Move to label meat by slaughter method

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/may/08/label-meat-slaughter-method

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Europe is considering whether meat should be labelled with information about how the animal was slaughtered, a proposal opposed by the prime minister and supermarkets.

The EU move will force the Department of Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) to clarify its own position after Muslim, Jewish and Christian leaders called for a system of labelling that spells out if food is halal – or whatever other method of slaughter is used.

David Cameron indicated on Thursday that he believed the government did not need to intervene in labelling at all. His spokesman told a Westminster briefing that the labelling of meat products was an issue between consumers and supermarkets, adding: "The prime minister's view is that the approach we currently have is absolutely the right one."

He was speaking after Jewish and Muslim leaders, in a letter to the Daily Telegraph, had backed labelling according to slaughter method but said customers should also be told if animals were killed by "captive bolt shooting, gassing, electrocution, drowning, trapping, clubbing or any other approved methods".

However, religious leaders are concerned that the debate has been distorted into a row over whether all customers should know whether the Muslim and Jewish methods of slaughter, halal and schechita respectively, have been used in processing the meat.

The issue has moved up the political agenda because of a campaign by the British Veterinary Association and RSPCA against slaughter where no stunning is involved. Campaigners insist the issue is about informing consumers. "We don't want to get involved in the question of halal versus non-halal. If the animal welfare issue is taken care of, we don't have a problem," said David Bowles, head of public affairs at the RSPCA. He did hope for some movement on labelling, however. "It is a fairly neutral issue and the government has previously supported giving consumers choice.

The Food Standards Agency estimates 88% of animals are stunned before slaughter by the halal method, which requires a Muslim to kill the creature by hand, severing the throat and draining if of blood. The Jewish method, shechita, however, cannot involve pre-slaughter stunning.

Saqib Mohammed, chief executive of the Halal Food Authority, one of several bodies certifying UK slaughterhouses, said the companies it approved accounted for about 70% of halal production, all of it using pre-stunning before slaughter. He said: "I think people need more education and more awareness of halal and when stunning is allowed.

"Many people think stunning is not halal. It is completely untrue. It depends on stunning methods. As to labelling, we would only support it saying whether it was pre-stunned meat or not. I don't believe any religious group in the UK would not agree to this labelling regime but more education is needed first."

Supermarket chains, including Sainsbury's and Tesco, denied misleading customers about the origins of meat products following a string of press stories revealing that halal meat is routinely sold in the UK without buyers being told. More than 70% of New Zealand lamb in supermarkets is from halal slaughterhouses,, although the Co-op, Waitrose and Marks & Spencer said they did not label all halal products as such.

Nearly 100 KFC outlets around the country serve halal-approved chicken, as do about 75 Nando's diners.

The sandwiches served in selected Subway stores have contained halal meat since 2007, while all Pizza Express chicken is halal.

In a statement, the organisation representing supermarkets made clear its opposition to labelling meat separately on the method of slaughter.

Andrew Opie, the British Retail Consortium's director of food and sustainability, said specialist providers of halal and kosher meats were already certified where they met religious protocols.

"As the overwhelming majority of meat sold in UK supermarkets is own brand and from animals that have been stunned prior to slaughter so we do not see the requirement to separately label meat based on the method of slaughter."

A Defra spokeswoman said the issue of labelling would be formally considered by ministers in the summer after the results of the EU's consultative study.

She added: "We want people to have the information they need to make informed choices about the food they buy. In the first instance that is for the retailer or the food outlet to provide."

Animal Aid, which promotes vegan lifestyles, said the debate about packaging missed the point.

Kate Fowler, the group's head of campaigns, said: "Labelling is only good if it's thorough. That will need to include more details including how many stuns, whether she was kicked or beaten on the way to slaughter and a host of other issues.

"Labelling only whether the animal was stunned or not doesn't go anywhere near the whole truth."