Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what (a) animal welfare and (b) assurance standards are required of halal-certified meat supplied at the Defence Academy; whether stunning is mandated; and which certification bodies are recognised.

There is no requirement in law to inform customers of specific slaughter methods, and this practice is not commonplace within the Ministry of Defence (MOD). At the Defence Academy catering outlets, all halal-certified meat is explicitly labelled at the point of sale as ‘Halal Friendly’. Catering staff are also trained to provide dietary information upon request.

Halal meat is not supplied by default across Defence contracts. The unit price, supply chain and wastage of supplying halal-certified or any other meat at the Defence Academy is not held by the MOD, as this is a matter for our contractors. Information on the audit and traceability checks undertaken to verify Halal certification is also the responsibility of the providing contractor.

All halal meat supplied to the Defence Academy must comply with UK animal welfare legislation, including the requirement for pre-slaughter stunning. Certification bodies are not centrally mandated, but suppliers must meet MOD food safety and assurance standards.