Halal meat row: faith leaders make joint call for clearer labelling

Jewish and Muslim religious leaders have made a joint call for clearer food labelling after a row about halal meat in fast-food restaurants and supermarkets.

On Wednesday, the Sun suggested that Pizza Express was duping diners into eating halal chicken by serving it without informing customers. The report failed to mention that for years several of Britain's best-known fast-food chains have used kosher or halal meat.

In a letter to the Telegraph, the Muslim Council of Britain and Shechita UK, a group that promotes awareness about the Jewish methods of killing animals for food, insist that animals killed in ways that comply with religious rules are not treated any worse than those conventionally slaughtered.

According to the Food Standards Agency, at least 90% of animals slaughtered for halal meat are stunned before being killed, despite the insistence of some strict Muslim groups that stunning means the meat no longer qualifies as halal.

Animal welfare campaigners, including the RSPCA and Compassion in World Farming, are backing a campaign by the British Veterinary Association to ban slaughter without stunning.

In their letter, the MCB and Shechita said meat labelling should clearly state whether animals had been mechanically stunned prior to slaughter. It states: "They [consumers] should be told the method of slaughter: captive bolt shooting, gassing, electrocution, drowning, trapping, clubbing or any other approved methods."

The groups said that animal welfare groups should also support such comprehensive labelling.

"It would offer all consumers genuine choice, whether they are motivated by animal welfare, religious observance, or even intolerance of anyone who looks or worships differently to them," the letter said.