A school where the majority of pupils are Muslim has removed Halal meat from its menu amid fears that children might have been eating school dinners that do not comply with Islamic law.
Parents at Green Lane Primary School, Manningham, demanded an emergency meeting to discuss mounting concerns that Halal meat supplies were not being monitored properly.
Today, Bradford Council assured the Muslim community that it could have “complete confidence” in the authenticity of its Halal food.
But in light of the concerns, the local authority and the Council for Mosques have agreed to implement revised monitoring arrangements and to improve public access to the results of all monitoring visits.
Ian Bairstow, Bradford Council’s director of environment and neighbourhoods, said: “We would like to assure parents that all the Halal meat and poultry in the meals served at schools supplied by the Council’s Facilities Management Service complies fully with the requirements of Sharia law.
“As a result of a concern expressed by parents and at the request of Green Lane Primary School, Halal meat and poultry meals have been taken off their menus for a limited period of ten days.
“This has been done to give the Council for Mosques, Imams and parent representatives the opportunity to visit our central food preparation facility and the premises of J W Young – our Halal meat and poultry suppliers for over 25 years.”
Since the 1980s, Bradford Council for Mosques had been the body for monitoring Halal meat supplies to schools.
A spokesman for the Council for Mosques said: “Following the transfer of budgetary control to governing bodies, allowing schools the option of making separate arrangements for acquisition of meals from different suppliers on a competitive basis, the overall central control, monitoring and verification of meals in schools has become more difficult.”
Khuda Dad, 55, of Manningham, who has a grandson at the school and is also caretaker at Hanfia Mosque, said: “If they are not giving the children Halal food, that’s ridiculous. We need to know what’s going on.”
Councillor Qasim Khan (Lib Dem, Manningham) said: “Until a year ago, the local council for mosques was monitoring the whole process. There was a change in the financial arrangements which meant the Council for Mosques couldn’t do it any more. There should have been regular monitors that didn’t happen for more than a year because of a misunderstanding. When parents got wind, they were very concerned.”
David Williams, manager of JW Young Butchers, of Sheffield, said: “We have Halal control in place. We have got an open hand policy and we are totally transparent.”
A spokesman for the Leicester-based Halal Monitoring Committee (HMC) said: “HMC was asked to carry out an audit of the supplies to schools in May 2008. The confidential findings of this report were passed to the Bradford Council of Mosques and the Council.
“On Tuesday HMC were invited to attend the Parent Working Group Meeting, HMC made clear its findings and progress to date. Bradford parents have now refused to accept Halal provision within their schools and have asked all children to follow a vegetarian diet.”