Transcript islamic method of slaughtering in the light of scientific knowledge

ISLAMIC SLAUGHTERING AND
MEAT QUALITY
Prof. Dr. Javaid Aziz Awan
Country Director
Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America,
Shan Plaza, New Garden Town, Lahore
[email protected]
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INTRODUCTION
 Meat indispensable for sound human health
 Provides several essential nutrients:
Proteins
Amino acids
Mineral elements
Vitamins
 Meat subject to spoilage by:
Chemical reactions
Biochemical reactions
Biological agents, including bacteria
 Responsible for food-borne diseases
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INTRODUCTION
 Hence meat be produced so as to:
Minimize chemical and biochemical changes
Prevent chances of bacterial contamination and
growth
Preserve quality
 Slaughtering of lawful animals and birds essential to
prepare for food purposes
 Pre-slaughter management and bleeding methods
regulated by:
religious practices and
legislations
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ESSENTIALS OF HALAL SLAUGHTERING
 Islamic method of slaughtering - based on two
important principles:
Tasmiya - invoking name of Allah - slaughter being
done with His permission
Tazkiyah - means purification
 This in accordance with several commands given in
the Holy Quran
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ESSENTIALS OF HALAL SLAUGHTERING
“Forbidden to you (for food) are: dead meat, blood, the flesh of
swine, and that on which hath been invoked the name of other
than God; that which hath been killed by strangling, or by a
violent blow, or by a head long fall, or by being gored to death;
that which hath been partly eaten by a wild animal, unless ye
are able to slaughter it (in due form) ….…. (Al Maida - V:4)
 The Holy Prophet (pbuh) gave comprehensive guidelines on
slaughtering of animals in following Hadith:
 “Verily Allah, has prescribed proficiency in all things. Thus, if
you kill, kill well; and if you slaughter, slaughter well. Let each
one of you sharpen his blade and let him spare suffering to the
animal he slaughters”.
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ESSENTIALS OF HALAL SLAUGHTERING
 Process of slaughtering in Islam - consolidated
 Slaughterer:
must be adult Muslim or
one who believes in Holy Scriptures
should be in possession of his mental faculties
 Lay animal (except camel) on its left flank, preferably
facing Kibla
 Recite name of Allah:
Subhan Allah, or
La illaha illila ho, or
Allah-o-Akbar or
Bismillah Allah-o-Akbar
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ESSENTIALS OF HALAL SLAUGHTERING
 Lay animal (except camel) on its left flank, preferably
facing Kibla
 Recite name of Allah:
Subhan Allah, or
La illaha illila ho, or
Allah-o-Akbar or
Bismillah Allah-o-Akbar
 Give quick incision using very sharp knife on front of
the neck to severe: Wind pipe, Oesophagus, Carotid
arteries, Jugular veins
 Prohibited - practice of cutting off part of an animal or
removing its skin while still alive
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PRE-SLAUGHTER HANDLING OF ANIMALS 1. Selection of animals
 Islam permits consumption of few animals and birds
only
 Strictly prohibited:
Pork
Blood
Carrion
Dead animals
All carnivorous animals
All birds of prey
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1. Selection of animals
 Permitted animals:
All herbivorous, even-toed ruminants
 Animal for Halal slaughter be:
Healthy
Free from any apparent or
hidden impurities/disease
Must be legally owned
 The Holy Prophet (pbuh) advised companions to use
very sharp knife
 Further instructed that sharpening of knife not be
performed in front of slaying animal
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3. Rest prior to slaughtering
 Islam promotes calm and rested animals prior to
slaughtering:
 Not fatigued
 Not excited
 Not nervous
 Prohibited - any act that causes neurosis or
excitement or other abnormal behavioural changes in
animal
 Prohibited in Islam - Practice of collective slaughtering
- other animals do not view their companion being
killed
Research reveals - practices inhumane
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3. Rest prior to slaughtering – Scientific
evidence
 Modern methods require animal prior to slaughtering
not be subjected to:
Stress
Fatigue
Neurotic
Otherwise excited
 Rough handling of animals in pre-slaughter period
adversely affects meat quality
Result - dark, firm and dry meat (dark cutting meat)
 Fatigued or starved animals
 Organisms from gut may invade blood stream and
eventually muscles
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3. Rest prior to slaughtering – Scientific
evidence
 Proper relaxation before slaughtering:
Helps animal to bleed well
Builds up muscle glycogen essential to lower pH of
meat
Increases storage life by reducing chances of
microbial growth
Improves taste due to conditioning/ tenderness
Helps delay or reduce fermentation in stomach
 may otherwise give meat characteristic smell
known as ‘bone taint’
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4. Stress prior to slaughtering- Scientifc
evidence
 Generally regarded undesirable that animal awaiting
slaughter view slaughtering process – causes stress
 Animals under stress - lead to undue emotional
instability and fatigue
 Anorexia, etc. Discharge hormones from adrenal
glands:
adrenaline from adrenal medulla
17 hydroxy- and 11-deoxy-corticosterones from
adrenal cortex
 Hormones deplete muscle glycogen and potassium
 Deleterious effects on meat quality
 To prevent these adverse effects, tranquilizers
recommended to calm stocks in transit.
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5. Feeding the animals
 Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) advised that animals
destined for slaughtering be:
well fed
provided with drinking water
 Preferable that animals have free access to feed and
water prior to slaughtering
 Two schools of thoughts:
Animal to remain hungry - Fasting
Animal be well fed
 Fasting animals - Fasting animals before slaughter
recommended in modern abattoirs
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5. Feeding the animals – Scientific evidence
Fasting animals - Advantages claimed:
 Bleed better
 Carcass easier to dress
 Carcass has brighter appearance
 Reduced bulk of animal’s stomach
 Reduced chances of bacterial contamination from
gut
 Fasted animals - Disadvantages:
Loss in weight of carcass and liver
Lower glycogen reserves in muscles
Reduced gustative quality of meat
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5. Feeding the animals – Scientific evidence
Well-fed animals:
 Glycogen level in muscle reaches higher level
 Ensures production of adequate lactic acid
 Lowers pH of meat
 Such meat has good: Appearance, Taste,
Tenderness, Longer shelf-life
 Meat spoilage bacteria prefer growth at high pH levels
- around pH 7.0
 Any decrease from normal value of about 6.8 reduces
chances of bacterial multiplication, especially food
poisoning ones
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5. Feeding the animals – Scientific evidence
 Meat of soothed and well-fed animals:
pH attains 5.5 or even lower level
 Meat of fatigued or neurotic animals:
pH varies from 6.5 to 7.0
 To produce meat of good keeping and eating quality,
often recommended to feed animals prior to
slaughtering
 In some cases sugar solution fed to quickly restore
glycogen level in tissues
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6. SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE - Halal
 Slaughtering rules apply to animals and birds in complete
physical control of man - all domesticated birds and animals
(except camel)
 Conventionally, slaughtering process consists of two to three
different stages
 Depends on religious practices and legislations
 Posture of animal and bleeding method governed by religious
and national legislations
 Western countries require animals be stunned before
slaughtering
 Stunning widely practiced in Western abattoirs
 Main objective
make animal unconscious for gentle and painless death
 No
standard method for all animals under all conditions
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 Muslims and Jews not in favour of stunning
6. SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE
Modern method - 1. Stunning
 Stunning effective in having calm animal
 Stunning may adversely affect quality of carcass
cause injury to medulla oblongata in brain controls blood circulation and respiration
 Desirable these systems continue to function - help
pump blood out of carcass when blood vessels
cutMethod of shooting by free bullet - too dangerous
to use in abattoirs
 Captive bolt - discarded
 Carbon dioxide anesthesia - exact dose of gas
important for specific length of time
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6. SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE –
Modern method -1. Stunning
 Electrical stunning widely used
increases frequency of ‘blood splash” - appearance
of small dark red areas in meat
also lowers glycogen reserves of muscle
approximately in 5 % electrically stunned animals
heart failure - animal dead before incision made
 Stunning - outcome of industrial revolution
 Initially meant to protect the slaughterer and other
employees
 Reality - no relation with mercy on animals
 More animals be slaughtered in least time
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SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE
2. Animal positioning
 Islamic method - lay animal on left flank preferably
facing Kibla
Scientific evidence
 When laid on left flank, likelihood of more blood to
drain owing to body pressure on heart
 Laying animal enables it to convulse
 results from contraction of muscles due to lack of
oxygen in brain cells when incision made in neck
 During convulsions blood squeezed out of vessels
 Hence more blood drains out
a pre-requisite for meat of superior eating and
keeping quality
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SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE
2. Animal positioning -Scientific evidence
 During convulsions blood squeezed out of vessels
 Hence more blood drains out
a pre-requisite for meat of superior eating and
keeping quality
 Evidence suggests more blood lost from sheep in
horizontal position than those hung vertically
 Islam permits use of knife or any sharp object for
bleeding
 Incision made in neck with simultaneous recitation of
the name of Allah - Takbir
 Takbir has religious significance to believer
makes submission to Allah
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SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE
3. Bleeding techniques
 Slaughtering actually done in the name of Allah
 “So eat of (meats) on which God’s name has been
pronounced if ye have faith in His Signs”
 (Al Anaam - Vl:118).
 Slaughtering not in name of any person or deity in
accordance with following commands:
 “Eat not of meats on which God’s name has not been
pronounced: that would be impiety. But the evil ones
ever inspire their friends to commit end with you if ye
were to obey them, ye would indeed be Pagans”
 (Vl:121).
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SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE
3. Bleeding techniques - Islamic method
 Cut throat transversely without injuring spinal cord to
severe carotid arteries, jugular veins, oesophagus and
trachea
 Two requirements in slaughter of animals for meat:
 animals be dispatched without unnecessary
suffering
 bleeding be as complete as possible
 When both carotid arteries and veins severed
connection between brain and body retained via spinal
cord and brain sends messages to heart and lungs
 Heart pumps blood to parts of body
 drained out from severed blood vessels in neck
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SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE
3. Bleeding techniques – Scientific evidence
Results of a comparison of study on different methods of
slaughtering:
 Maximum blood lost in Kosher method
Jewish method similar to Islamic as regards
physical details
 Minimum when chicken simply beheaded
 Islamic method ensures maximum blood drainage
from body before completion of death process
 Unconsciousness induced between 3 to 6 seconds
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SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE
3. Bleeding – Scientific evidence
 Blood excellent medium for growth of microorganisms
 Meat retaining more blood than critical level liable to bacterial
spoilage
 Blood retention in tissues can cause unpleasant appearance
and discolouration in meat
 Keeping and eating qualities of meat depend, in part, on
removal of maximum blood from carcass
 To produce good carcass animal be bled effectively
 Heart and respiratory system must function continuously as
long as possible after severance of blood vessels
 This attained most thoroughly when heart and respiratory
functions retained by maintaining medulla oblongata/spinal cord
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SLAUGHTERING PROCEDURE
3. Bleeding techniques – Scientific evidence
Positioning of animal in Islamic method:
 clearly prevents retraction of carotids
 ensures rapid onset of unconsciousness and
painless death
In Islamic method of slaughtering maximum
blood drained - outranks other slaughtering
techniques
HENCE BETTER QUALITY OF MEAT
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ANIMAL RIGTHTS IN ISLAM
 Islam recognized animal rights long before human
rights recognized in Western World
 Numerous Ahadiths on kindness and mercy towards
animals
 Holy Prophet (pbuh) advised:
 Nourish animals well
 Save animals from hunger and thirst
 Show kindness to animals
 Do not hit or mark animal on its face
 Do not shoot arrows at cattle or bird tied or held up
 Do not fight animals for sports or recreation
 Do not unjustly kill even a sparrow or smaller bird
(other than for food)
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EXTRODUCTION
Current scientific data reveals Islamic
recommendations for slaughtering animals
highly rational
Good physique and health considered basic
requirement for selection of food animals
Pre-slaughter management of animals requires
they should not be fatigued, excited or neurotic
Proper rest, absence of hunger and thirst and
use of sharp knife alleviate pains of death
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Thank You
HALAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
Head Office:
192- Ahmad Block, New Garden Town , Lahore, Pakistan
Ph: +92 42 35913096-8 , Fax: +92 42 35913056
E-mail : [email protected] Web: www.halalrc.org