Warning over 'halal' poultry

UP TO three-quarters of poultry sold in the UK as halal has been falsely labelled, an industry group has warned.

The majority of halal-labelled poultry and a small amount of beef and lamb were slaughtered by machine rather than by an individual, Naved Syed, of the UK Beef and Lamb Executive Halal Steering Group, told The Grocer magazine.

The meat was being passed off as halal because the slaughter method was not usually printed on labels.

Mr Syed said: "If you told Muslims it was done by a machine, they wouldn't buy it.

"Practically all imams in this country have said that machine killing is not halal. Otherwise, there's no difference between halal and non-halal."

The UK does not have a single standard for halal slaughter.