Malaysia halts Dutch halal meat imports

Wednesday 25 May 2011

Malaysia has stopped importing halal chicken meat from the Netherlands because of failings in the certification and slaughter method, the Volkskrant reports on Wednesday.

‘No-one charged with certifying meat as halal and who takes their responsibilities as a Muslim seriously can accept this meat as halal,’ the Malaysian halal authority told the paper in a statement.

Malaysian inspectors were in the Netherlands to check out the situation at the end of last year. In particular, there are concerns that animals are stunned or anaesthetised before being killed, which is not allowed in ritual slaughter, the paper says.

Dutch halal exports to the Islamic country total some €13m a year.

Parliament is currently looking at a potential ban on ritual slaughter, which would stop the production of halal and kosher meat.

© DutchNews.nl

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