For cattle and poultry alike, halal slaughter means a live, healthy animal cut across the front of the throat by a qualified slaughterer, in God's name, then fully bled. The schemes differ in detail: UAE.S 993:2022, in force since 1 December 2023, allows stunning and automatic poultry knives under recorded controls, while Malaysia approves each export plant after DVS and JAKIM audits.
This guide is for slaughterhouse managers, QA teams and exporters supplying the UAE, other Gulf states or Malaysia.
Which standards govern halal slaughter for the UAE, the GCC and Malaysia?
For the Gulf, the GCC Standardization Organization publishes GSO 993:2015, a Gulf Technical Regulation on animal slaughtering requirements according to Islamic rules. Its GSO store entry lists edition 2, approved on 5 November 2015, as current. Its scope covers birds as well as animals.
The UAE Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT) updated the Gulf text into UAE.S 993:2022. It was published on 30 November 2022, took effect on 1 December 2023 and replaced GSO 993:2015 in the UAE. Cabinet Resolution 10 of 2014 requires halal certificates to come from certification bodies registered with MoIAT, as the MoIAT halal page explains.
Malaysia certifies through JAKIM, the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia. Its food standard is MS 1500:2019, Halal food: General requirements (third revision), published by the Department of Standards Malaysia. JAKIM applies it with its own certification procedures and its protocol for halal meat and poultry production. Our MS 1500 guide covers the standard itself.
How do UAE.S 993:2022, GSO 993:2015 and JAKIM compare?
The UAE column summarises UAE.S 993:2022 in AGS's words. The GSO column holds only what could be checked publicly, so read the regulation and ask the importing authority before relying on it.
| Point | GCC: GSO 993:2015 | UAE: UAE.S 993:2022 | Malaysia: JAKIM and MS 1500:2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Status | Gulf Technical Regulation, edition 2, approved 5 November 2015 | UAE technical regulation in force since 1 December 2023. Replaces GSO 993:2015 in the UAE | MS 1500:2019 with JAKIM's certification procedures and meat and poultry protocol |
| Who may slaughter | Not summarised here. Read the regulation | An adult Muslim, Christian or Jew with competence in slaughter, hygiene and food safety | Slaughterers hold a state authorisation (tauliah) that only Muslims can apply for |
| Stunning | Not summarised here. Check with the importing state | Not recommended but allowed if it cannot kill, stop the heart or reduce bleeding. Verified, sampled and filmed | Optional. Allowed only under MS 1500:2019 and JAKIM conditions (reported) |
| Automatic poultry knife | Not summarised here | Allowed with a qualified operator, the Basmala for each run and back-up slaughterers | Confirm with your JAKIM-recognised certification body |
| Plant approval | Set by each importing state. Saudi Arabia accepts meat only from establishments it has approved | Slaughter only in facilities registered and authorised to supply the UAE | Certified by a JAKIM-recognised foreign body, then audited and approved by DVS and JAKIM |
| Certificate | Saudi Arabia asks for a certificate covering halal slaughter and halal feed | A halal certificate from an accredited certification body with every meat shipment | Issued by a body on JAKIM's list of recognised foreign certification bodies |
Is stunning allowed in halal slaughter?
Yes, under conditions, in both the UAE and Malaysia. UAE.S 993:2022 does not recommend stunning but permits controlled methods that cannot be manipulated. Any method that kills the animal, stops its heart or reduces bleeding before the cut is prohibited.
The UAE text then asks for proof. The certification body verifies the process periodically, and a competent person controls the stunner. Bleeding is monitored, and a carcass with abnormally low blood flow is treated as non-halal.
The annex adds random sampling of stunned animals before the cut, with results kept for at least a year. It expects at least two independent cameras covering stunning and slaughter, with 90 days of footage, and a device that records the stunning settings for 90 days. A stun may not be repeated on the same animal.
The annex also gives electrical current and time ranges for chickens, sheep, goats, calves, steers, cows and bulls, labelled voluntary. The plant must still prove that its own settings stun without killing.
In Malaysia, stunning is optional. Where a plant uses it, it must meet the conditions of MS 1500:2019 and JAKIM's procedures, as a 2025 study in the Selangor Mufti Department's journal reports. In JAKIM's training syllabus, a Muslim halal checker checks stunning, the cut, bleeding and death before dressing, and records every carcass that fails.
What changes between a poultry line and a cattle floor?
The rules are the same for both species. The risks are not. On a cattle floor each animal is restrained, stunned if the plant stuns, cut and checked one at a time, so records follow the individual animal.
A poultry line runs as a continuous stream, so the controls are built into the line. These points come from UAE.S 993:2022 and its annex.
- Birds that die before the line are removed. So are birds that drown in the water bath if the line stops.
- About half an hour of rest is recommended for chickens that travelled more than 80 km.
- Shackles should fit the birds' legs, and the conveyor must be able to stop at once in an emergency.
- An automatic knife is allowed. Its operator must meet the slaughterer requirements and say the Basmala before each run and again after any stop. Recordings and written boards cannot replace it.
- Slaughterers stand after the knife to cut missed birds by hand and remove decapitated ones.
- Product from automatic slaughter cannot carry words or images that suggest hand slaughter.
For cattle, the annex covers rest after transport, space for veterinary checks and no slaughter in sight of other animals. Halal controls sit on top of meat hygiene rules, which our slaughterhouse hygiene guide covers.
How does an overseas plant get approved to supply these markets?
Malaysia approves plants one by one. JAKIM said in August 2025, as reported by the broadcaster RTM, that exports to Malaysia must come from plants certified by a JAKIM-recognised foreign body. Those plants must also be audited and approved by the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) and JAKIM.
Since 2024, plants apply online through the JAKIM International Abattoir Application System (JIAAS), which also links the DVS list of approved overseas plants. JAKIM's list of recognised foreign halal certification bodies was most recently reissued with effect from 21 August 2026.
For the UAE, UAE.S 993:2022 requires slaughter in facilities registered and authorised to supply the UAE market. Each meat shipment needs a halal certificate from an accredited certification body, which must also monitor the slaughterhouse periodically. Labels must show the slaughter date, the slaughterhouse name or number and the country of origin.
Other GCC states apply GSO 993 with their own approvals. Canada's export requirements for Saudi Arabia, for example, say meat must come from establishments Saudi Arabia has approved. Approved lists change, so check with the importing authority.
What records do halal auditors ask to see?
Auditors compare practice on the floor with your records. This list is AGS's reading of the UAE and Malaysian requirements above, not text from either standard.
- Slaughterer register: identity, training and competence, and for Malaysia the authorisation.
- Stunning: settings per shift, equipment checks, sampling results showing animals were alive, and camera footage.
- Slaughter and bleeding checks, with every failed carcass marked, isolated and its disposal recorded.
- Poultry: dead-on-arrival counts, line stoppages and automatic knife checks.
- Segregation and labelling: halal marks, stamps, slaughter dates and dispatch with the halal certificate.
- Cleaning agents suitable for halal food and, for Malaysia, ritual cleansing (sertu) after contamination.
- Internal halal audits, halal committee minutes and corrective actions.
How AGS can help
Each AGS kit is a set of editable Microsoft Word documents: halal manual, procedures, forms, checklists and training material.
- JAKIM HAS - Cattle Slaughter: 36 documents
- JAKIM HAS - Poultry Slaughter: 36 documents
- UAE.S HAS - Cattle Slaughter: 39 documents
- UAE.S HAS - Poultry Slaughter: 40 documents
- GSO HAS - Cattle Slaughter: 40 documents
- GSO HAS - Poultry Slaughter: 40 documents
- Integrated HAS - Cattle Slaughter (GSO, JAKIM, SJPH, SMIIC, UAE.S): 39 documents
- Integrated HAS - Poultry Slaughter (GSO, JAKIM, SJPH, SMIIC, UAE.S): 40 documents
Frequently asked questions
Can a Christian or Jewish slaughterer work on a line supplying the UAE?
UAE.S 993:2022 accepts an adult Muslim, Christian or Jew with the required competence. Malaysia's own slaughterer authorisation is open to Muslims only. Confirm with your JAKIM-recognised certification body what it requires at an overseas plant.
Is GSO 993:2015 still in use?
Yes. The GSO store lists it as the current Gulf Technical Regulation. The UAE has replaced it nationally with UAE.S 993:2022.
Can one halal system cover the Gulf, the UAE and Malaysia?
One documented system can hold the controls for several schemes, but there is no combined certificate. Each market needs its own certificate or plant approval.
What about Indonesia and OIC/SMIIC?
Indonesia runs a separate scheme through BPJPH with its own slaughter standards, explained in our Indonesian halal slaughter guide. OIC/SMIIC requirements are covered in our OIC/SMIIC slaughter guide.
Does buying documentation mean the plant will be approved?
No. Approval depends on how the system is run and on the audits that follow.
AGS provides independent documentation toolkits. This guide and the kits listed are not affiliated with, endorsed by or approved by MoIAT, GSO, JAKIM, DVS or any halal certification body, and they do not guarantee any certification or plant approval.
Reviewed October 2026. Facts checked against the sources current at publication.
