Our approach to religious slaughter and animal welfare

Last updated: 09/03/2021

Background

Tesco is an international retailer operating in European markets. We serve customers from different cultures and religious beliefs, and this is reflected in the products we sell. In the UK, there are long-standing provisions in UK law which, subject to specific requirements, allow the slaughter of animals without stunning to meet Jewish and Islamic religious requirements.

Our approach

We require all slaughter processes for Tesco own label products to meet our stringent animal welfare requirements, without exception. In every case, the animal is stunned before slaughter.

We do however, in a small number of stores, sell branded meat or host concessions that sell un-stunned halal and kosher meat. This is to serve customers who specifically wish to purchase un-stunned meat. This meat is clearly labelled Halal or Kosher, so that our customers are able to make informed choices.

Halal

Halal food is food which is permissible or lawful according to traditional Islamic law. The description halal relates to both the type of food eaten and its method of preparation. For meat, the process requires a Muslim to recite a dedication, known as tasmiya or shahada, and can be either stunned or unstunned before slaughter.

In the UK we have a small number of stores where customer demand for halal meat is high. To serve these customers, we either sell branded halal meat, which comes from stunned animals, or have independent meat counters operated by Shazan Foods Ltd. under the ‘Fresh Halal Company’ brand. These counters sell un-stunned Halal meat, which is clearly labelled as Halal and approved by the Halal Monitoring Committee (HMC). So that our customers are able to make informed choices about what they wish to purchase. Shazan Foods Ltd. operates to strict industry standards and employs highly-skilled certified slaughtermen in its abattoirs.

All our Tesco branded meat suppliers to the UK market stun the animal before slaughter, even though some of this is also processed to halal standards, the key point of difference from conventionally-slaughtered animals is that the animal receives a dedication before slaughter. This allows the processors to export parts of the carcass not used by European customers to other countries, such as those in the Middle East, where demand for halal meat is higher, a practice which helps to minimise waste. As we do not specify to these suppliers that halal practices should be followed, we choose not to market the meat as halal. For example, a majority of New Zealand lamb sold in the UK is processed to the halal standards described but there is no material difference in the stun and slaughter processes adhered to and net welfare outcomes are maintained in all instances.

Our businesses in central Europe and the Republic of Ireland do not sell any halal meat.

Kosher

Kosher food is food which is fit according to Jewish law. In the UK, we sell some branded kosher products, all of which are certified by a UK Kashrut authority. The majority of these products we sell are covered by one of the three largest Kashrut authorities: KLBD (London Beth Din), Manchester Beth Din and Kedassia. For meat products, the animal is unstunned before slaughter. We do not sell any own-label kosher products and all the kosher products we do sell are labelled and certified as kosher.

Our businesses in central Europe, and the Republic of Ireland do not sell any kosher meat.