Around one in twenty people in Britain eats halal meat as a matter of faith, and a great many more eat it without knowing: in takeaways, at weddings, in a friend’s kitchen. Yet ask what “halal” actually means and most people, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, will give you a partial answer.

This guide is written for anyone who wants the full picture without the jargon. What the word means, what the rules are, how the slaughter works, what certification in the UK actually involves, and how to tell whether the meat you are buying is what it claims to be. It is written by a halal butcher, so there is a point of view here, but the facts come first.

What “halal” means

Halal is an Arabic word meaning permissible or lawful. It applies to far more than food: speech, business, behaviour. Its opposite is haram, meaning forbidden.

In the context of food, halal describes anything a Muslim is permitted to eat under Islamic dietary laws. Most food is halal by default. Fruit, vegetables, grains, fish, dairy and eggs are all halal unless something has been done to them, like adding alcohol or pork gelatine.

Meat is different. For meat to be halal, both the animal and the way it was killed must meet specific conditions under broader dietary laws and halal principles. That is where the detail lives, and it is why “halal meat” is a category in its own right.

Which animals are halal

The Quran names the animals that are forbidden as part of Islamic dietary law. Pork and anything from a pig is the best known. Also forbidden are carnivorous animals and birds of prey, animals that died of natural causes or were killed by another animal, and blood as a food; in other words, certain foods are considered haram regardless of slaughter method.

Everything else that is commonly farmed is permitted: cattle, sheep, goats, chickens, turkeys, ducks, camels. Fish and most seafood are halal without any slaughter requirement, which is why you will see fish at a halal butcher like THB’s salmon and sea bass sitting alongside the lamb and beef.

So the first condition is simple. The animal itself must be a permitted species. A chicken is halal in principle. A pig never is, and pork can never be considered halal under Islamic guidelines, however it was slaughtered.

How halal slaughter works: the halal slaughter process explained

The second condition is the slaughter process, known as dhabihah or zabiha. This is where halal meat differs from conventionally slaughtered meat, and it is the part that generates the most questions.

The requirements, as understood by mainstream Islamic scholarship, are these.

The animal must be alive and healthy at the point of slaughter, including at the time of slaughter itself. An animal that has already died cannot be made halal.

The slaughter must be performed by a Muslim (some scholars accept a Jew or Christian) who is of sound mind and understands what they are doing.

The name of God must be invoked at the moment of slaughter. The slaughterman says “Bismillah, Allahu Akbar” (in the name of God, God is greatest) over each animal. This is not incidental. It is the act that distinguishes a sacred taking of life from mere killing, and it is a reminder that the animal’s life has value.

A single, swift cut is made across the throat with a sharp knife, severing the windpipe, the food pipe and the major blood vessels of the neck in one motion, while the spinal cord is left intact, helping reduce suffering when slaughtering animals. The intention is to cause rapid loss of blood pressure to the brain and the quickest possible loss of consciousness.

The blood must drain fully from the carcass. Blood is haram to consume, and consuming flowing blood is forbidden, so thorough draining is considered both a religious and a hygienic requirement.

The animal must be treated with kindness beforehand. It should be given water, should not see other animals being slaughtered, and the knife should not be sharpened in front of it. Cruelty to animals is forbidden in Islam regardless of the meat’s eventual status, and halal methods are meant to avoid unnecessary suffering.

THB’s meat is hand-slaughtered in accordance with these principles. That phrase, “hand-slaughtered”, matters to many customers and is worth understanding, so it gets its own section.

Hand slaughter and the stunning question

Two issues come up repeatedly when people discuss halal slaughter in the UK: mechanical versus hand slaughter, and stunning.

Hand versus mechanical. In large poultry plants, birds may be killed by a rotating mechanical blade with a recording of the blessing played over a speaker. Some certifiers accept this; many Muslims do not, on the grounds that a person must perform the slaughter and pronounce the blessing for each animal. Hand slaughter means a trained slaughterman performs each cut individually and says the blessing over each animal. It is slower and costs more, and it is the standard THB follows.

Stunning. UK law requires animals to be stunned before slaughter, with a religious exemption that allows non-stun slaughter for halal and kosher meat. Some countries, such as Denmark, have banned non-stunning slaughter over animal-welfare concerns, while some EU states grant exemptions for religious slaughter. Within the halal sector, opinion is divided. Some certifiers permit certain forms of stunning that do not kill the animal, often called prior stunning or pre stunning, arguing the animal is still alive at the cut. Others hold that any stunning risks the animal dying before the cut and refuse it entirely. In 2017, 16% of halal animals in the UK were not stunned before slaughter. In 2011, 84% of halal cattle, 81% of halal sheep, and 88% of halal chickens were stunned before slaughter. Both positions are held sincerely by qualified scholars, and this guide does not pretend to settle the question.

What it does say is this: if stunning matters to you, ask your butcher directly and expect a straight answer. A supplier who cannot tell you what happens in their abattoir has not earned your trust.

What halal certification means in the UK

There is no single government halal standard in Britain. Certification is usually issued by non-governmental organizations, each with its own criteria and inspection process. Certified businesses often pay an annual fee as part of the certification process. A certifier typically audits the abattoir, checks the slaughtermen are qualified Muslims, confirms the method of slaughter, inspects for cross-contamination with non-halal meat, and issues a certificate that can be displayed by the butcher or restaurant. The first formal halal audit in the US took place in 1983.

Certification is what turns a claim into something verifiable, helping show compliance with halal criteria and build consumer trust. Anyone can write “halal” on a sign. A certificate from a recognised body means someone independent has checked.

THB’s meat is certified halal by UK halal authorities and hand-slaughtered in accordance with Islamic principles. THB’s page on the benefits of halal sets out the wider case. Any customer who wants to know more about certification is welcome to get in touch.

Is halal meat healthier?

This claim gets made a lot, and it deserves a careful answer rather than a sales pitch.

There are two things in halal slaughter that have a plausible link to meat quality. The first is thorough blood drainage: blood is a medium for bacterial growth and its removal is a hygiene benefit that conventional slaughter also aims for. The second is the emphasis on calm handling before slaughter: stress hormones released by frightened animals are known to affect meat texture and colour, and reducing them is good practice in any abattoir.

Beyond that, halal meat is simply meat. A halal ribeye has the same protein, iron, zinc and B12 as any other ribeye. The health of the meat you eat depends far more on the cut, the portion, how it was farmed, how fresh it is and how you cook it than on the method of slaughter. THB Mag looked at the nutrients in red meat and at the myths around beef in more depth.

So: halal meat is not unhealthy, and the process has some sensible hygiene built in. But if a supplier tells you halal meat will cure anything, find another supplier.

Common misconceptions

“Halal meat is blessed by a priest.” There are no priests in Islam and no separate blessing ceremony. The blessing is the slaughterman’s own words at the moment of the cut.

“Halal means the meat is Middle Eastern or spicy.” Halal describes how the animal was killed, not the cuisine. A halal Sunday roast is a Sunday roast. THB sells T-bone steaks, festive turkey and Angus burgers alongside the marinated tikka.

“All meat in Britain is secretly halal.” Some large processors do slaughter to halal standards for supply chain reasons, and this has caused controversy when not labelled. But the majority of British meat is not halal, and meat processed outside halal requirements would be considered non-halal for Muslim consumers, while halal meat sold as such should be certified.

“Halal and kosher are the same.” They share a great deal: a permitted species, a swift throat cut, full blood drainage, a religious pronouncement. But the rules differ in detail. Kosher food is governed by Jewish law and is permissible when it meets kashrut rules. Kosher forbids mixing meat and dairy and requires specific inspection of the carcass; halal does not. Many Muslims will eat kosher meat if halal is unavailable; the reverse is not generally true.

How to buy halal meat you can trust

If you are buying halal for the first time, or checking a new supplier, here is what a halal butcher would tell you to look for.

Certification you can see. Ask which body certifies the meat. A confident supplier will tell you, and a clear certification process helps build consumer trust, especially for Muslim consumers buying packaged halal products.

Hand slaughter, stated plainly. If it matters to you, it should be written down, not implied.

No cross-contamination. A halal butcher should sell only halal meat, so there is no risk of shared equipment, storage or handling with pork or non-halal products; halal guidelines apply to storage and handling, not just the meat itself. This is one reason many Muslims prefer a dedicated halal butcher to a supermarket halal counter.

Freshness. Halal food is not just meat, so buyers may also look for clearly certified products across the range. Halal or not, meat that has been frozen in bulk and thawed for sale is lesser meat. THB’s meat is never frozen: butchered fresh, vacuum-sealed and delivered chilled within 24 hours. THB Mag has a practical guide to what to look for when ordering halal meat online.

Straight answers. Ask a question and see how it is handled. Trust is the whole business.

Frequently asked questions

What does halal mean in food?

Halal means permissible in food under Islamic dietary laws. For meat, it means the animal is a permitted species and was slaughtered by a Muslim who invoked God’s name and made a single swift cut to the throat, following Islamic guidelines for the slaughter process, with the blood then fully drained.

Is chicken halal?

Chicken is a permitted species, so it can be halal, but only if chickens slaughtered for sale follow halal methods and certification requirements. Ordinary supermarket chicken is not halal unless labelled and certified as such, and unlabeled chicken should not be assumed to be considered halal.

Is fish halal?

Yes. Fish and most seafood are halal without any slaughter requirement in the majority of Islamic schools of thought. A few schools exclude certain shellfish; most permit everything from the sea.

Can non-Muslims eat halal meat?

Of course. Halal meat is simply meat slaughtered in a particular way. Many non-Muslims buy it for the quality, the freshness or because they are cooking for Muslim friends and family.

Is halal slaughter cruel?

The halal method is designed to cause the fastest possible loss of consciousness through a single cut by a sharp knife, and Islamic law requires the animal to be treated gently beforehand. Whether it is more or less humane than conventional slaughter with stunning is a matter of ongoing scientific and ethical debate, as the aim is to avoid unnecessary suffering, though debate continues over prior stunning in religious slaughter. Both methods are legal in the UK.

How can I tell if meat is really halal?

Look for certification from a recognised UK halal body as part of the certification process, ask whether the meat is hand-slaughtered, and buy from a dedicated halal butcher rather than a mixed counter. A supplier who answers these questions readily is one you can trust, which helps Muslim consumers and other buyers build consumer trust.

Where can I buy certified halal meat online in the UK?

THB delivers certified, hand-slaughtered halal meat across the UK within 24 hours, fresh and never frozen. Browse the full range.

A last word

Halal is not a marketing label, even though halal meat also sits within a vast halal food market. The global halal food market is worth about $1.1 trillion, Muslim consumers spent $1.43 trillion on food in 2023, and the EU market is about $30 billion. Halal meat demand is projected to reach $1.94 trillion by 2028, and around 15% of all meat slaughtered in the UK is halal compliant. For the people who eat it, it is a serious matter of faith, and for the butcher who sells it, it is a responsibility. At THB every cut is hand-slaughtered and certified halal, not as a selling point but because there is no other way we would do it.

If you have a question this guide has not answered, contact THB and ask. And if you are ready to try fresh, certified halal meat delivered tomorrow, the shop is open.