catering

[nickydutch]

We are going to cater for groups who are eating Halal food. Can you give me tips what to whats out for (how can pizza not be halal and what about margerine????). HELP!!!!

[brachiopod]

How can pizza not be halal? Well, a prosciutto and salami pizza is haram (forbidden) for a start.

A quick google should give you some pointers - here's a randomly googled, but pretty succinct guide to get you going.

[Lillabet]

The link provided above looked really helpful. What you need to be especially aware of is food that contains animal ingredients as unless the animal was killed in a way which complies with the requirements for halal food then this ingredient should not be used. It is unlikely that any product not from a sepcialist halal supplier is halal.

You asked about pizza in particular. The obvious thought would be to check that there was no pork product such as ham in the topping. But - does the base only contain vegetable based fats? If not then the base will not be halal. Soes the cheese contain rennet? If so then the cheese is not halal.

Margarine if it only contains vegetable oils should be fine. Any lard would not be halal unless it came from a specialist supplier who made this product following halal rules.

[brachiopod]

Lard is not halal under any circumstances !!

[Lillabet]

Lard could be halal if produced entirely from animals that were slaughtered following halal procedures. In the same way that consumption of meat that is produced in this way is acceptable when other meat is not - so would by-products from the halal animals be acceptable.

[Lillabet]

Further to my last point - by-products which were not blood by-products would be acceptable. The use of the animal fat would be acceptable.

[brachiopod]

You miss my point, Lillabet. Lard is fat derived from a pig, and as such, can never be halal.

[yummy]

Lillabet - lard is the fat separated from the fatty tissue of pork so can never be halaal.

Nickydutch: consider using vegetable margarine. Also make sure that the cheese you use if animal fat free - just check for the 'V' sign! Obviously the meat you can use would have to be from a halaal butcher. Or you can stick to vegetables only (with cheese ofcourse).

[marmaduke]

To be halal, apparently the animal has to have its throat slit, then someone spits in its eye and insults its mother, and makes all the other animals watch while it dies. It's tradition.

[silly moo]

Halal meat is most cruelly produced and should be ILLEGAL in this country.
Non halal meat has to be from animals killed humanly: whereas Halal meat is from animals that have bled to death whilst fully conscious - no stunning allowed.

[ursula62]

Halal and Kosher ritual slaughtering procedures actually claim to be kinder to the animal. The throat is cut and the animal loses consciousness in a matter of seconds.

For non Kosher/Halal meat the animals are stunned with an electric shock before killing. Sometimes the animal doesn't die from the electric shock and is gutted while still alive.

The bottom line is that eating meat involves the death of an animal. If you cannot face that basic truth then vegetarianism or veganism can be your only choice of conscience.

The original question asked about which types of foods are Halal.

If you stick to pure vegetarian food sources then you are bound to be safe. If you use any meat or meat byproducts these should be Halal or Kosher. As well as using Halal sources for meat and meat byproducts, there are also other dietary rules that need to be followed, e.g. generally, meat and dairy shouldn't be mixed in the same meal, so unless the pizza topping is vegetarian, or has no cheese then pizza is not an option.