The halal food industry has seen a sharp increase in profits and popularity over the last few years. Large food groups such as Doux, Fleury Michon, Duc, and Nestle, have invested in this growing market because of the improvement in the Muslim population’s standard of living. This made it possible to decompartmentalize a market that was once considered to be niche and strictly denominational.
Due to the increase in demand for the halal market, many countries have taken rapid changes to meet this demand. It is now very common to find a halal hotel restaurant singapore, halal restaurant or eatery in almost any major city in the world. In addition, many supermarkets offer halal products and goods that are either manufactured locally or imported from Muslim countries.
However, just because the halal market is booming, does it mean that eating halal is better for your health? To explore this, let’s look at how halal meat is prepared and the advantages of a halal diet.
Preparation of Halal Meat
Since Muslims are forbidden from eating meat from corpses or carrions, halal meat from livestock must be slaughtered. The slaughter must be swift, and the slaughtering tools that are used need to be sharp. The animal must not be mistreated before and during its slaughter, nor slaughtered in front of children. It is specified in the Muslim religious texts that it is necessary to feed the animals only with a non-animal food the days preceding the slaughter. The animal is to be slaughtered by a Muslim uttering sacred words such as “In the name of God the greatest”, and is to be slaughtered alive with its head turned towards the direction of Kabbah in Mecca.
Some of the Advantages of a Halal Meat
These are some of the benefits that differentiate halal meat from the others.
Bacteria-Free Meat
Lactoferrin is a molecule of a protein that exists in the blood, in a significant amount. This molecule absorbs iron, and when there is no iron, dysentery bacteria cannot grow. According to Islamic rules, when animals are slaughtered, the main artery is cut without touching the spinal cord. When only one artery is cut, and the spinal cord is left intact, its functions are still present, and in this way, the heart continues to pump blood towards the animal’s body, towards the brain, in such a way that through the sectioned artery, the entire blood is emptied from the animal’s body. Blood is the main source of iron in the body, thanks to its red blood cells, when leaving the body.
Preservation of Meat
The slaughter of halal meat should be done through a quick incision in the back made with a sharp knife, cutting the jugular vein and carotid, but leaving the spine intact. The objective of this technique, in fact, is to allow greater drainage of the blood, thus achieving greater hygiene and minimizing the pain and agony of the animal. Certainly, after having bought and consumed halal meat, many individuals have realized its long shelf life in the fridge compared, as compared to traditional meat.