HALAL SLAUGHTER AND MEAT QUALITY

2. HALAL SLAUGHTER AND MEAT QUALITY Prof. Dr. Javaid Aziz Awan Halal Resear Council www.halalrc.org

3. INTRODUCTION • Meat indispensable for sound human health • Provides several essential nutrients: • Proteins • Essential amino acids • Mineral elements • Vitamins

4. INTRODUCTION • Meat subject to spoilage by: • Chemical reactions • Biochemical reactions • Biological agents, including bacteria and moulds • Responsible for food-borne diseases

5. INTRODUCTION • Hence meat be produced so as to: • Minimize chemical and biochemical changes • Prevent chances of microbial contamination and growth • Preserve quality

6. Slaughtering the Muslim way

7. SELECTION OF ANIMALS “Forbidden to you (for food) are: deadmeat, blood, the flesh of swine, and that on which hath been invoked the name of other than God; that which hath been killed by strangling, or by a violentblow, or by a head long fall, or by being gored to death; that which hath been partly eaten by a wild animal, unless ye are able to slaughter it (in due form) ………………. (Al Maida - V:4)

8. Islam permits consumption of few animals and birds only Strictly prohibited: Pork Blood Carrion Dead animals All carnivorous animals All birds of prey SELECTION OF ANIMALS

9. SELECTION OF ANIMALS • Permitted animals: • All herbivorous, even-toed ruminants • Animal for Halal slaughter be: • Healthy • Free from any apparent or hidden disease • Must be legally owned

10. PRE-REQUISITES FOR SLAUGHTER in islam

11. PRE-REQUISITES FOR SLAUGHTER • Slaughtering of lawful animals and birds essential to prepare for food purposes • Pre-slaughtermanagement and bleeding methods regulated by: • religious practices and • legislations • Ahadith by the Holy Prophet (pbuh) guide us on handling, care and slaughter of animals • These guidelines over 14 centuries old • Modern science just testified implications

12. PRINCIPLES OF HALAL SLAUGHTER • Islamic method of slaughtering - based on two important principles: • Tasmiya - invoking name of Allah - slaughter being done with His permission • Tazkiyah - means purification • This in accordance with several commands given in the Holy Quran and Ahadith

13. PRINCIPLESD OF HALAL SLAUGHTER - TASMIYA • Tasmiya means invoking the name of Allah on the animal or bird being slaughtered • Allah’s name may be invoked as: • Subhan Allah, or • La illaha illila ho, or • Allah-o-Akbar or • Bismillah Allah-o-Akbar

14. HALAL SLAUGHTER REQUIREMENTS • Tazkiyah means purification - cleaning meat of blood • Consumption of blood prohibited in Holy Scriptures: • HolyBible - Leviticus 3:17 and 7:26 • HolyQuran – Al Anaam - VI:146 • All lawful animals and birds contain blood • Blood must be drained as per these commands

15. HALAL SLAUGHTER REQUIREMENTS • Slaughtering rules apply to animals and birds in complete physical control of man • Any animal or bird gone wild and cannot be reached or caught, falls under category of ‘game animal’ - different rituals apply • Camel slaughtered by ‘nahr’ - Involves piercing throat with sharp, spear-like instrument while standing

16. SLAUGHTERING PROCESS in islam

17. ESSENTIALS OF HALAL SLAUGHTERING • The Holy Prophet (pbuh) gave comprehensive guidelines on slaughtering of animals in following Hadith: • “Verily Allah, has prescribed proficiency in all things. Thus, if you kill, kill well; and if you slaughter, slaughter well. Let each one of you sharpen his blade and let him spare suffering to the animal he slaughters.”

18. HALAL SLAUGHTERING - Slaughterer • Process of slaughtering in Islam - consolidated • Slaughterer: • must be adult Muslim or • one who believes in Holy Scriptures • should be in possession of his mentalfaculties

19. SLAUGHTERING INSTRUMENT • The Holy Prophet (pbuh) advised companions to use very sharp instrument • Further instructed that sharpening of knife not be performed in front of slaying animal – avoid excitement and nervousness

20. ANIMAL POSITIONING • Lay animal (except camel) on its left flank, preferably facing Kibla • Recite name of Allah: • Subhan Allah, or • La illaha illila ho, or • Allah-o-Akbar or • Bismillah Allah-o-Akbar

21. ESSENTIALS OF HALAL SLAUGHTERING • Give quick incision using very sharp knife on front of the neck to severe: • Wind pipe • Oesophagus • Carotid arteries • Jugular veins • Prohibited - practice of cutting off part of an animal or removing its skin while still alive

22. REST PRIOR TO SLAUGHTERING • Islam promotes calm and rested animals prior to slaughtering: • Not fatigued • Not excited • Not nervous

23. STRESS PRIOR TO SLAUGHTERING • Prohibited - any act that causes neurosis or excitement or other abnormal behavioural changes in animal • Prohibited in Islam - Practice of collectiveslaughtering - other animals do not view their companion being killed • Research reveals practices inhumane

24. SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE

25. Stress prior to slaughtering • Generally regarded undesirable that animal awaiting slaughter view slaughtering process – causes stress • Animals understress - lead to: • Undue emotional instability • Fatigue • Anorexia, etc.

26. Stress prior to slaughtering- Scientific evidence • Discharge hormones from adrenal glands: • adrenaline from adrenal medulla • 17 hydroxy- and 11-deoxy-corticosterones from adrenal cortex • Hormones deplete muscle glycogen and potassium • Deleterious effects on meatquality • To prevent these adverse effects, tranquilizers recommended to calm stocks in transit.

27. Rest prior to slaughtering – Scientific evidence • Modernmethods require animal prior to slaughtering not be subjected to: • Stress • Fatigue • Neurotic • Otherwise excited

28. Rest prior to slaughtering – Scientific evidence • Roughhandling of animals in pre-slaughter period adversely affects meat quality • Result - dark, firm and dry meat (dark cutting meat) • Fatigued or starved animals • Organisms from gut may invade blood stream and eventually muscles

29. Rest prior to slaughtering – Scientific evidence • Proper relaxation before slaughtering: • Helps animal to bleed well – better eating and keeping quality of meat • Builds up muscle glycogen essential to lower pH of meat • Increases storage life by reducing chances of microbial growth

30. Rest prior to slaughtering – Scientific evidence • Improves taste due to conditioning/ tenderness • Helps delay or reduce fermentationin stomach • may otherwise give meat characteristic smell known as ‘bonetaint’

31. FEEDING THE ANIMALS • Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) advised that animals destined for slaughtering be: • well fed • provided with drinking water • Preferable that animals have free access to feed and water prior to slaughtering

32. FEEDING THE ANIMALS – SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE • Two schools of thoughts: • Animal to remain hungry - Fasting • Animal be wellfed • Fasting animals - Fasting animals before slaughter recommended in modern abattoirs

33. FEEDING THE ANIMALS – SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE Fasting animals - Advantages claimed: • Bleed better • Carcass easier to dress • Carcass has brighter appearance • Reduced bulk of animal’s stomach • Reduced chances of bacterial contamination from gut

34. FEEDING THE ANIMALS – SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE • Fasted animals - Disadvantages: • Loss in weight of carcass and liver • Lower glycogen reserves in muscles • Reduced gustative quality of meat

35. FEEDING THE ANIMALS – SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE Well-fed animals: • Glycogen level in muscle reaches higher level • Ensures production of adequate lacticacid • Lowers pH of meat • Such meat has good: • Appearance • Taste • Tenderness • Longer shelf-life

36. FEEDING THE ANIMALS – SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE • Meat spoilage bacteria prefer growth at high pH levels - around pH 7.0 • Meat of soothed and well-fed animals: • pH attains 5.5 or even lower level • Meat of fatigued or neurotic animals: • pH varies from 6.5 to 7.0 • Feeding animals prior to slaughtering often recommended to produce good quality meat • In some cases sugar solution fed to quickly restoreglycogen level in tissues

37. SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE • Conventionally, slaughteringprocess consists of two to three different stages • Depends on religious practices and legislations • Posture of animal and bleeding method governed by religious and national legislations

38. SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE Modern method - Stunning • Western countries require animals be stunned • Stunning widely practiced in Western abattoirs: • To make animal unconscious for gentle and painless death • No standard method for all animals under all conditions • Muslims & Jews not in favour of stunning

39. SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE – Modern method - Stunning StunningMethods: • Pole-axe • Free bullet • Captive bolt pistol • Concussion stunner • Electrical stunning • Carbon dioxide anesthesia

40. SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE Modern method - Stunning • Stunning effective in having calm animal • Stunning may adversely affect quality of carcass • cause injury to medulla oblongata in brain - controls blood circulation and respiration • Desirable these systems continue to function - help pump blood out of carcass when blood vessels cut

41. SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE –Modern method - Stunning • Method of shooting by freebullet - too dangerous to use in abattoirs • Captivebolt - discarded • Carbondioxideanesthesia - exact dose of gas important for specific length of time • does not seem possible with all animals under all conditions

42. SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE – Modern method - Stunning • Electricalstunning widely used • increases frequency of ‘bloodsplash” - appearance of small dark red areas in meat • also lowersglycogen reserves of muscle • approximately in 5 % electrically stunned animals heartfailure - animal dead before incision made • consumers eat carrion and not meat • Objectionable in West, also prohibited by Holy Scriptures

43. SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE –Modern method - Stunning • Stunning - outcome of industrial revolution • Initially meant to protect the slaughterer and other employees • Reality - no relation with mercy on animals • More animals be slaughtered in least time • Industrialrevolution - provided mankind with innumerable benefits • Also inflicted damagingblows on some aspects of human nutrition • Example - refinement of wheat flour

44. SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE Animal positioning • Islamic method - lay animal on leftflank preferably facing Kibla Scientific evidence • When laid on left flank, likelihood of more blood to drain due to body pressure on heart • Laying animal enables it to convulse • results from contraction of muscles due to lack of oxygen in brain cells when incision made in neck

45. SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE Animal positioning - Scientific evidence • During convulsions blood squeezed out of vessels • Hence more blooddrains out • a pre-requisite for meat of superior eating and keeping quality • Evidence suggests more blood lost from sheep in horizontal position than those hung vertically

46. SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE Bleeding techniques • Islam permits use of sharp knife or any sharp object for bleeding • Incision made in neck with simultaneous recitation of the name of Allah - Takbir • Takbir has religious significance to believer • makes submission to Allah • life taken out of animal with His permission

47. SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE Bleeding techniques • Slaughtering actually done in the name of Allah • “So eat of (meats) on which God’s name has been pronounced if ye have faith in His Signs” (Al Anaam - Vl:118).

48. SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE Bleeding techniques • Slaughtering not in name of any person or deity in accordance with following commands: • “Eat not of meats on which God’s name has not been pronounced: that would be impiety. But the evil ones ever inspire their friends to commit end with you if ye were to obey them, ye would indeed be Pagans” (Vl:121).

49. SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE Bleeding techniques - Islamicmethod • Cut throat transversely without injuring spinal cord to severe: • carotid arteries • jugular veins • oesophagus and • trachea

50. SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE 3. Bleeding techniques Islamicmethod • Two requirements in slaughter of animals for meat: • animals be dispatched without unnecessary suffering • bleeding be as complete as possible