Animal Feed: Between Food Safety and Halal Compliance

As the global population is projected to reach 9.8 billion by 2050, including 2.8 billion Muslims, the demand for halal-certified animal protein that is both safe and religiously compliant is rising sharply. In this context, ensuring the safety and halal compliance of animal feed is no longer just a regulatory matter—it's a foundational step toward protecting consumer health, ensuring food integrity, and strengthening brand trust in a competitive market.

The importance of animal feed in halal certification is the central theme of the paper "Animal Feed Between Food Safety and Halal Compliance: Toward a Unified Framework to Ensure Trust and Integrity from Farm to Fork", co-authored by Mr. Emmanouil Geneiatakis, Mrs Tharwat Mamdouh Al-Bataineh, and Mrs. Jood Osama Quran. This work will be presented at the European Halal Conference, exploring how the alignment of Halal Assurance Systems (HAS) with food safety management systems can significantly enhance traceability, transparency, and compliance across global supply chains.

The Critical Link: Feed Quality and Food Safety

While the feed and food sectors share operational similarities, a key difference lies in the end user. In the feed sector, the primary consumer is the food-producing animal, which then becomes the input for the human food sector. This distinction highlights the pivotal role of animal feed in safeguarding food safety and maintaining halal integrity throughout the supply chain.

The quality and safety of animal feed have a direct impact on the resulting meat, dairy, and poultry products consumed by humans. Contamination—whether unintentional or fraudulent—can compromise animal health, violate halal requirements, and damage consumer trust. As global supply chains grow more complex, it is critical to adopt integrated, risk-based approaches that reinforce compliance at every stage.

Challenges in Ingredient Sourcing and Traceability

The halal status of meat, dairy, and poultry begins with feed. Using non-halal ingredients or failing to maintain proper segregation during production can threaten certification. Ingredient verification, supplier audits, and strong traceability controls are critical. However, differing national regulations and inconsistent enforcement practices make global harmonisation a challenge, one that leaves room for unintentional or intentional actions.

Why this matter

With rising consumer expectations and regulatory scrutiny, the integration of food safety systems and halal assurance frameworks in the feed industry is more urgent than ever. For companies aiming to meet global demand while maintaining ethical, religious, and safety standards, animal feed is not just the beginning of the food chain—it is the foundation of trust.