News From : DagangHalal.com (29 Dec 2009)
Al Islami Foods at the World Secure Food Chain conference expressed that meat obtained from non-stunned animals is healthier and has a longer shelf life. And non-halal and stunned meat is highly questionable, quoting a research conducted by the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research on the same subject. The conference was recently held in Hong Kong.
The final condition imposed by the Ifta committee of the Scientific Research Institute for the use of stunning is that: “During bleeding, stunning should not reduce the amount of blood”. Researches conducted on the effect of stunning on bleeding process reported that stunning of animals or birds reduces the amount of blood, which means the most of the blood has not been drained out from the carcasses. This puts the meat obtained from stunned animals or birds under a food safety issue, a sign of which, it will be unsafe and could lead to a shorter shelf life.
These deliberations were put forward by Mr. Joachim Yebouet, a food safety and quality expert and the chief operations officer (COO) at Al Islami Foods, UAE, who spoke about ‘Halal Food Safety and Quality’ at the conference.
“Consumers buying the meat of animals/birds that have been put under stunning conditions will have to pay a higher price, as they will also be paying for the extra blood in the meat (considering that meats are purchased based on weight). This is considered as a malpractice and as an added economical value for the meat industry.” Joachim quoted as saying.
The halal way for producing authentic halal is: animals are raised on natural, healthy and halal feed, animals are physically fit, hand-slaughtered by a Muslim and no stunning of any kind, reciting Tasmiyyah (Bismillah Allahu Akbar, meaning, Allah is great) while slaughtering.
Saleh Abdullah Lootah, the managing director of Al Islami Foods, commented: “On annual bases, Al Islami spends AED 3 million to ensure real halal and quality meat procedures, investing into quality management and real halal supplies, no stunning, halal ingredient, no antibiotics or growth hormones, raw meats are always at its best conditions, without fat, skins, giblets or trimmings, standardised health & safety procedures”.
Among the major participants from different government, non-government and private sector organisations include: The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (UN FAO), the WHO Department of Food Safety, Asian Development Bank, US Food and Drug Administration, Institute for Health and Consumer Protection, Italy, Singapore Institute of Food Science and Technology, Nestle, McDonalds , Cadbury, Coca Cola, Jollibee, Unilever, Al Islami Foods, Bureau of Food and Drugs, Philippines, National Agency of Drug and Food Control, Indonesia, Counselor for Health and Consumer Protection, Delegation of European Commission, Food Research and Consultancy Unit, University of Wales, Asia Cold Chain Centre, Singapore, among others.
Major Topics discussed at the conference were: Secure Food Chain Strategies and Methodologies, Halal Foods Safety and Quality, Latest Techniques and Technologies to Safeguard Food Safety and Quality, Quality Assurance through Stringent Audit, Testing and Compliance Strategies, Risk and Crisis Management, Effective Cold Chain & Logistics Management for Perishable and Temperature-Sensitive Food Products, Supplier Management, Secure Sourcing and Procurement Strategies, Regulatory Development and Market Compliance.