Essay Example on Religious inclinations have a substantial influence on the meals

Religious inclinations on top of determining which Deity one prays to have a substantial influence on the meals a person eats The guidelines outlined in every belief clearly state the meals fit for consumption This can be illustrated by the liberty of Christians to eat pork something that would be considered haram for Muslim believers This paper will zero in on the Muslim beliefs the halal products they are allowed to consume and the labelling of the aforementioned products in the nations covered under the European Union Halal is an Islamic term used to describe products be it food pharmaceutical products or drinks which have been adequately prepared under the strict guidelines of the Sharia Law Al Taher 2004 These preparations can be seen in the slaughtering of animals set for Muslim consumption where animals have to be blessed and their killing has to follow dhabihah Prior stunning of the animal is sometimes done to ensure minimum pain and suffering Due to the widespread presence of Muslims in European countries halal meals have become quite commonplace in many restaurants across Europe Franchises such as Kentucky Fried Chicken KFC and Nandos have resolved to utilize halal products so as to not to go against their Muslim clients beliefs S Talib Ai Chin J Fischer 2017 

This is deemed ideal seeing as other religions can freely indulge in these products without going against their beliefs Informed by this state of matters such regulatory bodies as the Halal Food Authority have since come forward further expressing the need for food marketers and producers to properly label their products be it halal or kosher in view of allowing customers to easily make the kind of selections that satisfy their preferences religious or otherwise This then was crafted into a legal framework by the European Union basically requiring all EU member states to properly label their products in relation to their mode of slaughter and also to the country from which they would have originated The country was to be included as a part of this due to the free trading zone that had been set up across all states covered under the umbrella of the European Union The certification of halal product manufacturers and the subsequent labelling of their products were deemed crucial so as to enable Muslim consumers to trust that they are purchasing products permissible within their religion Riaz 2007 Many deceitful abattoirs were set up providing counterfeit halal products and consequently members of the Muslim community came together so as to set up certification boards that will not only check the product s authenticity but also ensure it is labelled accordingly 

The inclusion of stunning to more conservative Muslims might seem like a breach of the guidelines set by the Quran and British products may then be deemed unfit Proper labelling enables consumers to have the opportunity to choose Halal Labelling in EU Countries A Generic Description Initially European countries handled the standardization of halal products independently Each country had its own rules and legal processes in place to handle production and supply of halal products This was a questionable set up seeing as there was no central controlling body that looked over the quality and standard of products produced Due to the costly nature of carrying out halal slaughters and inadequate supervision many providers would therefore utilise regular slaughtering methods and fraudulently peddle the product to clients as halal Taking into account that halal products are also more expensive as opposed to regular or kosher products these providers would make massive profits off of misleading consumers These inconsistencies resulted in a need for proper halal certification and labelling process which would be applicable not only within individual countries but across all member nations within the European Union