MUSLIM parents are being urged not to allow their children to eat meat at school over concerns that the produce is not being prepared correctly.
Lancashire Council of Mosques (LCM) issued a warning after it said it found that suppliers providing meat and chicken to Lancashire County Council (LCC) for use in schools were not maintaining the high halal standards they expected.
But LCC has assured worried parents that their halal options were all sourced from accredited suppliers.
These included the Vion Food Group, Theo’s Food Company, Glendale Foods and GA International Food Services, who were all accredited by the Universal Halal Agency, Halal Food Authority or the European Halal Development Agency.
The LCM said its concerns had grown after it found a non-Muslim man slaughtering birds which were then termed as being halal during an inspection. It is understood this is not a recent incident.
An LCM statement said: “We strongly feel that Lancashire County Council is doing a great injustice to the Muslim community and young Muslim children by feeding them meat and chicken which have not been endorsed by the LCM.
“Muslim children in their thousands have been victims of this in the past and we will not let this happen again.”
Paul Polyviou, accounts manager at Theos, said the LCM’s decision was upsetting.
He said“We have Halal Food Authority accreditation and we follow their guidelines.”
Deborah Eames of Glendale Foods, said: “Halal products have been manufactured in accordance with Halal manufacturing processes and complies with all aspects of Islamic Sharia law and in a facility that has been approved and certified by HAB.”
Nobody from GA International Food Services or the Vion Food Group was available for comment but the county council said it was satisfied their products were halal.
County Coun Geoff Driver, leader of LCC, said LCM’s claims were misleading.
“We are 100 per cent certain that our new suppliers will provide fully-accredited Halal food that meets stringent food safety standards.
“We understand from the Food Standards Agency, which consults with national Muslim bodies, that there are a number of acceptable Halal certifying agencies.
“All of our suppliers' products are certified by such agencies.”
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