Update: Midamar Corporation, Jan 2009
May 29, 2009 by halalcentral
Press Release May 28, 2009
Two independent halal advocates, Abdullah Nana of California and Saad
Baig of Chicago, visited the Midamar Corporation in Iowa from January
22-Jan.29, 2009. During this trip, the halal advocates visited four
slaughtering facilities in the Midwest as well as a processing plant.
They also met with the Islamic Services of America (I.S.A) who
certifies the Midamar products and oversees the slaughter process. The
employees at both Midamar and I.S.A. were extremely cooperative and
helpful. Midamar and I.S.A implemented the suggestions made by both
halal advocates and provided them with detailed information needed to
evaluate the halal process at Midamar.
After months of detailed research and coordination with the Midamar
and I.S.A staff, the two halal advocates have prepared a list of
approved Midamar meat products. At the same time, they are still doing
research regarding the other meat products and they plan to visit more
Midamar plants in the future. Midamar currently employs the mechanical
slaughter method for some of its chicken and turkey products. The
company has informed the advocates that they plan to start
implementing the hand-slaughter method for these products in the near
future. The Muslim community will be updated of any new developments.
The beef and turkey products on this approved list are slaughtered by
a Sunni Muslim using his hands while reciting the name of Allah. There
is no pre-slaughter stunning at the Midamar beef plants. I.S.A. has
appointed supervisors after the slaughter to oversee the processing,
deboning, and packaging of the meat in order to ensure that there is
complete separation between halal beef and non-halal beef. In the same
way, Midamar uses a turkey plant which is devoted exclusively to halal
products and the slaughter is carried by a Muslim who cuts the throat
of the animal by hand while reciting the name of Allah.
The fresh meat is further processed into patties, burgers, sausages,
etc. at various processing plants. The advocates are currently doing
research regarding these processing plants. They have also visited a
Midamar processing plant which is devoted exclusively to halal
products and they are currently approving those products which are
processed at this particular plant. The products processed at the
plant will have the following code on the label: USDA Est # 5579. The
halal advocates have also looked into the status of the halal collagen
casings used in some of the Midamar products and have verified that
they are from halal beef sources slaughtered at Midamar plants. The
following is a current list of these approved products:
Beef
All Fresh Beef Products
Ground Beef
Beef Bratwurst
Breakfast Sausage Patties
Seekh Kabab
Breakfast Sausage Links
Italian Rope Sausage
Beef Patties
Beef Burgers
Beef Round Roast
Beef stew meat
Beef B&B patties
Steaks
Beef Top Sirloin
Beef Tenderloin
Ribeye Steak
T-Bone Steak
New York Strip
Porterhouse
Turkey
Midamar Whole Turkeys (Establishment number P7669)
Please note that this approval is for the above-mentioned products
which were produced after Feb. 15, 2009 after the visit to the Midamar
plant. Therefore, the two halal advocates would advise consumers to
check the package for the production date to ensure that these
products were processed after this date. For assistance with this
task, please contact Midamar representatives at 1800-362-3711 or
info@midamar.com. One would be advised to order directly from the
company headquarters as all the current meat products there have been
processed after Feb. 15, 2009.