Faith leaders have called for clearer packaging of meat after some retailers say they sell halal and kosher meat but do not label it as such.
Four of the UK's biggest supermarkets say they sell meat killed in this way.
In a letter to the Daily Telegraph, Henry Grunwald, of Jewish organisation Shechita UK, and Dr Shuja Shafi, of the Muslim Council of Britain, called for "comprehensive labelling" of products.
The government said it wanted people to be able to make informed choices.
Marks and Spencer, Tesco, Morrisons and the Co-op said their New Zealand lamb is halal-slaughtered while Pizza Express has already revealed their chicken is killed according to Islamic tradition.
Tesco said most exported New Zealand lamb was processed according to Islamic tradition because much of the meat ended up in the Middle East.
- Jewish method called shechita
- Muslim method called dhabiha
- Stunning prohibited in Jewish law, which says animals must be healthy and uninjured at the time of slaughter
- Islamic law also says animals must be uninjured, but some authorities allow a form of stunning (in the UK, dhabiha usually involves stunning)
The company said all the animals were stunned before slaughter, the only difference was that halal meat was blessed as it was killed.
Ritual slaughter is lawful in the UK and the EU to satisfy the dietary requirements of Jews and Muslims.
'Comprehensive labelling'In the letter, Henry Grunwald, chairman of Shechita UK, which represents the Jewish method of religious slaughter, and Dr Shuja Shafi, deputy secretary general for the Muslim Council of Britain, called for clear labelling of products.
They wrote: "Consumers should be informed whether an animal has been mechanically stunned before being slaughtered and whether it has endured repeat stuns if the first attempt was ineffective.
"They should also be told the method of slaughter: captive bolt shooting, gassing, electrocution, drowning, trapping, clubbing or any of the other approved methods.
"Comprehensive labelling should be supported by faith communities and animal welfare groups alike."
Stunning of livestock was introduced in the England in 1929 and has been mandatory in the the EU since 1979, although member states can grant exemptions for religious slaughter.
Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability for the British Retail Consortium said: "All our members have confirmed all their own brand fresh meat is from animals that have been pre-stunned before slaughter.
"Some of our members do sell branded halal and kosher certified meat produced by specialist companies and clearly labelled.
"As the overwhelming majority of meat sold in UK supermarkets is own brand and from animals that have been stunned prior to slaughter we do not see the requirement to separately label meat based on the method of slaughter."
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said it had contributed to an EU study into the compulsory labelling of halal and kosher meat and planned to review options for the UK once this is finalised in the summer.
"We want people to have the information they need to make informed choices about the food they buy," a spokesman said.
He added: "There are strict laws in place to ensure welfare standards are met during slaughter.
"Although we would prefer animals to be stunned before slaughter, we respect the rights of Jewish and Muslim communities to eat meat in accordance with their beliefs.
"The government has no intention of banning religious slaughter."
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Call for clearer meat packaging
Dengan url
https://gayabugarsehat.blogspot.com/2014/05/call-for-clearer-meat-packaging.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Call for clearer meat packaging
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Call for clearer meat packaging
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar