HALAL : Tastes Halal , test McDonald's McArabia

DUBAÏ : source www.chron.com/ By KEN HOFFMAN

Dubai's McArabia tastes exotic

The McArabia's got the aroma and taste of Dubai, with lots
of spice and vegetables and that creamy, garlic-spiked mayo.
The Arabic-style pita bread is a little thicker than American
fast-food flatbread.
The pita carries its weight in the McArabia without getting
soppy or falling apart.
If you take a big enough bite of the McArabia, you'll learn something
about halal dietary laws of Islam and the way things run in Dubai.


Every McDonald's in the United Arab Emirates is locally owned
and operated by the Emirates Fast Food Corporation.
Everything on the menu is 100-percent halal, inspected
and approved by Islamic authorities.
They are strict about their food culture and,
for a tourist, it's fun to learn how they do it.

There are no pork products at McDonald's in Dubai.
Breakfast sandwiches are made with turkey bacon
and sausage. But halal goes much farther than that.

Food suppliers must obey precise rules concerning animal welfare.
Animals raised for consumption, like cows and chickens,
must be vegetarian fed. No hormones are allowed for artificial growth.
Here's the part that impressed me the most.
Animals are treated with respect and are slaughtered
as humanely as possible. Animals must be slaughtered
by human hands as quickly as possible.
No torture is allowed and suffering is kept at a minimum.

Meat-processing workers, who must be Muslim, keep their knives
sharp to ensure a fast death. Workers are not allowed to sharpen
their knives in front of the animals.
Each animal must be prayed for, and the name “Allah” recited before it is killed.
You always hear, “No matter where on Earth you are, the food
at McDonald's always tastes the same.” Not true, and it wasn't because
I was eating the McArabia, which is only available in the Middle East. ...
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