George Eustice: I was going to come on to that. There is no barrier to using stunning for Halal, provided it is what is called a recoverable stun. That same FSA report also worryingly revealed that 25% of all sheep slaughtered in the UK are slaughtered without stunning. That alarming rise is difficult to explain. Our laws were formalised by the Slaughter of Animals Act 1933, where the exemptions for...
George Eustice: My hon. Friend makes an important point. I will come to how other countries address this challenge. All sorts of difficulties arise through our current rules on halal and shechita or kosher meat production. There are a wide range of definitions of halal. As hon. Members have pointed out, some statistics suggest that 70% to 80% of all animals slaughtered under halal are stunned. The key...
George Eustice: ..., it is important to ask whether our current derogation accommodates a religious need, or whether it is more a cultural interpretation of such a need. There is wide variance in what is defined as halal, depending on local imams.
George Eustice: ...within the kosher community, there is not a universal view on whether post-cut stunning should be permitted. A couple of years ago, I visited Kuwait and talked to a meat importer about the issue of halal production. He explained to me that the main requirement in Muslim countries in the middle east is that there is no pork contamination in the food they eat, which is why all their...
George Eustice: ...this year Saudi Arabia lifted disease restrictions on lamb imports from the UK, re-opening that market for UK businesses. Saudi Arabian authorities require lamb imports to be accompanied by a halal certificate issued by an authorised body. Meat from animals stunned at slaughter can be certified as halal.
George Eustice: ...their meat to be prepared in this way, and that there are calls for such meat to be labelled. There are currently no specific EU or national requirements governing the sale and labelling of Halal or Kosher meat. Where any information of this nature is provided voluntarily, it must be accurate and must not be misleading. The Government believes that consumers should have the necessary...
George Eustice: ...out by Jews or Muslims for the food of Jews or Muslims. The Department does not hold data on what percentage of meat from non-stun religious slaughter is exported. The data we hold on the Halal market is based on surveys carried out by the Food Standards Agency (FSA). Previous FSA surveys were carried in 2011 and 2013 and 2015. An FSA survey was carried out earlier this year but we have...
George Eustice: ...in accordance with religious beliefs being sold to consumers who do not require their meat to be prepared in this way. There are no domestic or European Regulations that require the labelling of halal or kosher meat but where any information of this nature is provided, it must be accurate and must not be misleading to the consumer. The Government believes that consumers should have the...
George Eustice: ...in accordance with religious beliefs being sold to consumers who do not require their meat to be prepared in this way. There are no domestic or European regulations that require the labelling of halal or kosher meat but where any information of this nature is provided, it must be accurate and must not be misleading to the consumer. The Government believes that consumers should have the...
George Eustice: ...at Time of Killing (England) Regulations 2015 (WATOK) provide the enforcement powers for the European legislation and contain stricter national rules. Prior to the introduction of WATOK, the halal poultry industry had raised concerns that the stunning requirements for waterbaths in the European Regulation were incompatible with halal slaughter. There was, therefore, a risk that more of the...
George Eustice: ...are committed to giving consumers as much transparency as possible and to improving labelling wherever we can. He understands that there are some difficulties—there is no single definition of halal or kosher, for instance—that make compulsory labelling complex. He is also aware that the European Union has been looking at the issue. Obviously, once we leave the EU there will be an...
George Eustice: There is no obligation to label products as being halal. However, when foods are labelled or presented as such, the labelling must not mislead the consumer. It is the responsibility of food businesses, including retailers and caterers, to ensure that the food they sell is what they say it is. The definition of halal and certification as halal is a matter for the Muslim community and private...
George Eustice: ..., require that all animals are stunned before slaughter. However, there is a long-standing derogation to allow slaughter without stunning in accordance with religious rites for the production of halal or kosher meat. Our current national requirements on religious slaughter have a long history. The Government first set down powers to prevent cruelty in slaughterhouses through the Public...
George Eustice: I am not sure. I will have to check those particular figures. We know, for instance, that around 73% of all halal meat slaughtered is already stunned before it is slaughtered, and as many hon. Members pointed out, the amount of kosher meat on the market is a very small proportion. However, this is an interesting area, and it is something that I have looked at. I do not think that it gets away...
George Eustice: ...quarters are normally sold on the open market. It would be conceded that most of it goes to Smithfield, possibly to be sold to caterers, but Shechita UK will also maintain that some of it goes to halal markets.
George Eustice: There are no specific EU or national requirements governing the sale and labelling of Halal meat but where any information of this nature is provided it must be accurate and must not be misleading to the consumer. The Government believes that consumers should have the necessary information available to them to make an informed choice about their food. We are awaiting the results of a...
George Eustice: ...calmly and dispassionately, focusing on the evidence. I welcome his approach. Over the last six months or so, I have met representatives from all sides of the debate, including from Shechita UK, halal meat processors and Compassion in World Farming, to ensure that I have the fullest perspective of everyone’s views on the issue. I will start by setting out a little of the historical and...
George Eustice: ...with reliable information. I know that my hon. Friend is a long-standing campaigner on this issue, but, as I have explained to him before, the introduction of a compulsory labelling scheme for halal and kosher meat would present challenges, because there is no single unified definition. Nevertheless, the European Commission is currently conducting a review, and we will consider its report...
George Eustice: ...Commission is considering the issue. It is most likely to consider whether the animal was stunned or unstunned, because there is a clear definition in EU law. I am aware that groups in both halal and shechita say that they are open to exploring that further, and I look forward to having a dialogue with them and considering the European Commission report when it appears in December.
George Eustice: I entirely agree. There is a clear legal definition of “stunned” in EU law, namely that stunning renders the animal insensible to pain immediately. In the case of halal, some 90% of poultry and lambs have been stunned, and we should recognise that fact.