Welcome to HSI. We are an independent, UK-based agency that provides an objective assessment of halal food producers’ credentials. We operate only in the UK.
Our team of experienced Islamic scholars inspects food manufacturers’ premises, and their supply chain partners, to evaluate their products and processes. In this way, we gauge whether they are adhering to defined halal principles. We certify those that meet our minimum standards. For those companies that fail to do so, we can provide ongoing support and guidance.
We can also inspect and monitor premises that have already been certified by other agencies. Recognising that some monitoring bodies observe different standards and approaches to others, we carry out a series of checks to give consumers added confidence. Our certification provides reassurance that all processes are adhering to a published set of core halal principles.
Please note that we are currently only able to certify food manufacturers and we audit the slaughterhouses that supply them. We do not certify caterers, food outlets or retailers.
We understand the spiritual importance that Muslim consumers place on eating halal foods. It’s very easy for a food producer to print a generic ‘halal’ logo on its packaging, but without independent verification, such a label means very little. Our role is to ensure that consumers can have real faith in the foods that they buy.
To find out more about our work and values, or to request certification for your operations, please contact us today.
An independent halal inspection by HSI includes checks on a large number of different factors. Some examples of these checks and verifications include:
We have received a number of enquiries from consumers asking about our policy with respect to chicken/poultry and stunning. We can confirm that all HSI-certified poultry comes from a non-stun source, and we expect this to remain our formal policy.
For the majority of the beef and lamb products we certify, the meats come from slaughterhouses that use a non-stun process. This is true of all the UK-based halal slaughterhouses we have inspected on our clients’ behalf.
However, we will not necessarily refuse to certify a slaughterhouse that uses a stun-based process, provided that, in our opinion, the slaughter is conducted humanely, with due respect for animal welfare. The key issue with respect to halal certification is that the animal should be alive at the point of slaughter – i.e. when the blood vessels are severed. In other words, there should be no practical risk that the stunning process itself could kill the animal outright. To meet this condition, slaughterhouses must have properly designed and managed processes in place, and these processes must be strictly observed by all slaughtermen, who we insist must be practising Muslims. These are conditions that we check and monitor as part of the certification process.
Like all the prominent UK halal inspection bodies, we do not normally inspect or certify a company’s processes before the point of slaughter. In other words, we do not formally consider issues such as animal feed, living conditions or transportation as part of the certification process. We consider that these issues relate more to the question of Tayyab than to Halal.
Wherever possible, we assign visits to locally-based inspectors so that we can gain the best possible understanding of a company’s work, its procedures and its willingness to respond to the needs of local communities.
HSI is an independent, not-for-profit organisation based in the UK. It is led by an experienced team of Islamic scholars.
HSI was founded by Sheikh Ridwan Yusuf, a scholar who has worked for the last 20 years as an imam at a Bolton mosque and as a teacher at an Islamic school.
He established HSI in an effort to provide greater clarity and consistency about what the ‘halal’ stamp should really mean. Different agencies and communities adhere to different definitions of the word, and this can lead to confusion and disagreement. He therefore recognised a need to certify food producers according to a clear and published set of checks. It was his vision that an HSI certificate would give consumers a credible and completely transparent assessment of how a given producer operates.
To find out more, or to request HSI monitoring of your operations, please contact us below.
HSI certification is vital to our brand as it’s awarded against a clear set of criteria with open & transparent process. As a result, customers can see exactly what that halal stamp means, rather than just a generic badge.
Mohsin Sheth
Brand Manager @ Frankie's Farm
HSI provide a clear and professional assessment of a supplier’s processes and principles. It’s vital that we can trust our halal suppliers to be completely ethical, and certification by HSI allows us to do just that.
Fazila Malek
Managing Director @ Fazilas
Historically, we have always worked with the HMC but we hit supply shortages as a result of Covid-19 and we needed someone to step in quickly. HSOI enabled us to identify new suppliers with strong halal credentials.
Shaukat Ahmed
Director @ KQF
