UK: First Non-Islamic School to Serve Strict Halal Food

FIRST NON-MUSLIM SCHOOL TO SERVE STRICT HALAL FOOD
Wednesday March 10,2010
By Chris Riches

A SCHOOL has become the first non-Islamic primary in Britain to get strict accreditation for serving Halal food, it emerged yesterday.

Although it is a non-faith school, 95 per cent of pupils at Daisyfield Primary School in Blackburn, Lancs are Muslim.

In an illustration of the rapidly changing face of Britain, it is the first state, non-Muslim, primary school to get the certificate from the Halal Monitoring Committee.

Although many primary schools in the UK serve Halal meat, they are certified only by the Halal Food Authority.

The Monitoring Committee enforces tougher checks on packaging, delivery and preparation.

Headmaster Peter Fenton, who received the certificate from local councillor Salim Mulla, said: “I am pleased our self-managed kitchen has been recognised as meeting the standards of the Halal Monitoring Committee for purchase, storage and preparation of our meals.”

Moulana Hanif, Halal Monitoring Committee local area representative, said: “I would personally like to thank Daisyfield for taking this very important step towards supplying genuine Halal products to the ?children attending the school.

“We hope all schools will follow, so that genuine Halal products are provided to Muslim children, which is a very important part of our faith.”

Tory MP David Davies said it was important for Muslim children that their faiths and beliefs were recognised. But he warned: “It is also important that we allow the full integration of immigrants. Concentration of certain ethnic groups in small areas does not help that.”

The ritual method of slaughter practised in Islam has been criticised by some animal welfare organisations who claim it causes severe suffering to the animals as they bleed to death.

In 2003, an independent advisory group – the Farm Animal Welfare Council – concluded the way Halal meat is produced causes severe ?suffering to animals.

FAWC argued that cattle took up to two minutes to bleed to death under Halal practice. The chairwoman of FAWC at the time, Judy MacArthur Clark, said: “This is a major incision into the animal and to say that it doesn’t suffer is quite ridiculous.”

Halal butchers deny that their method of killing animals is cruel.

Majid Katme, of the Muslim Council of Britain, stressed that it is “a sudden and quick haemorrhage. A quick loss of blood pressure and the brain is instantaneously starved of blood and there is no time to start feeling any pain.”

Daisyfield’s move has provoked anger among some locals. One claim on an internet comment board was that it “forced kids to eat Halal meat”. Another said: “It’s the Islamification of Britain.”

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