Finland: McDonald's chicken-burgers are halal
After translating, I discovered this already appeared in Finnish news a couple of months ago. This is not the first time that I've 'caught' newspapers recycling materials.
Also, as far as I know, many Danish chicken producers only produce halal chicken, and the chickens are anesthetized beforehand.
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Fast food chain McDonald's is selling hamburgers in Finland with chicken slaughtered according to the Muslim halal method.
This surprised customers, since the restaurant chain does not say anywhere that the production of the meat follows religious law.
McDonald's buy more than half of its chicken from Danish producer Danpol, who comply with the Muslim rules in their slaughtering process. According to the produces, there's always a Muslim on site to watch over the slaughtering process and to say a prayer before each slaughter begin.
In addition to the religious character of the procedure, the animal is slaughtered without anesthesia by slicing the carotid artery.
Halal food has become more visible in Europe recently. Major fast food chains in Australia, the UK and the US opened halal places targeted at Muslims in recent years.
McDonald's in Finland does not plan their service for different religious groups. The fast-food chain say that they choose the chicken meat in question for quality reasons and not for religious reasons.
The chairperson for the Finnish Freethinkers Union, Jussi K. Niemelä, doesn't respect people who follow a different religion or who are atheists. They end up eating something dedicated to Allah against their will and without their knowledge, says Niemelä.
Finland's Islamic Association counters that the issue shouldn't be blown up needlessly. The prayer which is said during halal slaughter isn't directed at the meat and does not affect the product. It's an opening prayer that Muslims usually pray when they ask for something, such work, says Abdi-Hakim Yasin of the Finnish Islamic Association.
Source: YLE (Swedish)
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