isithalal.food

Is Farmer Focus chicken Halal?

Scholars differ on this one.

Scholarly difference
High confidence About this ruling

About this ruling

Condition
Recognised scholarly rulings differ
Evidence confidence
High means this page cites a manufacturer spec and a named scriptural or scholarly source, retrieved 7 October 2026. That describes the quality of the sources on this page—not a Halal certificate for the pack or outlet in your hand.
How we score High, Medium, and Low

Reviewed

Farmer Focus, the US organic and free-range chicken brand, answers on its Halal page: 'Every Farmer Focus product is Halal Certified through ISA.' It says the certification is for machine slaughter: an adult Muslim blesses the flock in the name of Allah, someone watches that each bird is cut correctly, and ISA audits the plant and renews the certificate each year.

Next step Farmer Focus says all its chicken is Halal-certified through ISA, under ISA's standard for machine slaughter. If you accept machine-slaughtered chicken with a Muslim present to bless the flock, it qualifies; if you follow scholars who require the person saying Allah's name to do the cutting, look for hand-slaughtered chicken instead. How to verify
Scan a label

Photo: Open Food Facts contributors · CC BY-SA 3.0

Scholarly differences

Machine slaughter is the whole question here. One view, given by Egypt's Dar al-Ifta, is that a blade that cuts the throat and lets the blood flow is a valid tool, and the slaughter is permissible when the person operating the machine says 'Bismillah, Allahu akbar'.

The other view, given by Darul Ifta Australia, is that the name of Allah must be said by the slaughterer; with a machine, the machine is the slaughterer, so a Muslim standing beside the line saying Allah's name does not make the bird Halal.

Farmer Focus describes its practice as a Muslim blessing the flock, which the stricter view does not accept.

What decides the answer

  • You accept certified machine slaughter

    Farmer Focus chicken is ISA-certified

  • You require hand slaughter with the name of Allah said by the slaughterer

    avoid; choose hand-slaughtered chicken

  • Pack with no Halal logo

    check for plant code P46826, P46826A or 46826A

How to verify

  1. Farmer Focus says every product is ISA Halal-certified.
  2. No logo on the label? Look for plant code P46826, P46826A or 46826A on the white area of the pack.
  3. The certification covers machine slaughter, not hand slaughter.
  4. Decide which view on machine slaughter you follow.

Quick checks

  • ISA Halal-certified, every product.
  • Machine slaughter, not hand slaughter.
  • No logo? Check plant code P46826.

Why this ruling

Farmer Focus is a US chicken brand selling organic and free-range fresh chicken in supermarkets. Its website has a page devoted to Halal, and the answer is clear about what kind of Halal it is.

What Farmer Focus says

"Every Farmer Focus product is Halal Certified through ISA."[1] Many packs show no Halal logo, as on the drumsticks pictured, which carry the Certified Humane mark but no Halal one.[4] Farmer Focus explains that retailers choose which certifications go on the price label, and says to check for plant processing codes P46826, P46826A or 46826A on the white area of the pack instead.[1]

Machine slaughter

The certification is for machine slaughter. Farmer Focus says an adult Muslim blesses the flock in the name of Allah, a person watches that every bird is cut correctly, it receives daily paperwork confirming the blessing, and ISA audits the plant and renews the certificate every year.[1]

Where scholars differ

Egypt's Dar al-Ifta permits machine slaughter of chickens when the person operating the machine says "Bismillah, Allahu akbar".[2] Darul Ifta Australia takes the stricter view: with a machine, the machine is the slaughterer, so Allah's name said by someone standing beside it does not make the chicken Halal.[3] Which view you follow decides the answer. For the wider question, see our Chicken page; for Australian brands with published Halal product lists, see Steggles and Lilydale.

Where you'll find it

  • Fresh organic and free-range chicken from US supermarkets
  • Breasts, thighs, drumsticks, wings and ground chicken

Frequently asked questions

Is Farmer Focus chicken Halal?
It is Halal-certified by ISA for machine slaughter. Whether that is Halal for you depends on the view you follow: some scholars accept machine slaughter when the operator says Allah's name, others require the slaughterer to say it.
Why is there no Halal label on my Farmer Focus chicken?
Farmer Focus says retailers choose which certifications appear on the price label. To check, look for plant code P46826, P46826A or 46826A on the white area of the pack.
Is Farmer Focus chicken hand slaughtered?
No. Farmer Focus says it is machine slaughter certified by ISA, with an adult Muslim blessing the flock in the name of Allah.

Sources

Named Islamic, certifier, manufacturer, and regulatory sources used on this page. Inline markers like [1] jump here. Retrieval dates show when we last checked the live URL. Editorial methodology.

Islamic / scriptural

  1. I own a chicken slaughterhouse. Can the birds be machine slaughtered and still be halal?

    Dar al-Ifta al-Misriyyah (Egypt) Retrieved

    Fatwa 4842, 22 July 2013: 'if the birds are machine slaughtered and the person operating the machine utters the name of Allah [bismillah]... then this manner of slaughtering is permissible.'

  2. Tasmiya not by slaughterer

    Darul Ifta Australia, Fatwa.org.au (via IslamQA.org) Retrieved

    Mufti Faizal Riza, 16 September 2011, on machine-slaughtered chickens with tasmiyah said by a person: 'such chickens will not be halal, because for an animal to be halal the tasmiyah... must be done by the slaughterer. In the case of machine slaughtered animals, the slaughterer is the machine.'

Manufacturer / product

  1. Halal Certified — frequently asked questions

    Farmer Focus Retrieved

    Jurisdiction: United States

    'Every Farmer Focus product is Halal Certified through ISA.' Retailers choose which certifications appear on the pricing label; 'Look for plant processing codes P46826, P46826A, & 46826A'. 'We are machine slaughter certified by ISA... An adult Muslim blesses the flock in the name of Allah... We have an individual who stands to watch and ensure all animals are slaughtered correctly. We undergo audits to maintain our Halal certification, which is renewed annually.'

  2. Farmer Focus Free Range Chicken Drumsticks, 20 oz (barcode 0889930016103)

    Open Food Facts Retrieved

    Jurisdiction: United States

    Front-of-pack photo: Free Range, No Antibiotics Ever, Certified Humane and USDA inspection marks; no Halal logo on this label.

Browse this topic

Open the parent category hub for more foods in the same group.