So is beef tartar a no go for Muslims?
In Australia, this is how a lot of commercial chicken is slaughtered (I emailed the halal endorsing agency a couple years ago to find out). They have accredited one of the largest chicken suppliers in Australia:
Thank you for query of AFIC method of slaughtering chicken. 99% chicken in Australia are slaughtered by Machine. Halal accredited chicken slaughter houses appoint Muslim slaughter men to operate the machine by reciting Tasmiah. AFIC has strict condition for machine slaughtered chicken to be considered as halal these conditions and requirements are as follow:
Slaughtering Requirements & Procedures
PRIMARY CONDITIONS:
þ The slaughter-man should be a Muslim approved by AFIC
þ There should be intention ofTasmiyah (Bismillah) before slaughtering.
þ Recitation of Tasmiyah (only with the name of Allah, not having any other name) should be done for each bird.
þ In the act of slaughter, the trachea, esophagus and major blood vessels in the neck region (jugular and carotid) of the bird must be severed leaving the spinal cord intact.
þ The entire Halal slaughtering operation will be carried out in the presence of Muslim slaughter-men/supervisor
þ Recitation of Tasmiyah (Bismillah) at the time of slaughtering should be done without long time gap between theTasmiyah (Bismillah) and the action of slaughtering.
þ At least Two (2) to four (4) Muslim (the AFIC nominated) slaughter men to be appointed depending on the establishment and volume of production, one of them being a supervisor and a backup at all times by taking turns. (For detail, please refer to Halal agreement, p 4).
A Halal Quality Assurance Officer nominated by AFIC is to be appointed to ensure an ongoing overall Halal status of the accredited plants and products is maintained on a daily basis during the period of Halal accreditation.
Duties & Responsibility of Muslim Slaughter-man 1:
þ Bless each bird by touching while invoking Tasmiyah ie, "Bismillah" meaning "In the name of Allah"
þ Must rotate the act of blessing in turn with either Slaughter-Man 2 or 3 at least every 10-15 minutes interval
þ Must not leave the slaughtering operation without appointing a back-up to carry out the task in case of emergency
Slaughter-man 2:
þ Act as backup slaughter-man for bird (s) missed from Mechanical knife during entire operation
þ Recite Tasmiyah ie, "Bismillahi Allahuakbar" during hand slaughtering of a missing bird using a sharp knife
þ Must not leave the slaughtering operation without appointing a back-up to carry out the task in case of emergency
Slaughter-man 3:
Act as online Halal Slaughtering Supervisor and a back-up for Person 1 or 2 as and when required
þ Switch on / off electrical connection to the stunner immediately prior to or at the cease of the operation and / or breakdown
þ Adjust the height of the stunner and to ensure that the birds are not drowned in water during even momentary cease of operation or due to mechanical breakdown - should target the number of birds to die in the stunner to be "ZERO"
þ Adjust the birds in the hanger
þ Sharpen hand knife every 5-10 minutes interval or as required
þ Check reversibility of birds being stunned approximately every 5-10 minutes interval
þ Adjust the height of the mechanical knife according to the size of the birds being hanged.
þ Keep the place clean and hygienic
þ Must stop the operation in case of emergency (eg., to many birds are missing the blade or not properly slaughtered etc) and contact Halal Quality Assurance Officer or Production Manager immediately.
Meat slaughtered by Islamic way remains fresh for a longer time due to deficiency of blood in the meat as compared to other methods of slaughtering.
. Animal does not feel pain
The swift cutting of vessels of the neck disconnects the flow of blood to the nerve of the brain responsible for pain. Thus the animal does not feel pain. While dying, the animal appears to struggle, writhe, shake and kick, not due to pain, but due to the contraction and relaxation of the muscles deficient in blood and due to the flow of blood out of the body.
Eninn, do you like beef tartar? It is really good.