India’s carabeef exporters grapple with multiple halal certifications

In the absence of a global halal certification agency meat exporters jump through many hoops to meet countries' different regulations. India’s road to the position of the world’s largest beef exporter has been paved with constant and stringent compliance with various countries’ evolving halal standards and processes, in addition to its own

At one of India’s largest carabeef processing plants a buffalo is coaxed into the slaughter box and its head is restrained in a special vice. The box then revolves towards the qibla, the direction of Mecca. The slaughterer invokes the name of God by reciting the tasmiyah, then using a sharp knife severs the buffalo’s carotid artery, jugular vein and windpipe in a single swipe. The animal’s blood is then drained from its carcass before being carved into multiple ‘cuts’ for export to various countries.

The scrutiny of this process, once the domain of traditional butchers who followed halal practices handed down through the generations, has now become much more complex with different countries imposing their own standards of halal meat on exporters.