In Islam, things are basically permissible unless there is a text in the Noble Qur’an or the authentic hadiths that proves otherwise. With regard to food, the word “halal” means food that is permitted according to Islamic law, and on this basis, most foods and drinks are permitted unless it is mentioned in Its prohibition is a text, as is the case with the prohibition of blood, pork, dead meat, and other things that are mentioned in a clear text in the Holy Qur’an and authentic hadiths.
Now, the “halal industry” has expanded beyond the food sector, to include pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, health products, toiletry and medical devices, as well as service sector components such as logistics, marketing, print and electronic media, packaging, branding and finance.
In addition, the halal food market is emerging as one of the most profitable and influential in the global food business today.
The halal food industry is based on the belief that Muslims should eat healthy food that is permitted in Islamic law. In fact, the halal food market is not exclusive to Muslims;
It has gained increasing acceptance over time among non-Muslim consumers who associate halal with ethical consumerism that includes the usefulness and health of what one eats.
The global halal food market is estimated to be worth $1,522,170 million in 2022 and is expected to reach $1,959,610 million by 2028, at a compound annual growth rate of 4.3% during this period, according to Market Watch in a report. Recently.
The halal food market is not exclusively for Muslims as it has gained increasing acceptance over time among non-Muslims (Pixabi)
There are a number of companies that are mainly active in the halal food market in the world, and the markets of East Asia, the Middle East and North Africa are among the main markets, occupying about 55% of the global market.
Currently, popular international restaurant and fast food chains such as Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), McDonald's and Subway serve halal food in many non-Muslim countries, and supermarkets such as Carrefour ( Carrefour) on displaying halal food products in its markets to the public, due to non-Muslims' desire to eat this food and their preference for it over other foods spread in their countries.
Perhaps the question that arises is why non-Muslims of followers of other religions in the world prefer to eat halal food prepared according to the Islamic way over other types of food?
A group of scientific studies carried out by scholars and researchers from different countries of the world, at different times, identified the reasons behind the popularity of halal food among non-Muslims.
Among these researches is a joint scientific study prepared by a group of professors and scientists working in a number of international universities, including Dr. Stephen Wilkins from the British University in Dubai, Dr. Farshid Shams, Professor of Administrative Sciences at Canadian University of Lakehead, and Dr. Muhammad Mohsen Butt from the Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology in Pakistan, Andrea Pérez of the University of Cantabria, Spain;
This study examined the factors behind the non-Muslims' appetite for Islamic halal food.
The research used a total sample of 1,100 consumers in Canada, Spain and the United Kingdom.
There is another study prepared by a group of scholars and researchers in a number of Malaysian universities on a sample of 100 non-Muslim consumers that includes 53% of Chinese, 32% of Indians, and 15% of other ethnic groups.
Staff behind a dining table marked "Halal" in English, which means that the food is prepared according to Islamic (European) law.
In the two mentioned studies, the researchers found that the most important factors and reasons behind the popularity of halal food among non-Muslims lie in the following:
Islamic food safety
The general guidelines in Islam explain the specific motives for the concept of halal, and these motives include public health, preservation of life, protection of future generations, maintenance of self-respect, and integrity.
Food safety is a top priority for consumers in general, and unsafe food causes 600 million illnesses and 420,000 deaths every year in the world every year, and the World Health Organization has estimated that 33 million years of healthy life are lost due to eating unsafe food over world level every year and this number is likely to be an underestimate.
Perhaps the growing concern about health among consumers today is why the concept of halal food today transcends religious value, simply because the health concern in consuming food essentially shares the same value with the concept of halal.
The concept of health also means paying attention to what enters the body, the cleanliness of food, the safety of its source, as well as the method of handling and preparation, and all these factors are considered an essential part of the concept of halal food in Islam, where the preservation of life is a fundamental principle in the Islamic religion, as “there is neither harm nor Dirar" in Islam.
food quality
Consumer acceptance is often the key to success in terms of food processing, and food quality is one of the most important factors in non-Muslims accepting Islamic halal food.
Quality is determined by the cleanliness and freshness of food, and in order to achieve this, food processing methods are vital in maintaining the cleanliness and freshness of food, and directly affect the nutritional quality of the food consumed.
Food scientists divided the dimensions of food quality into 4 categories: delicious, healthy food, psychological comfort in eating it, and being practical.
They added that "the quality of pleasure is related to sensory pleasure, and therefore it is mainly related to taste, smell and appearance, and health-related quality relates to the ways in which product consumption affects the physical health of consumers, and quality related to comfort is related to the time and effort that must be spent during the purchase, storage, preparation and consumption of the product." .
All of these facts automatically correlate with the quality of food and the acceptance of halal food by non-Muslims in general.
Shazia Saleem's Halal British Meals Project (Pixaby)
animal welfare
Studies have focused on examining the relationship between animal welfare and non-Muslim acceptance of halal foods.
The concept of animal welfare refers to the treatment that an animal receives, which is covered by other terms such as animal care, animal husbandry and humane treatment.
Animal welfare is a core concept of Islam, and Islamic law does not tolerate all forms of animal abuse at all stages of the halal meat supply chain, and demands that when animals are slaughtered, they must be slaughtered in a humane and compassionate manner that does not include any form of torture for the slaughtered animals.
Currently, large quantities of meat are produced by industrial methods in many countries of the world, and many of these methods do not take into account the kindness to these animals when killing them, and the spiritual quality of these meat is primarily important to consumers, and therefore all spiritual aspects must be met, including animal welfare standards in meat production.
The researchers explained some of the unacceptable practices in dealing with animals, such as "harsh" handling before and during transportation, and some animals are stored for several days before slaughter, and during this process the animals may lose weight and may be unnecessarily beaten.
There are also many animals that are not fed or irrigated before slaughtering in the slaughterhouse, and the animals are restricted in groups in order to reduce the number of animal keepers or individuals needed to graze or take care of them, and this link leads to injury and fatigue of the animals.
Some animals are also beaten, forced to move quickly to reach markets and slaughterhouses on time, and animals that fall in the way are whipped to force them to get up.
Likewise, animals that are transported 3 or 4 days together in overcrowded and poorly ventilated trucks, especially in hot and humid weather, cause undue suffering, and all this may cause poor meat quality and, consequently, increase illness among consumers, such as stomach aches, food poisoning and other diseases.