Adresse Postale : ASIDCOM, BP 50029, 59007 LILLE CEDEX, FRANCE www.asidcom.org - [email protected]The Traditional Halal Butchers Survey ASIDCOM - North of France: The survey was conducted by: Hanen Rezgui Pizette, Engenior & Charia Licence, President of ASIDCOM Fouzia Leroux, Countable, Former Secretary of ASIDCOM Dalida Imoussaïne, Treasurer of ASIDCOM Noreddine Cherkaoui, Professeur, Member of the Directors’ Board of ASIDCOM Driss Samir, Master I Telecom, former Member of the Directors’ Board of ASIDCOM Period of the Survey: July 2012 – March 2013 Written by: Hanen Rezgui Pizette With the collaboration of the ASIDCOM North Team ا ﷲ ا
Transcript
Adresse Postale : ASIDCOM, BP 50029, 59007 LILLE CEDEX, FRANCE
At the north of France Muslim’s annual meeting in 2012, about 89% of Muslim consumers surveyed by ASIDCOM said that they are aware of the fraud in the French halal market, and about 26% identified butchers as primarily responsible for Halal fraud1. In the absence of any formal definition of the word halal in French law, it should be specified what a Muslim consumer means by "halal market fraud" (also commonly called “false halal”). There are several cases known to the consumer including those that we have outlined in a previous report:
"- A product from the conventional food producing companies that is sold as halal to Muslim consumers. Generally this type of product shows only the word "halal" without any mention or symbol of a halal certification body. These products can be found in supermarkets, but also in local Muslim run stores.
- A product is certified "halal" by a halal certification body that is simply collecting a fee and not actually checking the product.
- A meat product is sold that was slaughtered with prior stunning without the knowledge of the consumer.
- A meat product is sold that was electrocuted post-mortem without the knowledge of the consumer.
- A product is actually contaminated with ingredients that are considered unlawful (e.g., pork, alcohol, etc.). " 2
It is to be noted that these frauds have been previously reported in ASIDCOM’s reports; those of 2008 and 2009 about the Halal Control Bodies and the 2012 Muslim consumers’ report. Moreover, these frauds had been the subject of one letter of the French “Integrity” Association in January 1983. The letter was addressed to the Fraud Repression and Quality Control Authorities – Ministry of Consumption. (See Annex (in French)) Based on the existence of these frauds, several kinds of consumers are noted:
- Unware consumers about the existence of these frauds: their number is very high, but it is
constantly decreasing because these matters are being addresssed by the media (increase in
the number of Muslim community blogs and websites that emphasize the issue, repetitive
subject of national media during the Ramadan period, …)
- Consumer who get pass of the responsibility to the trader (“it was told to me that this is halal”)
1« The Muslim consumers as the key player in halal », Mars 2012, rapport ASIDCOM,
http://www.asidcom.org/IMG/pdf/ASIDCOM_Report-french_muslim_consumers.pdf 2 Idem
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- Vigilant consumers who seek better information about the issues and try to obtain a strong halal guaranty for the products they buy by checking for absence of stunning and the presence of an efficient halal control system. The number of this type of consumer is constantly increasing.
When undertaking purchases at the traditional halal butchery shops, consumers are devoid of any tool to check the reliability of the information provided by the butcher with respect to these halal guarantee criteria. If the information is wrong, this can be very harmful to Muslim consumers due to the butcher's essential place in the halal market. Following its investigation on the halal monitoring by control organizations in 2008 and 2009, and its French Muslim consumers’ survey in 2010-2012, the association ASIDCOM has decided to focus this piece of research on traditional halal butchers. One goal is to understand the operation of the halal butchers to obtain more quantitative data and to provide tools so that the Muslim consumer has a better understanding, whether currently informed or not. Another objective was to open a dialogue between representatives of Muslim consumers and those responsible at the “halal” butchers with respect to the issue of halal criteria, especially if stunning is used or not. This in-depth inquiry also aims to encourage consumers to go further in their demands for a halal product warranty, including not accepting "my butcher told me that it is halal, then he alone is responsible "... But rather to closely look at the multitude of halal definitions that may be used and be sure the definition meets the Muslim consumer’s requirements. In the first part of this report, the methodology used for conducting the survey of the traditional 'halal' butchers is presented. The second chapter presents and analyzes in detail the data collected in the Lille region, addressing several issues such as the types and quality of marketed products, the guarantee offered by the halal butchers to their Muslim clientele and the working conditions of these butchers. The results are then discussed in the light of some of the data in official reports on halal in Chapter 3 to draw conclusions and recommendations on the regulation and organization of the current halal system in the northern departments of France. Guidelines have been developed in consultation with responsible butchers from among traditional "halal" butchers.
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I- Methodology for the Survey of the Lille region’s halal traditional butcheries:
The ASIDCOM survey of the Lille region’s traditional halal butcheries was conducted in three steps. The first step was to interview via a questionnaire the traditional halal butchers, the last participant in the supply chain for halal meat for Muslim consumers. The questions, which are found in an annex contains questions focused for the butchers on their halal products and on their relationship with Muslim consumer issues. The use of a questionnaire allowed us to gather specific information from a number of butcheries with the possibility to quantify the data. The questionnaire is completed on site in the butchery by one of its leaders. This field survey was conducted by a group of experienced volunteers knowledgeable about the halal issues in France. They were also independent of the local halal meat markets. Note that there was no questionnaire sent by mail or electronically. In the absence of a leader or manager, an appointment was made to return at another time to undertake the interview. At the initial contact, the head person may have expressed more or less distrust and some persons refused to answer because of fear that the information would help the competition or gave other justifications. Through this questionnaire ASIDCOM has focused on three main themes:
- The first is the nature of products sold in the halal butcheries, - The second is product quality and halal warranty proposed by butchers to their
Muslim clients. - Finally, ASIDCOM was interested in the working conditions of the Muslim butchers
in the French context.
The list of the Lille region traditional halal butcheries was obtained via the website Societe.com. This allowed easy access to official information from the National Register of Commerce and Companies (SNCR) (public official data). Further research has been done through sites found through community guides. A total of 95 butchers, located in four municipalities (41 in Lille, Mons 3 in Baroeul, 7 in Villeneuve d'Ascq and 44 in Roubaix), were selected. But it should be noted that 32 butchers among them have ceased operating or transferred their business. The list of 37 butcheries that have been surveyed is in this report’s annexes. The second step was devoted to directly contacting butchers’ wholesalers. The list of these companies was collected from the questionnaire data. A letter was sent to each of these wholesalers to request them to meet with an interviewer. Then the letter was followed-up with a phone call. This allowed us to both do visits and obtain information using the telephone.
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The third step was to organize a meeting with the various butchers, local leaders of Muslim community and representatives of contractors’ union to present the results of the survey while highlighting the negative points and suggested ways to improve the situation.
During the meeting collected data and recommendations were presented by ASIDCOM
The results and findings of this survey are the subject of this report and freely being made available to halal stakeholders, especially consumers in the Lille region and more generally in France.
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II- The Traditional Halal Butchers (Lille Region-2012)
Traditional halal butchers in the city of Lille and three neighboring communities (Roubaix, Villeneuve D'Ascq and Baroeul Mons) were interviewed. They represented more than half of the traditional butchers (60%)3. They attract Muslim and non-Muslim consumers at the same time. One butcher interviewed indicated that 90% of his customers are not Muslim, while he shows the word "halal" on his butcher shop. During our investigations, we found that the number of butchers is very variable during a single year because a number of them open or close their doors or change ownership regularly. Following various discussions with the butchers it became clear that strong competition between about 63 traditional halal butcheries directly impacts the price of halal products4. Quality and the guarantee of halal are not a significant part of the criteria behind this competition. In this section, we will try to understand in more detail how these butchers function through the analysis of their responses to the ASIDCOM questionnaire. This analysis will be supported by other data collected from a number of suppliers and details that have been obtained from the interviewed butchers.
A- Butchers Profile:
The number of butchers who participated in the questionnaire is 37 among which were 5 that refused to complete the questionnaire. They came mainly from the city of Lille, but also covered other areas of the region: Roubaix, Mons, and Villeneuve d'Ascq. These are small companies with the number of employees ranging from one to 6. These companies were a few weeks to 30 years old, but often the older ones had already changed hands at least once since opening.
3 This number is calculated by consider the others listed. These last used available data on the website societe.com
4 A simple statement of prices could already show, in 2000, that the price of halal meat in Muslim butchers was a problem. Prices are not only very low compared to those of the meat in conventional stores, but they are also very unstable and change both up and down regularly. In this regard, we quote the article of Florence Bergeaud-Blackler, « La viande halal peut-elle financer le culte musulman ? », Journal des anthropologues [En ligne], 84 | 2001, mis en ligne le 01 janvier 2002, consulté le 09 août 2012. URL : http://jda.revues.org/2604:
“But if we establish a quick summary of the selling price of meat around the Place Saint-Michel, where most of the Islamic butcher stores in the city are concentrated, it becomes clear that profit margins are so low that any additional increase in costs could lead to the collapse of many businesses.
There is a large turnover of butchers although the overall trend is to increase in the number of butchers, many of them close shop on short notice. Low prices ... allows only a minimal margin and tends to weaken traders who are never immune to market fluctuations upstream.”
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It was noted that the general trend is a lack of a quality product and academic training of traditional halal butchers. The majority of Muslim butchers say they have learned their job by working (experience, artisans...). Few have training in this area.
This fact may be correlated with the absence of training for Muslim slaughter men may be the result of an agreement by the three great mosques (Paris - Evry - Lyon) that they are the only authorized bodies by the French government to deliver licenses to Muslim slaughter men, which limits the number of slaughter men and makes it harder to fill positions further from these three mosques. The new EU regulations that took effect on January 1, 2013 require a much more structured and robust training of all meat plant workers and should, hopefully, lead to a more robust training of slaughter men once implemented. But this EU law does not cover the butcher shops.
It is important to note that the word "halal" does not appear as part of the official appointment of traditional halal butchers according to the web site societe.com, the official listing of butchers 5. In ASIDCOM’s research, the word "halal" accompanies the names of the butchers on some search tools available to Muslim Internet users and even fewer are flagged in the "yellow pages." However, it should be noted that in its "Halal market survey" report, dated September 2005, the General Inspectior of the Administration uses the term "Muslim butchers" to designate the traditional halal butchers although it is not clear if the criteria is based on the manager’s religion or the word “halal” displayed somewhere within the shop or both. Moreover, many non-Muslim actors are working in the halal market, particularly at the wholesale level. As an illustration: the National Front party had to separate from its 2011 regional councilor Paul Lamoitier. His company is one of the largest wholesalers of halal meat in the region and has been called elsewhere in the press «the National Front’s halal butcher»
B- Communication Strategy:
More than 90% of the butchers surveyed publicly show the word “halal” either inside or outside their butcher shop in either Arabic and/or French. The Arabic language is generally employed to reach the Muslim consumer and gain his trust. This finding can be further supported by the fact that some food product producers write the ingredients list in Arabic to reassure the Muslim consumer even though the use of the Arabic language is by no means a guarantee that the product is halal, but rather a marketing tool
All butchers say their consumers know of them through word of mouth advertising. Approximately 30% of them have used written or audiovisual advertising (radio or Internet). Most believe that geographical proximity is extremely important.
There is another efficient mean of communication for some halal shops. Butchers dependent on or attached to a mosque may have one or more ads in the mosque during times of gathering of the faithful. Among all respondents’ from the Lille region, only one butcher depends on a
5 On the website of Societe.com, these butchers are defined as “Retail sale of meat and meat products in specialized stores”, without any mention of the word halal and differentiation from other neighborhoods butchers.
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mosque and only two butchers are managed by a person involved in a Muslim religious association. Thus, butchers are not tied to Muslim worship organizations and do not particularly participate in providing financial support to houses of Islamic worship in the north of France, thus going against conventional wisdom on the funding of house of Islamic worship by halal meat purveyors 6.
C- Marketed products:
The traditional Halal butchers sell mainly fresh meat, but also low quality delicatessen meats.
About 94% of butchers generally buy the entire carcass in the case of sheep, which may or may not be accompanied by their offal. But the amount of offal purchased exceeds that of carcasses only in the case of a butcher in Lille and two butchers in Roubaix. Note: Data for cattle were collected, but are much more limited and, thus, more unreliable. Therefore, the emphasis in this paragraph is on the halal sheep market. Usually, additional offal isn’t from religious slaughtered animal7. Moreover, the overall offal purchased remains below the number of carcasses.
Three butchers said they do not buy whole sheep carcasses but they buy according to their needs either anterior or posterior halves. About 23% of butchers also said they buy halves or just anterior or posterior quarters in addition to the entire sheep carcasses.
A survey by DGAL - BEAD in April/May of 2008 with the collaboration of the veterinary services showed that in slaughterhouses that only 46% of sheep are halal slaughtered with at least 15% being stunned prior to slaughter8. But the consumption of sheep meat by Muslims in France is estimated at 126% of national production9. Thus religiously slaughtered lambs in France only meet at best 37% of the needs of French Muslims for sheep meat. Yet, 64% of sheep meat produced in France are marketed as halal 10,11. The rate of deceit of Muslim consumers is at least equal to 20%!
6 This is of course not valid for the three great mosques of Paris, Lyon and Evry. They have a significant income through their ability as the only mosques in France to issue work cards for Muslim slaughterers to obtain funding. Furthermore, these three mosques were able, like a multitude of organizations (association or other) in France, to invest in a self-claimed halal control system of meat. Other mosques are interested in this approach, but the task is very complicated and often does a disservice to the guarantee of halal for consumers. The other way that can allow a mosque to benefit from halal meat revenues is by opening a shop attached to the mosque. This approach is legitimate as long as there is responsible behavior on the part of this type of business by endeavoring to ensure the religious and secular legality of the products and who do not abuse the trust of their followers by selling "false halal meat”.
7 A survey released on the TV chain D8 shows that offal sold in halal butchers in France are not from religious slaughter. Here is the link to
look at this report: http://www.al-kanz.org/2013/05/19/scandale-false-halal reportage/. In addition, we noted the remark of a butcher who told us that before the onset of the halal market, offal was generally rejected.
Overall the results suggest that the halal market is able to absorb all the sheep meat available from religious slaughter in France, independent of the conventional meat marking system. Similarly, the absorption by the halal market of all the meat available from religious slaughter is also possible in the case of cattle and poultry. Since the
demand of Muslim consumers covers all parts of slaughtered animals. This is an important parameter which confirms the ability of the halal industry to constitute a halal sector autonomous and independent from conventional meat marketing systems. Unfortunately, at present, the practice of religious slaughter in France is down despite the surge in demand for halal products on the internal market!
D- Halal Guarantee:
The guarantee that a product is halal needs to cover the entire halal production chain from the live animal to the slaughterhouse to the customer including any meat processing steps. The various issues of concern will be discussed within this report although more work is needed to improve halal authenticity.
No butcher who responded to the questionnaire is certified by an independent halal control body. Some among them say they would be interested in working with a control body for halal meats but none is currently functioning in the Lille area.
The detailed survey data present in this section are shown in the tables in Annex
D-1- Religious slaughter and stunning:
Only 6 butchers have reported selling products that were religiously slaughtered with stunning (electric water-bath for poultry and captive bolt for cattle)12. Five of them said they did not know if their meat was from a religious slaughter with stunning. All the other butchers who responded to the ASIDCOM’s questionnaire said they do not sell any meat product which comes from a slaughter with stunning prior or post slaughter. But the survey of suppliers revealed that all poultry sold by Muslim butchers in Lille and the surrounding cities comes from slaughter by electronarcosis. Also, more details will be given in the following paragraph concerning the origin of the sheep and beef sold by the halal butchers.
The 4 butchers who said they buy products (poultry/rabbit) that are slaughtered with prior stunning (Electric water-bath: Parameters to be completed by Lionor)13 have indicated that they have accepted these products because there are no religiously slaughtered poultry that are prepared without a stunning method available on the French market.
D-2-Suppliers:
Notice: the list of suppliers cited in this paragraph is not the full list of butchers interviewed by ASIDCOM.
The butchers surveyed often noted that the situation in France is very hostile to the Muslim religious slaughter of animals. As a first step, ASIDCOM contacted suppliers by phone. Then in the second step, ASIDCOM sent a letter to suppliers and requested that they kindly cooperate to answer our questions. These results will be discussed below.
13
However, the European Regulation (EC) No 1099/2009 of 24 September 2009 on the protection of animals at the time of killing, clearly
states that the conditions of use of electrical stunning bath "For animals listed in Table 2 (chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, and quail). The water bath stun should be done using the minimum currents in the table below and that the animals should be exposed to the current for a minimum of four seconds. '
Requirements for electrical water bath stunning
(Average values per animal)
Frequency (Hz) Chicken Turkey Ducks and Geese Quail
<200 Hz 100mA 250 mA 130 mA 45 mA
200 to 400 Hz 150 mA 400 mA Prohibited Prohibited
400 to 1500 Hz 200 mA 400 mA Prohibited Prohibited
In France and Europe poultry are often stunned at a frequency of 50 Hz. At this frequency, the number of dead chickens due to stunning varies between 22% at 60 mA to 99% at 148 mA. , , Similarly, the number of turkeys that dye as a result of stunning varies between 100% and 0% using 50 Hz to 600 Hz with a current of 150 mA .
However, there is no published scientific data on the effect of stunning at 50 Hz and 25 mA (below the requirement but used for halal with the assumption that birds are not being stunned to death) on the life or death of birds. Indeed, such a low amperage might allow the birds to become paralyzed without killing them or their losing consciousness. Electrical stunning is done solely for economic purposes, i.e., to permit accelerating the ritual slaughter process. This raises the important issue of animal welfare: the animal receives an electric shock for at least 4 seconds while remaining aware. Also, the European Council of Fatwa and Research is still against the use of stunning in the context of religious slaughter:
“Having examined the various slaughter methods, many of which consist of various illegal acts which lead to the death of a large proportion of animals, particularly chicken, the Council decided that it is best if stunning is not practiced prior or after the slaughter in particular because ritual slaughter provides less pain to the animal. Many scientific research studies favor the traditional Islamic method as prescribed by Prophet Muhammad (SAW) considering it best and more humane. This method also preserves a good quality meat. In contrast, we believe that stunning before or after slaughter is not beneficial in all cases.
So, regarding this project, the Council advises to adopt option A: Stunning is prohibited in general. ”
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Six slaughter plants for sheep and calf were listed by the butchers of Lille:
- The most commonly cited one was the slaughterhouse Society Ovine Flanders Artois (SOFA) in Balleuil (Department 59), which produces exclusively halal sheep meat for traditional halal butchers.
- Two other facilities are located in Northern departments, the municipal slaughterhouse of Hazebrouck and the Society Pruvost-leroy abattoir in Douai. Another is situated farther away in Dordogne (Department 24); the slaughterhouse Sobeval Boulazac. These three plants only do a portion of their production as halal, yet none of these three plants is supervised by a Muslim organization that guarantees that the meat sold as halal is actually halal and that no mixing of halal and non-halal meat occurs at these facilities. The only guarantee of the legality of meat is the word of the Muslim slaughter men and/or the Muslim and non-Muslim wholesalers who are sometimes the intermediary between the slaughterhouse and butcher. Moreover, there is no written document (e.g., bill of sale at each marketing stage) stating the method of slaughter (i.e., the system is not transparent and there is no chain of custody established for halal meat). While in the case of the Sobeval plant, the following appears on their website:
'Imposed by rigorous specifications, guarantees are highlighted on the product label. '14
This statement does not allow consumers to learn more about the method of slaughter and the procedures used for either handling live animals or of the meat after religious slaughter. Also, no halal certifying body is mentioned. Similarly, one cannot determine if there are times reserved exclusively for religious slaughter or whether animals are religiously slaughtered at the same time as non-religious slaughter is occurring.
- The fifth site is the slaughterhouse Meat Corrèze in Saint Viance (Department 19). The slaughterhouse clearly shows on its website that it produces halal meat, among others. Also, it states that the halal products are certified by approved agencies, although these are not listed on the web site. Mr. Akoudad, the butcher who listed this slaughterhouse on the questionnaire indicated that the calves which he buys from there are certified by AVS.
- The sixth slaughterhouse is the Dutch company Fa Gebrs Gijzels. No information has been obtained about this company.
Three slaughterhouses provide beef to traditional halal butchers in Lille and its surrounding area:
- The first is the municipal slaughterhouse of Douai, owned by the Pruvost-Leroy Company whose production specifics have been mentioned in the previous paragraph.
- The other two are the two Belgian slaughterhouses; Euro-meat (Mouscon) and Tampere BVBA (Lichtervelde). ASIDCOM visited without warning Euro-meat, which is classified as a “Category one” slaughterhouse. ASIDCOM was accompanied by Mr. Ammeloot, a Belgian wholesaler and supplier to traditional halal butchers in northern France. ASIDCOM’s team noted the presence of the Muslim slaughterer/guarantor of legality. The team was able to see religious slaughter of a few animal s without stunning. But again, ASIDCOM did not see any evidence of specific systems to document religious slaughter at the time of slaughter or to assure halal meat handling or to assure the integrity of the meat (e.g., special markings) through distribution. Also there are not specific times reserved exclusively for religious slaughter. Moreover, we learned a few months after this visit that the slaughterhouse has introduced stunning post-mortem for religiously slaughtered animals. This information was confirmed to us by the slaughterer, Mr. BADAOUI.
c- Poultry:
The only French Abattoir listed by butchers was the Lionor Society abattoir. The legality of the meat from this slaughterhouse is guaranteed by a Mr. Djamel, about whom we could not learn much and no system was in place to assure the integrity of the meat from slaughterhouse to butchery. However, several butchers have indicated that this slaughterhouse uses electronarcosis for religious slaughter (with low amperage!). These butchers deplored the lack of a poultry factory in France dedicated to unstunned slaughter of poultry.
The other two poultry slaughterhouses indicated by the butchers are in Belgium. The first is the abattoir Lammens SA in Torhout. The second is the Carron BVBA slaughter house in Ingelmunster. Both of these abattoirs use the electric water bath.
It should be noted that the guarantee of the legality of the meat from Belgium is ensured by the presence of Muslims participants at the various stages of the chain of transmission. It was noted an offer of poultry includes the certification logo of the mosque of Evry. These products are generally provided by “Lille Volaille”.
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Further processed meat products are a sort of black box for Muslim butchers. However, it was noted that most delicatessen, frozen products or meals mentioned a halal control body on the packaging. Some of the bodies have already been investigated by ASIDCOM in 2008 and 200915.
But the information contained in note n° 2000-30 issued by the DGCCRF (Directorate General for Competition, Consumption and Repression of Fraud) following an investigation of 11 producers of halal processed products highlights some of ASIDCOM’s concerns16.
The incorporation of meat that "cannot be qualified as halal." "Some operators are providing products from establishments that don’t in any way practice a religious slaughter. It turns out that only a few companies have sufficient traceability at this level. It was noted that a producer is using additive preparations containing pig's blood. «The note concludes: "For a significant part of the production, the term halal is usurped. It is essentially used to hide a low level of quality and improve the price competitiveness of the enterprises concerned. [...] The high percentage of surveyed abnormalities shows the need to strengthen the control of this particular sector. Our approach should lead processors to formalize their requirements to suppliers of raw materials, by developing single referential standards aligning to the position of the mosques.”
D-3-Consumer information:
No method is in place among the traditional halal butchers to provide clear and reliable information to consumers regarding the use of electrical stunning or captive bolt stunning for religiously slaughtered animals. Indeed, although butchers say they inform consumers if they are asked, most said they have never been asked by their customers about stunning. In fact, even consumers who are more aware of the fraud in the halal market17 continue to see the Muslim butcher as a pledge of confidence that meat is halal and are confused by what they consider disinformation campaigns conducted around the issue of religious slaughter18. Also, given the widespread use of stunning in the context of religious slaughter, informed consumers are struggling to find alternatives.
16 « Enquête sur le champ du halal », an official document of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, http://www.asidcom.org/IMG/pdf/COPERCI_2005.pdf
18 Electoral controversy launched by the right and the extreme right during the period of the 2012 French presidential elections: http://www.asidcom.org/Croisade-contre-l-abattage-rituel.html, http://www.asidcom.org/Un-seul-objectif-Interdiction-de-l.html, http://www.asidcom.org/Election-2012-Nicolas-Sarkozy-et.html
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In conclusion, the response given by most butchers that religious slaughtered meat may have been stunned shows their lack of understanding of key issues as to what is acceptable for halal meats. These facts suggest that Muslim consumers need to be vigilant and to require guarantees from butchers with tangible proof that their products are derived from religious slaughter that complies with the requirements of 97% of French Muslim consumers19. The Muslim consumer needs to take more responsibility to assure that the meat they purchase meets their standard.
E- Quality of products: Selection criteria for fresh meat:
Figure 5 shows that the method of slaughter is the first criterion when choosing meat for 56% of butchers who responded to the questionnaire. Indeed, for most people, it is this criterion that makes the difference between a halal and non-halal product/meat. But it should be noted in this connection that all the butchers do not have the same requirements in terms of being halal guaranteed. This can range from a butcher who visits the slaughterhouse each week to verify the method of slaughter (i.e., to be sure it is produced without any type of stunning) to a butcher who has never visited the slaughterhouse and accepts its supplier’s statements. In the case of red meat slaughterhouses, butchers are confident of the halal status if the abattoir uses at least one Muslim slaughterer although in reality a Muslim slaughterer may participate in non-halal slaughters of various kinds. A butcher told us that during one of his visits he found a slaughterer (non-Muslim) killing lambs while pronouncing the Islamic prayer" Bismilleh Allahu Akbar." So the butcher asked what he was doing. The killer said that the Muslim slaughterer was on break and he is trying to advance the work in his place. If the person was a serious Christian (or Jew, Karite, or Summaritan) this might possibly be acceptable, but given the large number of people in France who are “secular,” very few Frenchmen would properly qualify as “Ahl Al-Kitabe,” i.e., people of the book. This was not the first time that such information has been provided to ASIDCOM. Indeed, an organizer of the Eid sacrifice at the Fontanil slaughterhouse in Isere Department (38) reported that during the preparation before the Eid, he noted that when the Muslim slaughterer was taking a break, a non-Muslim slaughter did the slaughter until his colleague returned to the workplace. The meat is then sold as halal product!
Figure 1: Criteria classification for product selection, according to butchers. Position 1 is the percentage of butchers who ranked the criterion in the highest position, and position 2 is the percentage of butchers
who ranked the product by the second criterion, and so on...
Another butcher told ASIDCOM that he has not checked directly that the slaughter is according to the Islamic method but relies on the stamps affixed by the mosques, namely the Paris Mosque and the Mosque of Evry (in the north). But these mosques do not employ any Muslim controllers.
In summary, despite the recognition of the importance of the method of slaughter when choosing halal product/meat, there is a disturbing lack of serious and effective procedures that are being used by butchers to ensure the authenticity of halal meat. No procedures seem to be in place other than those of a few butchers who actually watch the slaughter of their meat.
Moreover, with regard to poultry visits by butchers to the slaughter house are generally very rare or nonexistent. In fact, poultry meat is generally distributed by wholesalers or distributors who sell both halal meat and non-halal meat. These distributors can be found in France (Lille poultry) or abroad (Moerman BVBA, Belgium).
F-Work constraints:
A new butcher who had just opened his business during the month of Ramadan (July-August 2012), stated, "We cannot find meat that is 'really' halal in France. Some butchers sell products on the street that is "falsely" halal at prices that are lower than those of my suppliers. Consumers here do not know the reality. We are completely stunned and we may close if it continues this way "20. It should be noted that this butcher has chosen to sell only fresh meat 20
This butchery had already closed only two months after its opening.
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obtained from a religious slaughter without stunning and produced under the control of an independent halal control body.
The issue of visiting slaughterhouses was raised earlier in this report. Some butchers reported that they cannot afford to go regularly to the slaughterhouse because of lack of time and especially since they must be present in their shop. Indeed, given what was mentioned above in terms of lack of skills and academically trained person, butchers feel compelled to monitor the progress of the work in their shops because they could not count on their employees. Some butchers have raised the issue of the geographical proximity of suppliers, their availability and the lack of communication between suppliers and butchers, and wonder about the possibility of organizing a collective procedure for control of the production of halal for the city’s serious halal butchers.
G- A syndicate for halal butchers:
The questions related to this paragraph were the last ones in ASIDCOM’s questionnaire. It was noted that these addressed some questions that the butchers answered after they were more comfortable and less suspicious of our approach. They are indeed constantly seeking to overcome their difficulties and know that they are due to a lack of organization, communication and solidarity between them. Thus, they are willing to do something to improve the situation.
H- Conclusion
Several Muslim butchers, like most halal stakeholders, continue paradoxically to benefit from the fuzziness that exists within the halal market, where consumers are not clear what standard is being used. They benefit from enjoying the confidence of Muslim consumers compared to supermarkets. Yet, most are, in fact, unconcerned about the halal guarantee that the give either directly or by implication to their Muslim customers. They easily trust their suppliers and minimize their visits to slaughterhouses and manufacturing sites despite the absence of halal production control procedures. Most say that no stunning is used by their suppliers without having any physical evidence (e.g., a control scheme or regular, or even occasional, visits to production sites). They know little about the processed products they sell. They also have no training to be butchers or food handlers. .
A number of factors define the situation. A few of these are:
- Strong competition between butchers: The butcher trade continues to attract Muslim entrepreneurs. The number of these businesses continues to grow. This increases competition and although creating lower prices, it also leads to lower quality or halal authenticity.
Adresse Postale : ASIDCOM, BP 50029, 59007 LILLE CEDEX, FRANCE
- Price weakness and a high level of price fluctuation: this limits their profitability and leads to unfair competition. It also may lead to health and safety shortcuts.21.
- There is no independent halal industry in France: This leads to an unregulated market place with little effort to collectively enforce good business practices, clear labeling for consumers, and proper halal supervision.
- Distant suppliers: Although the traditional halal butchers are part of neighborhood shops, the slaughterhouses are increasingly distant as butchers seek to get better prices. Yet the butchers complain of a lack of local suppliers. However two municipal slaughterhouses in the region, one in Lille then another in Hazebrouck closed in 2012!
- The halal marked has not completely ceased to be a clearance market: They continue to serve this purpose and have not yet become an independent sector.
- - There is not a statutory instrument that requires showing a direct link between religious slaughter and the term "halal": This has encouraged the development of many unfair trade practices within the French halal market.
All these factors make the mission of those butchers who are trying to offer a product with a halal guarantee and of good quality very difficult or impossible. They have promoted the spread of stunning animals without the knowledge of consumers. These last are not protected legally in France when the deception concerns the product’s halal status.
21
Hanan Ben Rhouma, « Affaire de la viande « halal » nettoyée à l’acide : une mise en examen », Saphirnews, 11 avril 2009
Adresse Postale : ASIDCOM, BP 50029, 59007 LILLE CEDEX, FRANCE
Name of the Butchery Town Statusparticipation in the
ASIDCOM's surveyAdress
80 ROUBAIX VIANDE DISTRIBUTION Roubaix Not interviewed 6 Place du Trichon
81 SARL BOUCHERIE DE L'ABATTOIR Roubaix Not interviewed 13 Rue de Tourcoing
82 SARL ALAB Roubaix Not interviewed 151 Rue de Lannoy83 SARL SODIPAL Roubaix Not interviewed 157 Rue de l'Epeule84 Les Délices de L'Orient Refused to respond12 Bis Rue de Tourcoing85 SARL SH (pooulet dore) Roubaix Removed 2011 149 Rue Jules Guesde
86 ASAADA (Boucherie AL FEN) Villeneuve D'Ascq Responded
87 HALAL MARKET Villeneuve D'Ascq Responded
88 INES // boucherie de l'orient Villeneuve D'Ascq Not interviewed 20 Chemin des Crieurs
89 BOUCHERIE DU BOURG Villeneuve D'Ascq Not interviewed 8 Rue du General Leclerc
90 BOUCHERIE QUIEVRECHAIN Villeneuve D'Ascq Not interviewed 63 Rue Claude Debussy
91 BOUCHERIE DU VILLAGE Villeneuve D'Ascqliquidation judiciare
8 Rue du General Leclerc
92 BOUCHERIE FINE Villeneuve D'Ascq Not interviewed 24 Place de Verdun
93 BOUCHERIE DE MONS Mons en Baroeul Responded
94 SARL JABER Mons en Baroeul Removed 2011 Rue Lavoisier
95 BOUCHERIE ZAIO // radiée Mons en Baroeul Removed 2010 37 Rue du Marechal Lyautey
Adresse Postale : ASIDCOM, BP 50029, 59007 LILLE CEDEX, FRANCE
Halal butchers represent more than 80% of the halal market. If they cooperate with the customers they would be able to reform halal in France
Important: This questionnaire will be analyzed in a report and the responses of
butchers will be displayed on the website of ASIDCOM.
Name of the butchery: ...............................................................................
A-Profile of the butchery:
� Small business � Average business Opening year: ............... Department or Country: .................
Number of employees: ..........................................
What are your qualifications: ......................................... , And those of your employees: ..................................................................
Are you certified: � ISO 9001 � 22000 � If other, please specify: .....................................................
B-Communication strategy:
1 – Do you Display the word “halal” on your butchery? � YES � NO
If yes, can you specify where you can view it:
� outside � inside � in French � in Arabic X in both
2 - How did you make known your butchery?
�word of mouth �print advertising �TV advertising �geographical proximity of Muslim consumers
3 - Does your butchery depend upon a religious association: � YES � NO
4 - Are you involved in an Islamic association?
� YES � NO If yes, in whatassociation:
C-Marketed products:
5 - What kind of meat do you sell?
�fresh meat (processed or not) �delicatessen �product pre-cooked (frozen or not) �cooked meals
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