Worldwide, there is a great need to provide certain religious groups with meat that complies with strict religious standards of production. For the Islamic consumer, Halal meat is what is required, whereas for the Jewish consumer, Kosher is what is “fit and proper.” Kosher and Halal is a lecture in ANSC 307, and this page is one of the most viewed on our website, which signifies the importance of this subject to many people.
There are many questions about the similarities and differences between Halal and Kosher, and the table below presents some of the key comparisons between the two:
| Halal | Kosher |
| Animal need only be alive pre-slaughter | Animal has to be alive and conscious pre-slaughter |
| Stunning accepted | Stunning not accepted |
| Animals can be slaughtered by Christians and Jews | Animals have to be slaughtered by a Shohet |
| Residual blood in meat acceptable | Residual blood has to be purged (kosherization) |
| Kosher meat is Halal | Halal meat is not Kosher |
This table is based on summary slide by Dr. Mustafa Farouk at the 2013 International Congress of Meat Science and Technology for his presentation on Halal and Kosher meat production (Farouk, 2013). One of the most interesting discussion points of his presentation was the use of electrical stunning for Halal since it is a recoverable form of stunning (i.e., it does not result in the death of the animal) so that the animal can be insensitive at the time of slaughter. In contrast, stunning is not allowed in Kosher processing. Although there are many other comparisons between Halal- and Kosher-produced meat, this summary slide provides a great overview of some of the greatest differences between the two.
Literature Cited
Farouk, M. M. 2013. Advances in the industrial production of halal and kosher red meat. Meat Sci. 95: 805-820. [Link to reference]
Other References