Halal meat vs regular meat: what differs and what is the same

The decisive point for a buyer is that “halal” is not a different kind of meat. It is ordinary beef, lamb, veal or poultry for which additional requirements were met and documented. What those requirements are in detail depends on the standard of the certifying body, which is why the certificate matters more than the word on the label.

What halal means in religious terms is explained in our guide what halal meat means.

Halal meat processing follows the same steps as conventional meat production:

1. Ante-mortem inspection: the official veterinarian inspects the animals before slaughter.
2. Slaughter: the animal is slaughtered according to the rite of the applied standard, typically by a Muslim slaughterer who invokes the name of God, with a cut that lets the blood drain.
3. Post-mortem inspection: the carcass is inspected and, if fit, receives the health mark.
4. Chilling, cutting and packing: under EU hygiene law, with halal products kept apart from non-halal products.
5. Storage and transport: in the cold chain, with labels and documents that keep the halal status traceable.

The certifying body audits the steps that matter for halal status and decides whether a plant or a lot may be certified. Official veterinary controls under Regulation (EU) 2017/625 take place regardless of halal certification and cannot be replaced by it. The slaughter itself is described in detail in our guide halal slaughter explained.

Article 4(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1099/2009 allows animals to be slaughtered without prior stunning when this is prescribed by religious rites and carried out in a slaughterhouse. Member States may adopt stricter national rules, so whether non-stunned slaughter takes place depends on the country of slaughter.

The question is the subject of a public debate, which we describe without taking sides:

• animal welfare organisations and many veterinarians argue that stunning reduces avoidable suffering and should always be required;
• many religious authorities hold that the animal must be alive and uninjured at the moment of the cut; some of them accept reversible stunning on this basis, others do not.

For a buyer, this is a question of specification. If your customers expect meat from stunned or from non-stunned animals, say so in the enquiry. Each of our offers states which slaughter method applies to the lot, and the certificate shows the standard behind it.

Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 prohibits misleading food information. A supplier who labels meat as halal must be able to substantiate this, and the usual evidence is the certificate of a certifying body. Many certifying bodies also license their own logo for use on packs.

All other labelling elements are identical for halal and conventional meat:

• the identification mark with the approval number of the establishment;
• the origin information under Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000 for beef and veal and under Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1337/2013 for sheep, goat and poultry meat;
• the use-by or best-before date and storage conditions;
• for meat preparations and products, the list of ingredients with allergens emphasised.

A halal logo on a pack is therefore not a replacement for the certificate. Ask for the certificate that covers the establishment and the products, and check that the identification mark on the pack matches the establishment it names.

• Hygiene: Regulations (EC) No 852/2004 and No 853/2004 apply in full.
• Approval: slaughterhouses and cutting plants need an EU approval and an approval number.
• Official controls: ante- and post-mortem inspection and controls under Regulation (EU) 2017/625.
• Temperatures: fresh meat of cattle, sheep and goats at no more than 7 °C, poultry meat at 4 °C, minced meat at 2 °C, frozen meat at −18 °C or colder.
• Traceability: one step back, one step forward under Article 18 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002.
• Origin labelling: the same rules for beef, veal, lamb and poultry.

This is why a halal certificate never replaces the commercial documents, the identification mark or the cold chain records. A buyer of halal meat needs both: the evidence that EU law was met, and the evidence that the halal standard was met. How to read the halal part is explained in our guide checking halal certificates.

In the EU, nutrition and health claims on food are regulated by Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 and are only allowed if they have been authorised. “Halal” is not such a claim, and suggesting that halal meat is healthier because of the slaughter method would not be backed by EU law.

The quality of a piece of meat depends on factors that are the same for halal and conventional meat:

• breed, age and sex of the animal;
• feeding and rearing;
• handling before and after slaughter;
• cutting, trimming and, for beef, ageing;
• packaging and an unbroken cold chain.

For halal buyers, the real benefit is a different one: certainty that the meat meets the standard their customers expect. That certainty comes from a certificate that matches the establishment and the lot, and from documents that link the delivered goods to both. Quality requirements belong in the specification, for halal and conventional meat alike.