Audit is one of the first key to carry out our mission professionally .That is why We begin with preview the abattoirs, production and processing units to know their readiness and ability to adhere to the specifications adopted by ASSAFA in ensuring the halal according to the standards of Islamic law.

The visit depends on the following :

In slaughterhouses:

• The slaughter area is suitable for halal slaughter rituals
• Is the slaughterhouse maintain the standards of hygiene and safety and has the necessary certificates for it
• Is the cattel slaughterhouse available for a comfortable and clean place before slaughter
• Is the cattle slaughterhouse keen to isolate the cows so that they do not see each other during the slaughter proces
• Does the poultry slaughterhouse contain a suitable place to hang poultry to protect against heat in summer and frosts in winter
• Does the cattel slaughterhouse provide a period of rest for animals or slaughter immediately after discharge from the truck
• Is there adeqaute time for bleeding after slaughter
• Does the chicken enter the measuring tank before death or after death
• Does the tank´s temperature not exceed 64° C
• Does poultry remain in the tank for less than 100 seconds or more than that

In production and processing unites:

• Any products or their food additives have to be free of all Haram elements or ingredients provided from haram animals or from animals not slaughtered according to the Islamic rules.
• Products have to be free of any matter considered as Najis in the Islamic rules.
• Products have to be prepared, treated and manufactured by using tools and equipment totally free of anything considered Najis.
• During their preparation, processing, packaging, storage and transportation, all products have to be kept away from food which don’t carry the above three terms or which are Najis according to the Islamic rules.

Tools and equipments

Tools and equipments are to be used for only Halal food processing. According to the Islamic rules, use of the same place and tools for Halal and Non-Halal food processing are not permitted even if those equipment or place can be totally cleaned.

Storage, showing and service

All Halal products that are stored, exposed, sold and served are to be classified and labeled as Halal in their all process so that any confusion between them and Non-Halal products can be avoided.

Since the Halal slaughter ritual is our specialty, we present the method adopted by Assafa based on religious, scientific reference and practical experiences.

In poultry slaughterhouses

The speed of slaughtering chickens varies from one slaughterhouse to another so we rely on techniques to accomplish our mission

In cattle slaughterhouses

Assafa allocates one slaughterer because he has enough time between cow and other

Animal should be slaughtered with sharp object (knife)

The animal has to be slaughtered with a sharp object (knife) and in a fast way so that the pain of slaughter is minimised.

Cut wind pipe, throat and vessels of neck

The ‘slaughtering’ is to be done by cutting the throat, windpipe and the blood vessels in the neck causing the animal’s death without cutting the spinal cord.

Blood should be drained

The blood has to be drained completely before the head is removed. The purpose is to drain out most of the blood which would serve as a good culture medium for micro organisms.

The spinal cord must not be cut because the nerve fibres to theheart could be damaged during the process causing cardiac arrest, stagnating the blood in the blood vessels.

Blood is a good medium for germs and bacteria

Blood is a good media of germs, bacteria, toxins, etc. Therefore the Muslim way of slaughtering is more hygienic as most of the blood containing germs, bacteria, toxins, etc. that are the cause of several diseases are eliminated.

Meat remains fresh for a longer time

Meat slaughtered by Islamic way remains fresh for a longer time due to deficiency of blood in the meat as compared to other methods of slaughtering.

Animal does not feel pain

The swift cutting of vessels of the neck disconnects the flow of blood to the nerve of the brain responsible for pain. Thus the animal does not feel pain. While dying, the animal struggles, writhers, shakes and kicks, not due to pain, but due to the contraction and relaxation of the muscles deficient in blood and due to the flow of blood out of the body.

 Methods slaughter Not accepted by Assafa 

The captive bolt pistol used commonly for cattle, calves and goats.

It is the shooting, by a gun or pistol in the forehead (mechanical method) by a blank cartridge or compressed air. It could be penetrating or non-penetrating (percussion stunning). It breaks the skull, shatters and destroys the brain. A rod of steel is introduced in the skull hole to smash, cut and destroy the brain All this occurs before the real slaughtering cut is made. Recently, a new method by which a steel needle to penetrate the skull and brain and in which air is injected to cause intercranial pressure has been developed.

Problem and harm with this method include:

The Animal paralysis while still conscious Broken skull fractures and significant brain damage Brain pollution

Splash of blood from blood vessels in muscles and meat with some blood clotting.

Cerebral hemorrhage as a result Bruises and injuries caused by the heavy fall of the animal after the shooting the penetration of the captive bolt can actually kills the animal.

Carbon Dioxide (CO2)

Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is done by moving the animal through a room which contains a mixture of CO2 and air (about 65/70% CO2 by volume).It is a form of chemical strangulation. CO2 is a harmful gas to be inside the body.

Problem and harm with this method include:

Considerable, unacceptable stress (violent excitation, general agitation and convulsions).

‘CO2 stunning is more stressful than either properly applied electrical or captive bolt stunning.

Suffocation, strangulation and death to the animal before the cut

Toxic effect of the gas on the blood and physiology.

Electrical Stunning

Electrical Stunning could be to head and brain only or to head and back or to the legs, and there are three varieties:

1. Low Voltage Electrical Stunning by a pair of scissors-like tongs with circular or rectangular electrodes which are usually immersed in a saline solution then applied to the side of the head. Voltage is not less than 75 volts (50 Hz mains frequency) for not less than seven seconds.or by passing poultry in an electrified water basin

Problem and harm with this method include:

It is cruel, by giving an electric shock directly, with no anesthesia;

paralysis while the animal is conscious (pain)

doubt about the effect and feeling of pain.

unreliable: missed shots and re-stunning.

Recovery of the animal usually occurs within 30-40 seconds.

Electric stunning only induces paralysis, not unconsciousness, leaving the animal helpless but completely conscious to pain.

Some scientists and physiologists have expressed serious misgivings; some are of the opinion that the animal is merely paralyzed by the electric current and so prevented from making a sound or a movement while fully conscious and experiences great pain as the current passes through its body.

Such views are shared by the following Professors and Scientists:

1. a) Prof. A.C. Ivey (North Western University of America)
2. b) Prof. M.J. Hertz, of France
3. c) Prof. Roos & Koopmans, Holland.

Stunning does not first involve passing an electric current through the animal’s body. The magnitude of the current passed must be adequate; voltage of higher rating could lead to bone fractures.

Voltage of lower rating produces electric convulsions without inducing unconsciousness. A lower voltage rating needs longer application and this being a matter of judgment, the human element could lead to failure. The variations in the sizes of animals and their individual resistance to the current are also important considerations.

One should now realise that the Islamic method of slaughtering animals is not inhumane or cruel at all but is scientifically the best method.

Halal Certification is a process by which a credible Islamic organization certifies that a company's products has undergone thorough inspection and has been found to conform to the Islamic dietary laws and can therefore be lawfully consumed.

Halal certification is a process which ensures the features and quality of the products according to the rules established by the Islamic organisation that allow the use of the mark Halal. It is applied  for meat products Halal in purpos to certifies that the animals were slaughtered in a single cut, thoroughly bled, and their meat have not been in contact with animals slaughtered otherwise and, especially, with pork. Products that are Halal certified are often marked with a Halal symbol.

Over the past decade, Halal standards are well on the way to establishing a new quality benchmark which incorporates best practices and high ethical values. Consequently, Halal products and services have continuously gained global economic importance and recognition. In addition, 57 Islamic countries (OIC) have developed Halal standards for the industry, trade and consumer protection. The Halal Certification increases export opportunities, ensures new business markets and creates confidence.

Halal certification is a process which ensures the features and quality of the products according to the rules established by the Islamic organisation that allow the use of the mark Halal. It is applied  for meat products Halal in purpos to certifies that the animals were slaughtered in a single cut, thoroughly bled, and their meat have not been in contact with animals slaughtered otherwise and, especially, with pork. Products that are Halal certified are often marked with a Halal symbol.

Traceability is a procedure to automatically track a product or service from birth to final valuation.

Food safety and assurance its quality are among the concerned issues to many people around the world. They are regarded as important issues to all stakeholders in the food industries. The issue of food safety is treated as similar issue with food integrity. Food integrity includes food safety, health and quality. After all, Halal concept is not just limited to food safety and its quality but also include the process control, packaging, storage, and delivery. Since the authenticity of halal food has raised concerns among Muslims consumers, the integrity of the halal food must be monitored so that consumers can be satisfied with the authenticity of halal products. Customers from all around the world, not only concerns on food ingredients whether permissible or not, but want to know about all the activities involved in the food supply chain. The question which is normally asked is whether the integrity of halal food products can remain Halal throughout the supply chain. In short, the integrity of the food products should be maintained to meet the intent of the Halal. That's why we need to make proper halal and traceability is needed to control throughout the supply chain.

Halal certification is a process which ensures the features and quality of the products according to the rules established by the Islamic organisation that allow the use of the mark Halal. It is applied  for meat products Halal in purpos to certifies that the animals were slaughtered in a single cut, thoroughly bled, and their meat have not been in contact with animals slaughtered otherwise and, especially, with pork. Products that are Halal certified are often marked with a Halal symbol.

To ensure maximum security of our controls, we rely on rigorous traceability methods.

The method of traceability and monitoring of ASSAFA Company take place from the beginning of slaughter to the end of production and packaging so that the ASSAFA representatives are present in the process of slaughtering for both poultry and cattle.The process is characterized by the identification of cows through a special seal ASSAFA to ensure the process of halal and the rejection of other carcases that do not meet the standards of ASSAFA.

The observer is obligated to traceability process during cutting meat and closing the boxes with adhesive tape for separate and distinguish.

ASSAFA monitors all phases until the packaging and putting the logo ASSAFA in the small circular sticker containing a code number symbolizing the credibility of the product on each package.

Then cartons and pallets are sealed by tape ASSAFA that the goods are secure and ready for shipment.

Informations from all the phases from slaughtering, cutting, packaging  are record  in special files of ASSAFA  with its dates, batch numbers, slaughtering place and production and archived for use when needed.