KUALA LUMPUR: All slaughterhouses supplying Muslim consumers should be required to employ accredited slaughterers and halal checkers, even if they do not seek halal certification, a halal management expert said.
Universiti Utara Malaysia Institute of Halal Management director Dr Nor Aina Mhd Khotib said the requirement should also apply to small operators, including roadside slaughterhouses, to ensure that trained personnel carry out slaughtering and halal checks.
“Even if they do not apply for halal certification, their slaughterers should be required to have accreditation, and they should have halal checkers,” she said when contacted.
Aina, who is also a senior lecturer at UUM’s Islamic Business School, said being Muslim alone should not be considered a substitute for the training and assessment required to become an accredited slaughterer.
“To obtain accreditation, slaughterers have to attend a course and undergo an interview,” she said.
She said oversight must also address hygiene, drainage and the disposal of blood and other waste, requiring cooperation between religious, veterinary and other relevant authorities.
“The Department of Islamic Development (Jakim) cannot do it alone because slaughterhouses also come under the Veterinary Services Department,” she said.
Aina said smaller operators struggled to meet waste management requirements when seeking halal certification, highlighting the need to address conditions at their premises alongside slaughtering practices.
She said the government should consider providing designated slaughtering facilities to help these operators meet the requirements.
Schools and universities, she added, could encourage more operators to seek certification by requiring their food providers to source chicken from halal-certified slaughterhouses.
“When there is pressure, smaller businesses may also try to obtain halal certification,” she said.