Animal welfare comes to the fore at Certifiers Forum

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries should take a lead role in addressing animal welfare issues relating to halal standards, it was suggested in one of the discussions at the Certifiers Forum during the World Halal Summit (WHS) 2015 on 1 April.

The suggestion was put forward in response to recent reports on animal cruelty in halal slaughterhouses which have drawn criticism from both animal rights groups and the public.

“Muslim countries must set an example on animal handling as according to the tenets in Islam. The OIC should do a global PR campaign to highlight that Islam requires animal welfare to start at farming,” said Halal Food Authority UK chief executive Saqib Mohammed during a panel discussion at the WHS.

In closing remarks for the event Euro Quality Lambs UK Executive Director Rizvan Khalid pointed that while it may be challenging to reach a consensus agreement to reach a unified Halal standard, he suggested that a line be clearly drawn to emphasise on what is deemed haram.

“Accreditation bodies could distinguish properly on what is halal and haram but with a higher manifestation on halal according to sunnah, like using a sharp knife to slaughter, treat animal with kindness, not allowing the animals to watch each other being slaughtered and so on,” he said.

Theological director SANHA, South Africa Moulana Navlakhi highlighted that is one of current dilemmas is that what is halal in Malaysia might be only makruh (disapproved) in Indonesia but haram in Brunei due to different agreements on animal stunning.

Under the halal code, animals are to be raised and treated well. They should not see the knife or even witness the death of other animal before they are slaughtered. The animals are also supposed to be killed quickly with a single sweep of a sharp knife through the jugular vein.

The method of killing animal is often attacked by animal rights activists as barbaric. Muslims justify that the slaughtering method as advocated by the religion is designed to reduce the pain and distress of the animal. Experts say that the animal killed in this way does not suffer if the cut is made quickly and cleanly enough, because it loses consciousness before the brain can perceive any pain.

Source: WHS website.

Muslims are only allowed to eat meat that has been killed according to shari'ah law.

A member of the audience from Australia added during the Certifiers Forum that the main challenge for the country is also to minimise concern raised by animal rights groups by conducting education and awareness campaigns. Australian companies export halal goods to countries in the Middle East, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, and Singapore.

posted from Bloggeroid

Adahi now has a mobile point of sale

The Saudi Project for the Utilization of Hajj Meat (Adahi), managed by Islamic Development Bank (IDB), has introduced the Adahi Mobile Point of Sale to make it convenient for Hajj pilgrims and others to purchase e-coupons for Hady, Fidya, Odhyia, Sadaqa or Aqeqa*.

Source: Adahi website.

"An e-coupon with the project name and logo along with the price will be printed and an SMS sent to the buyer to confirm the transaction,” the Chairman of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group, Dr Ahmad Mohamed Ali, explained.

He further stated that the Project is designed to make it easy for pilgrims to perform the ritual by providing animals that meet all shari'ah and health requirements and by ensuring that the environment around the Holy Sites remains clean and protected. 

“Since its inception in 1403H (1983), the Project has managed to utilise and distribute more than 17 million livestock amongst the poor in Saudi Arabia and 27 other countries,” he said.

The IDB Group Chairman indicated that the Project’s website www.adahi.org is designed to enable individuals intending to buy sheep for Hady, Odhiya, Sadaqa, Fidya, and Aqeqa to do so with a credit card all year round, from any part in the world. The prices vary by the year. This year (1435, or 2014) a coupon will cost SR490 (US$131 or 98 Euros, according to the current exchange rate).

He also indicated that people can purchase the direct sale coupons from Saudi post offices, branches of Al Rajhi Bank, Al Amoudi foreign exchange bureaus, the Association of Charity Gift for Pilgrims, and the Way for Retail Techniques Company.

Dr Ali stressed that according to Royal Decree 131 of 15/6/1419H (5/10/1998), the sole institution authorised to sell Adahi coupons is confined to the Saudi Arabia Project for the Utilization of Hajj Meat. The IDB Group Chairman also emphasised that all the animals are inspected by veterinary doctors and shari'ah scholars to ensure that the animals meet all shari'ah and health requirements.He further shared that the Project has so far made provisions for 750,000 sheep and 10,000 cows and camels.

The Chairman commended the Project for enabling pilgrims to perform this rite with great ease and thus focus on other Hajj rites. He added that the Project helps to make the meat available to the relevant beneficiaries among the poor in Makkah, after which the surplus is distributed to the poor in 27 other countries.

According to the Adahi website, hady meat from last year's Hajj was sent to various countries in Africa, but also to Bangladesh and Yemen.

*Definitions

• Aqeqa or aqiqah is about a sacrifice made on the occasion of a birth.
• Fidya or fidyah refers to payments made if fasting is not done during Ramadhan.
• Hady or hadi is the sacrifice of a suitable animal in Makkah during the Hajj by pilgrims. It is carried out between 10 and 13 Dhul-Hijjah. 
• Odhiya or udhiyah, also called qurbani or korban, is the sacrifice of a suitable animal for Eid Al Adha by people who are not on Hajj. Some scholars say it is obligatory whereas others believe it is part of tradition.
• Sadaqa, or sadaqah, refers to charity. 

Symbol for plastic to indicate that it is free of animal fat

The majority of plastics packaging products today are made with additives which could contain animal fat, says Premier Group International (PGI). Animal-derived additives, called stearates, are used with packaging for food, beverages, and medicines, the company said.

Plastics which carry PGI's officially registered ERC (ethically and religiously compliant) certification are guaranteed free of animal stearates or byproducts, says the company. There are standards to certify food ingredients, but not for the plastics used to package those foods, notes the company website. 

There are indications that additives to plastics can leach out into the surrounding environment*. Additives in plastic food packaging could thus get into the food it is in contact with. 

A 2010 study by Dr Dennis Jenke, currently a Baxter Distinguished Scientist in the Technology Resources Division of the Baxter Healthcare Corporation, studied the leaching behaviour of stearic acid, calcium stearate, and zinc stearate and four polymeric (plastic) materials containing these compounds by putting them in contact with liquids of different acidity and alkalinity.

Dr Jenke found that more acidic liquids were able to extract the chemicals for materials that only contained stearic acid, calcium stearate or zinc stearate. Neutral liquids did not cause much reaction, while alkaline liquids extracted stearates from the materials "to a very limited extent". It was not clear what would happen if the material contained stearates as well as other substances, as in the case of today's plastics, and the research did not cover plastic that had been in contact with oil or liquids of different temperatures.

PGI has also launched its own plastic bowls and storage containers with the ERC symbol. According to the PGI website, its subsidiary Premier Classic Products manufactures the only plastic containers that are certified kosher/halal compliant and are made exclusively with ingredients that are acceptable to these religions.

*A 2009 study on Harvard College students found that those who drank cold drinks out of polycarbonate bottles (the clear, hard plastic type sold for sports and used for baby bottles and which can be used for hot drinks) had higher concentrations of bisphenol-A (BPA) in their urine than students who did not. And in 2011, a researcher from the University of Gothenburg soaked newly-purchased plastic items in deionised water for one to three days, then introduced water fleas to the water. One-third of 83 randomly chosen plastic products and synthetic chemicals that were tested released substances that were acutely toxic to the water fleas. According to the report of the research, the toxicity was mainly caused by fat-soluble organic substances.