Slaughterhouse did not comply with halal standards

Three employees at a poultry processing plant at the Alor Setar main market at Jalan Peremba were given stern warning by the Kedah Islamic Religious Department (JAIK) after inspections found that they have failed to comply with halal standards when slaughtering chickens.

The workers were given one week to ensure that the slaughtering and processing of chickens are in accordance to halal practices and to ensure cleanliness is maintained throughout the procedures.

JAIK, when conducted the checks on Thursday, also found that the chickens were thrown into boiling water for processing as soon as it was slaughtered, thus shortening the duration for the chicken to bleed out - an act that is not compliant to halal standards.

It failed to check if the chickens were properly slaughtered. Furthermore, the knives were not cleaned after each slaughter, JAIK reported.

JAIK assistant director of research Rosyadah Ramli said the poultry processing plant that has been in operations for almost 10 years, failed to comply with the halal standards set by the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM).

It has yet to receive a certificate that gives them the qualification to slaughter chickens.

“We found that the situation is very unsatisfactory, not perfect. The knives that were used were not dipped in clean water. The chickens were thrown into a container. We worry that the chickens might die from suffocation when thrown in together. We advised the workers to separate the chickens, one by one,” she said.

The inspection called ‘Ops Cara Sembelihan’ was conducted with other agencies including the Alor Setar Municipal Council (MBAS) and the Kota Setar District Health Department.

Meanwhile, MBAS seized 49 chickens during the checks, including two dead ones.