Muslims doubt that poultry feed is halal

The committee comprises senior officers from the Veterinary Services Department, Islamic Development Department (Jakim) and University Putra Malaysia.

The reason for establishing such a committee was that several Muslim organisation suggested that most of the chicken feed imported from countries such as the United States, Brazil and China contained pig enzyme.

A Jakim official however said there was no truth in the claims that chicken feed used by breeders contained pig enzyme. He said samples collected from farms so far showed that the enzyme was “halal“.

“Jakim and a few government departments have been monitoring the use of chicken feed, especially those imported from Europe. So far, we found that breeders had conformed to the regulations set by the authorities. The chicken feed is free from pig enzyme and there is nothing for Muslims to worry.”

The official, however, said the committee was formed so that an official statement on the status of the chicken feed could be issued by Jakim to ease the worries of Muslim consumers.

He said the samples would also be sent to the Chemistry Department and the Halal Research Institute for analysis. The results were expected to be known in the next few months.