Halal certifiers: HMS, HFSAA, HMA, HMC and HFA
HMS and HFSAA certify hand slaughtered zabiha in the US, HMA does the same in Canada, and HMC does it in the UK with no stunning allowed. The UK's Halal Food Authority (HFA) has a broader standard that is reported to allow non-lethal stunning. HMS, HFSAA, HMA and HMC publish lists of the restaurants they certify.
Sources checked October 23, 2026. Muzzmi describes the standards and where views differ. It does not give religious rulings.
HMS: Halal Monitoring Services (US)
A Chicago based non-profit that certifies and monitors hand slaughtered halal meat from the slaughterhouse to the restaurant. It runs frequent random, unannounced inspections, checking invoices, stock and fridges, and publishes a certified listing and a fraud report form. HMS certified places on Muzzmi.
HFSAA: Halal Food Standards Alliance of America (US)
Hand slaughter only, by a Muslim and not by machine. Stunning is "highly discouraged", and must be reversible where used. It certifies restaurants, meat markets and dining halls through regional chapters, and says any business not on its list is not certified.
HMA: Halal Monitoring Authority (Canada)
Based in Toronto. Hand slaughter only, with inspectors on site at slaughter and regular, sometimes unannounced, checks at certified stores and restaurants. It allows stunning only in tightly limited forms where every bird is alive at slaughter. HMA certified places on Muzzmi.
HMC: Halal Monitoring Committee (UK)
Hand slaughter only and no stunning in any form. Inspectors are present at slaughterhouses during slaughter, and certified chicken carries a coloured, serialised HMC label. It monitors butchers, restaurants, takeaways and schools. HMC certified places on Muzzmi.
HFA: Halal Food Authority (UK)
One of the UK's largest certifiers, covering food, drink and other products. It is reported to permit stunning as long as it does not kill the animal. It certifies, among others, the halal KFC restaurants in the UK. Muzzmi shows HFA certification where a place states it, but does not yet check HFA against a published list.
Which one should you trust?
That depends on your own standard on hand slaughter and stunning, which is a religious question Muzzmi does not answer. What Muzzmi does is show which certifier, if any, lists each place, so you can choose. What is zabiha?