Halal meat

​Request 767031311

A. I would like to know if halal meat is being served in any of our public health institutions and if so, please identify the institutions by their full name I.e General Hospital, Enid Le Quesne Centre etc ….

B. I would like to know the percentage of halal meat being used in all public health institutions as against animals being slaughtered using the traditional stun method first. If this question cannot be answered, I would like to know why?

C. Who agreed the policy of allowing halal meat to be provided in our public health institutions?

D. In what year did the policy of providing halal meat begin?

E. Is the use of halal meat easily identified by consumers and patients of public health institutions and if not, why not?

F. Are patients and visitors given a choice whether they purchase/eat halal meat or meat produced by the traditional stun method?

Response 

A

Halal meat options are available for all patients and from the Thyme Out canteen on request. The same menus and food produce are used throughout the Health and Care Jersey (HCJ) estate where patients are fed and at food retail outlets.  

B

This information is not specifically recorded as food is provided according to need, which varies depending on the patients / consumers request and the particular menus in production at each time. It is not standard catering practice to record the percentage of halal meat used in food production. Therefore, Article 3 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 applies. 

C and D

The Head of Non-Clinical Support Services is the responsible officer for provision of catering services within HCJ. The policy has been agreed in consultation with the Catering Manager, Jersey Islamic Faith Leader, Patient Feedback Team, Dietetics Department, and the HCJ Executive Leadership Team. The agreed policy is that, where practical, the standard offering would be non-halal meat with halal alternatives available for those who require this. 

Following a review on the use of halal meat in 2023, a revised policy was introduced to ensure appropriate food produce is used to meet the needs of various patients and ensure that no groups were being discriminated against. As noted in a Freedom of Information response published to www.gov.je in July 2023, Halal meat had been utilised prior to this date, but a policy implementation date is not recorded. Therefore, Article 3 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 applies. 

E

It is not standard practice to advertise food produce origins or preparation techniques, but information is available on request. Patients can specifically request halal meals, if required.

F

Patients and visitors have a range of options to choose from with regards to consuming food items, with further information about food produce and ingredients available on request. It is not standard catering practice to advertise the method of slaughter used for meat products. 

Article applied

Article 3 - Meaning of “information held by a public authority"

For the purposes of this Law, information is held by a public authority if –

(a)     it is held by the authority, otherwise than on behalf of another person; or

(b)     it is held by another person on behalf of the authority.​