More Muslims go kosher

last updated 8 January 2015

Paris

More than 10 percent of all meat eaten in France is halal, the Muslim version of kosher, experts at the European Halal Food Expo said this week. To be considered fit for Muslim consumption, meat must come from livestock that has its throat cut with a knife while the name of Allah is invoked. At the three-day food industry conference, agriculture officials said France leads Europe in sales of halal meat, both because France has a large Muslim population—about 10 percent—and because religious observance is growing among that population. In the past year, the halal market has begun expanding beyond meat. One candy company has begun advertising itself as halal because its uses no lard; pig products are also banned under Muslim dietary laws.