Should the USDA stand behind the Zabiha halal label?

The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) does not get involved in defining religious standards, such as what is or is not halal. Saad Ali at Main Halal Meats in Harrisburg, PA, appreciates this fact.

“This respect for religious freedom is one of the many reasons we value our country, as the government does not interfere in theological matters,” Ali wrote when filing his product labeling petition with FSIS Aug. 25.

He noted that FSIS “does bear responsibility for ensuring that product labels are truthful and not misleading.”

The FSIS last addressed the Islamic method of slaughtering animals in 2016, also in response to a petition. The Zabihiha method is subject to specific conditions outlined in Islamic jurisprudence. These conditions are designed to ensure that the slaughter is performed in a humane and Islamic manner, aligning with the principles of halal (permissible) food consumption.

The FSIS denied the 2016 petition that sought to have the agency determine whether the source of meat and poultry identified as Halal was hand-slaughtered or mechanically slaughtered. 

 The 2025 petition requesting that FSIS take one of two actions concerning the term “zabiha halal” including either: 1. Define “zabiha halal” as hand-slaughtered without stunning, in accordance with widely accepted Islamic standards; or 2. Suppose FSIS chooses not to define the term. In that case, it should require the term to be used as a third-party certified claim, with the certifying body clearly publishing its definition of “zabiha halal” on a public website — similar to the way many organic certifiers operate.

Ali acknowledged that not all members of the Muslim community object to the current FSIS policy — only 2 of 18 comments on the 2016 petition were opposed.  He says this still indicates that the overwhelming majority supports greater specificity. The 2025 petition is a balanced solution that accommodates both perspectives: those who are satisfied with the status quo and those who desire clearer standards aligned with traditional Islamic principles.

Comments to the new petition are still being accepted.  The first comment was from someone who did not want to be identified:

“This is great, I hope they pass one of these rules. It is horrible that we get ripped off, thinking our meat is zabiha halal, but it’s usually just mechanically slaughtered, and they pass it off as halal. They also export these products all over the world, so that you could be a Muslim in a Muslim country, thinking you’re eating halal, but it’s actually not. The halal meat industry is very shady in America, and this would definitely give me more confidence in buying the correct meat for my family.”

Kathy Laurienti of Denver’s Paisano Sausage takes the other view,  “This type of slaughter should not be allowed. In the meat industry, we have always tried to find humane ways to slaughter animals. As a society, we have decided that stunning an animal first is more humane. Let us not fall back to barbaric systems to appease a very small minority. The majority of Muslims in this country do not require this.”

And from someone identified only as jean public1 was this comment: “I do not support any halal killing of animals. I find it abusive, horrible. Slaughter so that the animal is in pain, bleeding out. I do not support any support for halal petitions in the USA anywhere. 

Ali’s petition has been assigned for review to the FSIS Office of Policy and Program Development and is assigned petition number 25-03. 

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