Halal is a method of slaughter of animals that meets the criteria for religious acceptability of eating meat amongst the Muslim community. It also refers to the ritual purity required in the processing, packaging and handling of animal products that render the final product acceptable to the Muslim community. The underlying principles followed in halal slaughter are based on a number of ethical considerations. They are, in short, as follows:

• The slaughtering is done in the presence of a Muslim.

• No animal can be slaughtered except to meet the human need for food.

• When an animal is slaughtered for this end, the name of Providence is invoked in order to legitimate the act.

•  No animal should be subject to any distress or fear prior to the slaughter. There are strict rules governing this act designed to reduce or eliminate the distress felt by the animal.

• Only the sharpest and least painful instruments can be used in the slaughtering process.

• Throughout the cycle of raising of livestock for human consumption, the utmost courtesy and respect towards the animal is obligatory.

These are the irreducible requirements for Halal certification

Tahira and the supervision of halal

Tahira utilises inspectors at each and every level of slaughter, processing, and packing, to ensure the absolute reliability of the halal certification.

The inspectors have been approved by the World Islamic Foundation an independent charity which until recently was headed by the late noted scholar Dr. Zaki Badawi. The inspectors ensure that the raw materials originate and use a system of coding to ensure that the products reach the processing plant in a way that maintains their halal integrity. At the processing plant, the inspectors ensure that halal raw materials are not contaminated by non-halal products, in the storage, processing and packing phases, and that the machinery employed in the process is ritually clean before its usage. The final product is coded in a way to ensure that it is not tampered with or cross-contaminated in any way. Tahira insists that its inspectors are always present when the slaughter, processing and packing of the product is undertaken, and does not rely on incidental inspection, unverified statements by individuals of the halal authenticity of the product or second-hand evidence. It is these latter practices that have been the main cause of the abuse that frequently occurs in the halal industry. Tahira’s commitment to halal is TOTAL, and we will not accept any lessening of our high standard of halal for whatever reason. Tahira’s obligations to the Muslim consumer regarding the halalibility of its products are a solemn charge.