The halal meat industry in Europe is progressing to meet the demands of the local consumer or alternatively it’s proceeding towards the goal of being exported to the Islamic world. The modern technology which is used in the meat industry is constantly evolving and updating to keep pace with modernization and to meet the needs of the market. For societies in which religion plays a fundamental role in their dietary habits, such as with the Islamic community, religious principles have priority over all other considerations. Religious laws in the field of halal meat production are ancient pieces of legislation that were designed in a time where today›s technological means were not available. Common practices and technology in European slaughterhouses could be in conflict with the criteria of halal, thus posing serious challenges for the halal meat industry. The objective of this study is to highlight the technological challenges that are facing halal slaughter procedures. Such obstacles and challenges that are reviewed in this study include the pre-slaughter feed withdrawal, stunning, body position and Qibla direction, sticking and automated slaughter. The study may contribute to the clarification of some of the absent facts that European halal meat producers face, in order to develop and choose the technological means that are the most compatible with halal standards.
