Supply of Qurbani Meat and Offal during Eid al-Adha in England and Wales

We welcomed stakeholder views on whether changes should be introduced to the chilling requirements of Qurbani meat and offal supplied from slaughterhouses in England and Wales during the period of Eid al-Adha. Qurbani means sacrifice and the meat of the sacrifice is known as Qurbani meat.

This consultation focused on the proposals detailed in this document and, subject to the outcome, a further consultation may take place to focus on implementation.

This two-stage approach allows stakeholder engagement and contribution throughout the process. 

Who will this consultation be of most interest to?

This consultation was of interest to: 

• consumers (particularly the Muslim community who consume Qurbani meat and offal)
• Muslim representatives
• slaughterhouse operators supplying Qurbani meat and offal
• butchers receiving/supplying Qurbani meat and offal
• food law enforcement officers
• meat industry trade bodies 

Consultation subject 

The subject of this consultation is the supply of Qurbani meat and offal from slaughterhouses in England and Wales to final consumers during the period of Eid al-Adha.

This has been published in conjunction with an FSA commissioned risk assessment.

Purpose of the consultation 

The purpose of this consultation was to seek wider views and comments from stakeholders on whether changes should be introduced to the chilling requirements of Qurbani meat and offal supplied from slaughterhouses in England and Wales during the period of Eid al-Adha. To progress this work we are seeking feedback though this public consultation on the following two options:

OPTION A - Full enforcement of the current legislation i.e., phasing out the current flexible approach to enforcement with full adherence to the chilling requirements for all meat and offal prior to leaving the slaughterhouse. 

OPTION B – Introduce a legislative change to allow a derogation from the chilling requirements for Qurbani meat and offal from slaughterhouses in England and Wales. 
In addition to views on the options above we would also like to receive feedback on:

• how the proposals would impact on consumers and food businesses operators (positive and negative)
• whether stakeholders have any additional matters of interest within the scope which have not been mentioned in the consultation document
• how the supply of Qurbani meat and offal during Eid al-Adha impacts on Food Law Enforcement Officers of competent authorities (positive and negative)

Risk Assessment

Assessment of the risk to consumers as a result of disruption to the cold chain during direct supply of Qurbani meat and offal.

How to respond  

Responses were required by close 11 September 2022. Please state, in your response, whether you are responding as a private individual or on behalf of an organisation/company (including details of any stakeholders your organisation represents).

Please respond to the consultation via the online survey. If this is not possible, you can email a response to meathygiene@food.gov.uk.

Details of consultation

This consultation seeks views from industry, enforcement authorities, consumers and other interested stakeholders on whether changes should be introduced to the chilling requirements of Qurbani meat and offal directly supplied from slaughterhouses in England and Wales during the period of Eid al-Adha.  

Further details can be found in the consultation document.

We have determined that a 12-week consultation period is proportionate to seek wider stakeholder views. We aim to publish a summary of responses within three months of the consultation ending. 

Read the full consultation document

Supply of Qurbani Meat and Offal during Eid al-Adha in England and Wales full consultation (accessible version)

Impacts

The FSA has assessed the impacts on the risk to the final consumer from the disruption of the chilling requirements in the risk assessment.  

The FSA has not included a full business impact assessment as part this consultation. A full assessment of the costs and benefits to consumers, industry, local authorities and Government of any future legislative changes will be analysed in a second consultation should the approach be developed.

The FSA has summarised the impact we expect consumers and industry to have experienced because of the industry-led mitigations and welcome any further information on the costs and benefits that have been experienced. We would also welcome stakeholder views on our assessment of the impact of the proposals.

Related Content: Supply of Qurbani meat and offal during Eid al-Adha

• FSA risk assessment: Assessment of the risk to consumers as a result of disruption to the cold chain during direct supply of Qurbani meat and offal.
• joint statement of the Qurbani Partnership Working Group Subgroup (QPWG SG)
• AHDB Website Hosting Qurbani Operating Procedures Document (QOP)

Publication of response summary

Following the end of this consultation, the responses received will be collated, analysed, and provide a link to it from this page.  You can find information on how we handle data provided in response to consultations in our Consultations privacy notice.

Further information

This consultation has been prepared in accordance with HM Government Consultation Principles. If an Impact Assessment has been produced, this is included in the consultation documents. If no Impact Assessment has been provided, the reason will be given in the consultation document.