What's the deal with halal meat in New Zealand?

When Mohamed Soliman started building a halal food app for New Zealand, it was a "daunting mission". But to his surprise, once he began digging he found many products were actually halal certified.

Still, the Auckland-based mobile engineer knew the lack of labelling meant it was a struggle with everyday grocery shopping.

"Whenever I hold a product, I have to call the company first and then wait for the response and then a week later I would know if I can consume this product or not."

That frustration led him to create Halal Kiwi, an app that makes it easier to check if food products are halal (permissible), haram (forbidden), or uncertain. It launched in 2021 and now has thousands of listings.

The idea is to remove all the guesswork out of checking whether a product is following the Islamic dietary requirement - and encourage companies to label products.

"I think that's a dream of every Muslim," Soliman says. "Like if we can go to any supermarket - Pak’nSave, Woolworths or anything - and just pick up any product and know if it's halal or not - without having to do any scanning or like anything or calling a company."

Halal is an Arabic word meaning permissible. When it comes to food for Muslims, it excludes pork, alcohol, improperly slaughtered meat, and even certain by-products of non-halal meat like gelatine or animal rennet.

For meat to be halal, a few things have to happen:

But halal isn't just about how an animal is killed — it includes how the food is stored, handled, and prepared. Any contamination with non-halal substances can make it impermissible to eat.

More than 90 percent of sheep and cattle in New Zealand are already slaughtered the halal way, according to the Meat Industry Association.

But for Muslim consumers, most of this meat isn't clearly labelled. And without a label, there's no easy way to be sure it's halal — or whether it meets a specific interpretation of Islamic dietary rules.

Some processors do mention halal status on their websites. There's also a Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) list online. But as Soliman points out, that still puts the burden on the shopper.

Further complicating matters is that a meat plant's halal status may change, which is why the certifying bodies do frequent audits to ensure proper procedure is followed. Being conscious of any changes is another factor that might mean Muslims would find it easier to go to a halal butchery.

That's a big question in the community.

Zuber Mohammed, former admin of the popular 'Muslims of Auckland' Facebook group, says people post asking about the same products again and again, unsure if they're halal.

One frequent topic is Tegel chicken.

While Tegel is certified by Halal Conformity Services (HCS), it doesn't label its domestic products.

Soliman and HCS chief executive Daud Guushaa believe some brands may be avoiding labels because of the fear of backlash from boycott halal or anti-Muslim movements that have popped up on social media.

Tegel denies this, saying their marketing is guided by what's most important to the broadest range of consumers.

And according to Imraan Ali, general manager of FIANZ Halal, part of the issue is numbers. Muslims make up about 1.5 percent of New Zealand's population, and companies may not see enough commercial benefit to justify the extra cost of redesigning packaging.

Earlier this year, Pak'nSave introduced halal sections at its Henderson and Sylvia Park locations. These feature pre-packaged meat from certified suppliers as well as fresh meat handled in-store.

However, Ali says if the whole process from slaughter to shelf isn't handled in a halal environment, it raises the risk of cross-contamination.

That's why halal certification is "a stamp of approval and trust for Muslims".

Foodstuffs, the company behind Pak'nSave, confirmed a "significant portion" of its fresh meat is halal-slaughtered, "but because our supermarkets are not dedicated halal environments, it may not meet the definition of halal for all customers".

Woolworths NZ, on the other hand, doesn't sell fresh halal meat at all "due to the way the meat is processed and displayed".

Some savvy shoppers check the meat plant code or look for boxes marked with "H" when deliveries come in. But those markings can be gone by the time meat hits the shelves, Ali says.

And it's not just about whether something is certified — it's also who certified it. New Zealand has three MPI-approved halal bodies, each is allowed to follow their own interpretations of Islamic law. That can lead to debates about whether certain practices, like stunning or mechanical slaughter, are acceptable.

HCS and FIANZ Halal say they follow the schools of thought fitting the majority of Sunni Muslims.

Soliman's approach with his app is to provide the facts and let users decide based on their own beliefs.

"Every day, like in groups like Muslims of Auckland or like all these groups on Facebook, you'll see someone says 'is this product halal?', which is a Tegel product, and then a lot of people end up start fighting in the comments. We don't need this like it's either you eat Tegel or you don't eat Tegel - it's up to you."

The Halal Kiwi app also lets users send in barcodes or ask questions to grow the database.

Halal butchers sometimes charge 5–10 percent more, Ali says. And Zuber Mohammed says because of this, he's noticed more Muslims buy supermarket meat.

But several Muslims RNZ spoke to said they choose to continue shopping at halal butchers to avoid the risk of cross-contamination and uncertainty.

"It comes down to our iman (faith or belief) and our taqwa (God-consciousness or piety)," says Ali.

Or as Mohammed puts it, says more than any nutritional gain, following these rules carries spiritual importance to worshippers.