– What if everything you knew about what is Halal and isn't Halal is totally wrong?
What if you found out that the very meat you eat isn't really Halal?
In a multi-billion dollar industry such as the Halal industry,
there are so many hidden disturbing truths
that have threatened the integrity of Halal meat.
It's shocking, but unfortunately a sad reality.
Over the last couple of months,
OnePath Network has launched an investigation
alongside industry experts, scholars and Halal certifiers
to find out what is truly going on in the Halal industry.
Halal food is basically defined as that which is permissible for the Muslim to consume.
Islamically it's our obligation to ensure our meat is Halal.
– It's good to mention a principle that we find in fikh
that the scholars mentioned, they say,
"Everything around you is pure and Halal until proven otherwise".
There are exemptions to one of it being meats,
when it comes to meat it's actually the opposite.
All meat is haram untill proven otherwise.
– When it comes to Halal meat,
there are certain regulations that determine what can and can't be consumed.
– You have conditions that have to be met in the slaughtermen,
in the animal being slaughtered,
in the tool being used and what has to be recited when slaughtering.
So when it comes to the slaughtermen,
the requirement is that they be a Muslim
or that they be from Ahlul Kitab, a Jew or a Christian.
Regards the animal, the animal has to be a Halal animal:
chickens, cows, sheep, goats – they all Halal.
Then the tool that you use,
the requirements is that it be a sharp tool,
preferably made from metal, that cuts with the least amount of pain
and then also when the slaughter is happening, the name of Allah must be mentioned.
– Traditionally fulfilling these requirements has never been a problem for Muslims,
but now due to the large scale global demand for meat
and the development of modern technology,
the Halal slaughter process as we know it, it has been met with new challenges.
– Now you're talking about companies that are worth billions of dollars,
that are slaughtering hundreds of thousands, if not millions of animals you know,
on a weekly or a daily basis.
So with that, there's a lot of it comes with a lot of ambiguity,
are these conditions that are specified in Sharia are being met
in these animals that are being slaughtered or are they not.
– With increasing demand to streamline the Halal slaughter process,
many compromises have unfortunately been introduced.
This includes the increased difficulty to state The Basmallah,
cross-contamination with non-Halal mates,
and the use of stunning before slaughter.
With such drastic changes paving their way into the industry,
pressure has mounted on Halal certifiers to work with abattoirs
to ensure that Halal regulations are still being met.
Ideally Halal certifiers would be responsible to oversee the slaughter process
and allow Muslims to identify what meets a Halal.
This is what many of us would assume,
but our investigations have shown otherwise.
With more and more damning reports of dubious Halal certificates coming out,
Muslims are beginning to reconsider who they can truly trust in certifying their foods.
It's simply not enough to place our reliance on just any Halal certifier.
– I don't think it's good enough for a Muslim in general,
just to say, "Okay, this person is certified and I'm happy with that".
It's very important to make sure you recognize what is a true and genuine Halal Certification
and try to stake out those Certification bodies
and who they certify and consume those kind of products.
– This fact is only aggravated once we consider the sheer amount of Halal certifiers currently operating in Australia.
The shocking truth is in the Australian local meat market,
anyone can open a Halal Certification company.
In fact to prove just how easy it is, we've just set up our very own Halal Certification body with little to know it.
All it took was a few clicks and now it's ready for issuing Halal Certification.
Any business can apply for a Halal Certificate if they so wished,
it's that easy.
Some Halal food suppliers have even taken upon themselves to self-certify their own businesses.
To make matters worse, when it comes to the local Halal market in Australia,
there is no overseeing body that regulates or oversees Halal certifies operations.
– So the local market is unregulated in Australia.
– When it comes to the domestic market unfortunately,
there are too many inconsistencies and translations,
let alone there's no one governing the overall consistency of the Halal standard,
which then allows soft certifiers to essentially take their plate and run with it.
– How can the community trust Certification then?
– Locally here?
– Any Halal Certification, I mean we we're getting pork pies that are being sold...
– Look, myself I don't, I don't trust if you talk about local market around,
the Certification the local certifier here.
– This isn't to say that all Certifiers are operating illegitimately,
but rather there are clear holes in the way Certification is taking place
and these issues must be resolved.
As previously mentioned,
one of the conditions of meat being permissible to consume is to ensure that it is slaughtered by a sharp blade.
This condition is however jeopardized by the introduction of modern laws,
that require animals to be stunned prior to slaughter.
– So as you might be aware a stunning pre-slaughter
is a regulation and law in Australia, so it must be done.
So with that said, electric standing is permissible,
as long as it sits within the guidelines of what the outline is in Sharia.
– So do you actually specify
or regulate the electric stunning process?
– We do, yes.
So there is a level of for example volts, that must be used certain procedures for the animal
to regain consciousness for example,
is one very important one,
so the animal doesn't die when it gets some stunned.
– While most stunning processes would render the animal momentarily unconscious,
certain methods of stunning in fact have proven to cause the animal to be killed.
This has been shown in the use of gas stunning for chickens
or the effect of stunning are non-reversible and fatal.
– This gassing of the chickens is very problematic.
Chickens that gased tend to die before you've even slaughtered them,
that's problematic.
– Does that make them Halal to consume?
– That becomes haram, you know.
The animal has died before slaughtering as a result of the gassing.
It's haram to consume.
– Although gas stunning has for the most part been declared Islamically unlawful
by the majority of certifiers,
our investigations have shown otherwise.
– Now we don't accept gas stunning
and none of the international standards accept gas stunning.
I'm talking about ESMA in Emirates,
I'm talking about HAK in Turkey, JAKIM, MUIS all these standards,
they don't accept gas stunning.
In UK and Europe long time ago, they used to call it gas killing, not stunning.
In Australia here I don't know why the some of the local city still accepted,
it's only accepted locally,
but overseas it's not accepted.
– Does any Halal allow for gas standing of chicken?
– Definitely not.
So any Halal is of the view that gas standing is not not allowed,
from what I understand there is nowhere around the world that they allow for gas stunning
or approved under any Halal guidelines.
Unfortunately, I am aware of certain certifiers doing gas stunning even though
it doesn't fit within the guidelines and it should be removed.
– What would you say to the certifier that's certifying gas stunning chicken?
– It's carrion, it's dead animal.
– If they're doing it unintentionally,
then they need to revisit the Halal laws and regulations around the world that's known
and fix it as quick as possible,
if they're aware of it, it's a catastrophe even worse,
because we are putting something that's non-Halal into the consumer's hands
and into obviously their families and so forth.
– Our investigations have revealed that one of Australia's most prominent Halal certified chicken slaughter houses
is currently using gas stunning.
– 90 % of the Australian chicken here or birds they actually gas stunt.
– And why does industry use gas standing at the moment?
– From a business perspective, it's much cleaner, it's more efficient
and it's a cheaper process, okay.
But Halal integrity - it's not Halal.
–We sat down with a Muslim slaughterman who worked at the facility.
We have hidden his identity for his own protection,
this is what he had to say.
So gas stunning used at the facility that you worked at?
And was this passed off as Halal Certified?
And did you see any issues with the gas standing process?
So how would you know if the chicken has died after the gassing?
So after the gassing the chickens died?
– We done our experiment in gas stunning,
we've got like scientifically approved report, seven out of ten, that's the figure we've got.
They actually killed it from the stunning.
– 70% ?
– So 70%.
– I have taken some parts out of the the line and then putting them on the floor,
but unfortunately none of them they survived,
none of them they came back to life.
So the gas stunning maybe from non-Halal perspective it may be okay for them,
but I do not condone the gas stunning should be employed in the Halal industry.
– And would you feel comfortable eating the chicken that was slaughtered in that facility?
The question as to whether or not gas stunning can be regulated
to meet Halal standards into the future is up for debates.
However the way the process is carried out today
is completely out of the question for multiple reasons.
The lack of scientific evidence made public by certifiers
and underlying confidentiality agreements between certifiers and abattoirs,
giving no transparency to the community.
Yet, gas stunning is only a fraction of the deeper rooted problems plaguing the Halal industry.
The industry is riddled with dishonesty, financial corruption,
negligence and more.
Now I know what you're thinking,
this is way too overwhelming to digest and there's little we can do.
Some say it's simply too impractical to feed millions of people through Halal processes
and we should no longer bother.
Well, actually no, not really.
As a matter of fact, as of right now,
there are several countries that have a working sustainable Halal processing model
that feeds millions of people on a daily basis.
The Australian government itself has proven to uphold Halal standards
when it comes to the export market,
by enlisting an independent regulatory body to oversee all Halal certified operations.
Why is it that the same scrutiny is not being applied
to the local Halal industry within Australia?
Why is it that high standards can be set and maintained for vegan,
kosher and organic products, but not for the Halal industry?
The truth is, if there's anyone who could make the biggest impact
it's you the consumer.
You have the power to change everything wrong with the Halal industry.
– First and foremost, as consumers and being myself personally,
we need to start demanding for our certifiers,
our islamic leaders for an independent body to come in and oversee the Halal industry.
Number one.
This will give everyone the confidence that everything is followed to a standard
and is being managed properly.
It gets rid of the soft certifiers which is currently happening at the moment,
which then allows people to doubt the industry.
– Be aware, be aware what's around you.
things will change, times will change and it's all in the process,
but things take time.
We'd like for the Muslim community in general, to work with us and hold people accountable
that are not following the process.
– It all comes back to the consumer,
we are the consumers and if these companies or these slaughterhouses
and these Halal certifiers see that there is genuine concern
in the Muslim community for more regulation to take place, more transparency.
Then you'll see them falling in line.
But if there's no concern,
then we can't really expect any change and we can't blame really anyone but ourselves.
– You can choose to be empowered with knowledge about just how Halal your food really is.
Businesses and industries make decisions based on how we as consumers spend our money.
And through this, we can ensure our voices are heard.
For Muslims, eating Halal isn't just about avoiding haram,
it's about pleasing Allah Subhana Wa Ta'la, it's about obtaining the blessings of Allah in our lives.
As the Prophet ﷺ said, "Allah is pure and only accepts that which is pure"
So by consuming Halal, we ensure that we have the blessings of Allah in our lives.
We become those who have the supplications accepted
and become those who are beloved to Allah.
And if we truly want to experience the fruits of obtaining Allah's pleasure,
then we need to act now.
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