religion and education were the most common factors associated with attitudes, beliefs and consumer habits concerning halal. Information from this study can help to improve understanding of attitudes to halal and provide insights to policy makers seeking to address animal welfare concerns.