[GlastoGirl]

I bought halal chicked pieces in Sainsbury's the other day because there were no free range pieces (thighs) for my paella.
I thought at the time that I would rather buy halal chicken than basic chicken pieces because I know thanks to Hugh & Jamie what happens to a basic broiler.
I have totally changed my attitude to chciken since seeing those programmes.

However does anyone know what the story behind supermarket halal chicken is? Was I right to presume it had a better life than a standard £1.50 chicken?

[rufnek2k6]

i'm assuming no, just the way it is killed is different.

(didnt know sainsburys do halal chicken, need to find nearest sainsburys now )

[Gogfumble]

http://www.halalfoodauthority.co.uk/define.html

I don't think so after reading that quickly (although I may have missed something). I think what makes halal meat halal is simply the way they are killed and that the animal isn't fed any foods derived from other animals.

[GlastoGirl]

"(didnt know sainsburys do halal chicken, need to find nearest sainsburys now ) "

the branch in question is in a predominantly Muslim area of Luton and so provides a service to it's regular customers. Not sure if it is a normal stock item.

thanks Gogfumble, I will have a read.

[GlastoGirl]

so it seems from that website it is just the way it is killed that is different. It doesn't mention how it is raised.
Do we think there is a proportion of standard broiler chickens that are set aside for halal killing then?

[malaikah]

No different - it just has a prayer said before its throat is slit, in fact it might not even get stunned! Not sure on that though

[maybe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by malaikah

No different - it just has a prayer said before its throat is slit, in fact it might not even get stunned! Not sure on that though

Halal meat must come from animals which are 'healthy' when their throats are slit, under islamic law. This means that any method of stunning from which the animal could not recover to full health is not allowed. The captive bolt, for example, causes the cow's brain to be mashed up, so that would not be acceptable under islam.

My understanding is that traditionally, animals are not stunned, but there is apparently discussion about some methods of stunning which may be acceptable. I'm not sure which are allowed and which aren't, what they all are, and whether or not it's acceptable to all muslims.

Quote:

Originally Posted by malaikah

No different - it just has a prayer said before its throat is slit, in fact it might not even get stunned! Not sure on that though

No they stun to stun (if that makes sense) rather than stun to kill. All chicken goes though an electric stun bath. You'll find a lot of producers have their devices permanently on the Halal settings as it's better than upping and downing the voltage all the time. The throat slitter is imediately on exit of the stun bath. A prayer tape is continually on. Unless it says Free Range - it's not. Sorry

[shaggy_x]

sorry to raise an old thread. Is there such a thing as 'halal free range' ? I have never seen it in any halal butchers.

[grassmarket]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shaggy_x

sorry to raise an old thread. Is there such a thing as 'halal free range' ? I have never seen it in any halal butchers.

There's no market. The number of people in the UK who are simultaneously 1) fundamentalist muslims 2) ecology obsessed and 3) with more money than sense is probably only in single figures.

[shaggy_x]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grassmarket

There's no market. The number of people in the UK who are simultaneously 1) fundamentalist muslims 2) ecology obsessed and 3) with more money than sense is probably only in single figures.

LOL

I like your reasoning

[dosanjh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grassmarket

There's no market. The number of people in the UK who are simultaneously 1) fundamentalist muslims 2) ecology obsessed and 3) with more money than sense is probably only in single figures.

fundamentalist Muslims are the only Muslims that eat Halal?

[shaggy_x]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dosanjh1

fundamentalist Muslims are the only Muslims that eat Halal?

Im guessing that was tongue in cheek. I'm sure there is demand for Free range halal. Its just Ive never seen it anywhere.

[StorbewwyKisses]

I'd love to have a free range halal chicken range somewhere!
the amount i pay for the halal stuff in my li'l old town is so much more expensive than the non-halal chickens for the same amount, which is kinda unfair, hehe
and i';ve thought about how they're raised beforehand, don't think that it'd have been that great though, as the demand for halal chicken is quite high in my area, but no one seems to really question it, just think that chicken's chicken, and often the cheaper the better, :s

[jessca]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shaggy_x

sorry to raise an old thread. Is there such a thing as 'halal free range' ? I have never seen it in any halal butchers.

I think if you went to a really specialised small poultry farmer, you may find that some of them kill their birds in a way that would class them as halal, were it not for the prayer aspect. A lot of the organic free range poultry farmers I know do everything on site - it may be worth contacting some of them to see if there's a way they could develop a line of halal meat. But it would be very expensive!

[Kevin1960]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shaggy_x

sorry to raise an old thread. Is there such a thing as 'halal free range' ? I have never seen it in any halal butchers.

Yes:

http://www.organic-halal-meat.com/chicken.php