By: Ir. Muti Arintawati, M.Si (President Director of LPPOM MUI)
Question:
Assalamu’alaikum
Chicken meat is a source of animal protein that is relatively easy to obtain. Besides the reasonable price, it can be purchased anywhere in supermarkets and traditional markets.
To get fresh meat, we usually buy chicken at markets or supermarkets selling the meat. However, sometimes there are doubts about the halalness of the chicken we buy. Even though chicken is halal to be consumed, if the slaughter does not follow Islamic law, the chicken meat becomes haram.
How can we get a guarantee that the chicken meat we buy is guaranteed to be halal? Are there provisions from LPPOM MUI that regulate the slaughter of chickens?
Those are our questions. Thank you for the response and explanation.
Wassalamu’alaikum
Rima Asfiani, Solo, Central of Java
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Answer:
Waalaikumsalam
Thank you for your question, and we understand your concern about buying chicken meat. It is true that even though chicken is a halal animal, if it is slaughtered carelessly and does not follow the slaughtering procedures according to Sharia rules, then the chicken meat becomes haram.
In some cases, we still encounter chicken slaughter in traditional markets that are carried out without meeting the requirements. For example, not to cut the throat and only injure the skin. In addition, some do not make sure that the chicken dies after being slaughtered and immediately dip the chicken into hot water, so there is a possibility that the chicken will die from being exposed to the heat. This happens because the slaughter of chickens in traditional markets is usually done by traders whose legitimacy in halal slaughter is unknown.
Such slaughter is illegal because it does not cut the throat or the part of the neck below the base of the head so that the airway (al-hulqúm), the two darar paths (wadajain) and the food route (al-mari’) are severed.
For slaughter to be carried out according to Islamic law, the Indonesian Council of Ulama (MUI) has issued Fatwa No. 12 of 2009 concerning Halal Slaughter Certification Standards. The fatwa, in addition to explaining the procedure for slaughtering, also regulates post-slaughter management.
As for the provisions relating to slaughter according to Islamic law, it is emphasized that slaughter must be carried out by a Muslim of sound mind or already tamyiz (able to distinguish between good, bad and so on). For crazy people, people who like to get drunk, or children who are not yet mature, the slaughter is not valid. Likewise, the slaughter of infidels, of course, is not proper.
LPPOM MUI has also issued a Halal Assurance System (HAS) 23000 guidebook regulating halal slaughter procedures.
As is known, HAS 23000 is a certification requirement stipulated by LPPOM MUI. It must be fulfilled by entrepreneurs who run businesses in specific fields and wish to take care of halal certification.
HAS 23000 is a standard that regulates explicitly the process from upstream to downstream and is a halal certification requirement set by LPPOM MUI to ensure the halal certification process for a product meets the requirements.
Specifically related to slaughter, LPPOM MUI applies standards for Slaughterhouses (RPH) as places for slaughtering livestock (Cows, goats, and poultry) which are then processed into meat. This type of business that is upstream must meet the HAS 23000 standard to maintain the halal product consumed by the public.
The HAS 23000 standard stipulates that slaughterhouse facilities must be devoted to the production of halal livestock meat and not allowed to mix with RPH facilities for non-halal animals.
In addition, the location of the slaughterhouse must be separate from pig farming, not in the exact location of the pig slaughterhouse. Also, it should not be adjacent to the pig slaughterhouse, at least 5 km from the pig farm, and there must be no cross-contamination between the halal slaughterhouse and the pig farming.
The HAS 23000 standard also requires matters relating to slaughter. Slaughter equipment at the RPH must meet the following requirements:
· Sharp;
· Does not come from nails, teeth/canines, or bones;
· The size of the slaughtering tool is adjusted to the neck of the animal to be cut;
· Grinding is not done in front of the animal to be slaughtered; and
· If the slaughtering tool used is a mechanical slaughterer, it must also meet the requirements for halal slaughter.
To ensure that the chicken meat you buy is genuinely halal, buying it at a meat-selling place with a halal certificate is highly recommended.
If you want to buy chicken slaughtered by traders in the market, please ensure that the slaughterer meets the abovementioned requirements.
We expect the explanation above answer your question. Thank You.
Wassalamu’alaikum
