Muslim scholars from three of Blackburn’s major mosques have confirmed that Kentucky Fried Chicken outlets in the UK which advertise as “halal” can be trusted by Muslims.
The subject of whether KFC is halal became controversial after Lancashire Council of Mosques urged caution about KFC food, despite the fact that its chicken is certified by the Halal Food Authority (HFA).
Yesterday, three scholars from Masjid e Tauheedul Islam, Masjid e Hidayah and Masjid e Irfan travelled to an official KFC slaughterhouse to check for themselves whether the food would fit their criteria of halal.
One of the scholars, Shaykh Abu Yusha Yasin, said: “I have spent the day today at a Halal Chicken Slaughterhouse with some well respected Ulema from Blackburn who represent some of the largest Islamic institutions in the area.
“The Ulema had reservations and skepticism about the halal status of chicken which are stunned before slaughter.
“This had previously led to confusing statements about the halal status of KFC Halal Stores due to the question mark and reservations regarding the halal status of stunned chicken before slaughter.
“In the meeting the Halal Food Authority (HFA) who are responsible for certifying the halal slaughter facility and KFC Halal stores explained their standards and how they work. Following a site visit and detailed inspection of the stunning process, all Ulema who visited unanimously agreed that their misconceptions about the halal status of stunned and slaughtered chicken had been completely dispelled.
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“They had commented that much of the misconceptions was down to misinformation and myths created about the stunning process. Alhamdulillah!”
Shaykh Abu Yusha Yasin’s comments came after a text message was circulated which read: “Given recent enquiries about KFC being halal (Frontier Park, Blackburn), today (10/12/18) a visit to One Stop Halal slaughter house was conducted by Maulana Suhail (Masjid e Tauheedul Islam Blackburn), Maulana Ilyas (Masjid e Hidayah Blackburn) and Mufti Siraz (Masjid e Irfan).
“They saw the whole halal slaughtering process and had all their questions answered. Following the visit they have deemed the facility thorough, professional and more importantly halal -Alhamdulillah!”
Lancashire Council of Mosques urged caution in October about KFC food.
An LCM statement read: “Lancashire Council of Mosques confirms that it does not endorse poultry that is stunned before slaughter. This is contrary to the Prophetic method of slaughter.
“Such products do not conform to the Halal criteria of the Lancashire Council of Mosques which was adopted after extensive consultation with Lancashire based scholars and Imams from the various schools of thought. We would therefore request the community to exercise caution.”
The KFC website states, “We set ourselves high standards across all our restaurants and with our suppliers. As part of our commitment to maintaining these standards, we work closely with the Halal Food Authority, who accredit and regularly audit our Halal restaurants.
“In our Halal restaurants we do not handle any pork ingredients, and all the food and drink items served in these restaurants are approved by the Halal Food Authority. This ensures the very best Halal standards but does mean that certain menu items and limited time offers may not be available.
“Another key consideration for us was that we were able to ensure that the halal certified chicken would also meet the rigorous animal welfare standards we employ in the UK, and we consulted leading animal welfare groups about this.”
