Beta The Android app is in early beta β€” not yet on the Play Store. To install, download the APK directly and enable Install from unknown sources in your phone settings. Download APK β†’
UK Meat Transparency

Know What's In
Your Meat

Check whether UK meat products may have been religiously slaughtered. Search FSA establishment codes, scan barcodes, and find verified safe places near you.

Try: 1000 4669 2045 4227
Point camera at a product barcode
Features

Simple. Fast. Transparent.

Three ways to check your meat β€” from the supermarket shelf to your kitchen table.

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Search by Code

Find the oval health mark stamp on your packaging. Enter the code above for an instant risk assessment from 5,000+ FSA establishments.

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Scan Barcodes

Use the app to scan product barcodes. We look up the product and automatically extract establishment codes β€” no typing needed.

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Safe Places Map

Browse a community-built map of restaurants, butchers, and farm shops known to use non-religious slaughter. Add places and help others.

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Community Reports

Users verify and enrich every establishment β€” stunning method, slaughter line type, throughput size. Crowdsourced intelligence at scale.

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Scotland & NI

Submit codes from Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the EU. Community-verified entries display the same detailed result view as FSA establishments.

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Earn Badges

Contribute to the community and earn badges β€” First Check, Safe Spotter, Watchdog, and more. Appear on the leaderboard of UK top checkers.

5,291
FSA Establishments
27+
Confirmed Halal
Free
Always Free
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UK Focused
How It Works

Finding the oval stamp

Every meat product sold in the UK must carry a health mark β€” a small oval stamp with an establishment number inside. Here is where to look.

UK 1234 EV

The Health Mark Stamp

Look for a small oval or rounded rectangle printed directly on the packaging. It contains a country code (UK or GB), an establishment number, and a veterinary approval code (EV). Enter that number above to get an instant result.

  • Fresh meat β€” usually printed on the back of the tray label or on the tray itself
  • Processed meat β€” often on the back of the packet near the weight and use-by date
  • Butcher-counter meat β€” ask to see the label on the original box
  • Pre-packed mince β€” check under the tray or on the side seam of the packaging
Community Intelligence

Brand Scorecards

Live data from community-submitted products. Every scan and report feeds directly into this table.

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Risk Assessment

Understanding the results

There is no legal requirement for slaughterhouses to declare their slaughter method. Our assessments combine FSA data, certification bodies, and community intelligence.

πŸ”΄ High Risk

Name, certification, or community reports strongly suggest halal or kosher slaughter. Includes HMC and HFA certified establishments.

🟠 Medium Risk

A registered slaughterhouse with no religious certification found. Slaughterhouses can perform religious slaughter without public disclosure.

🟒 Low Risk

A cutting or processing facility rather than a slaughterhouse. Religious slaughter is unlikely but cannot be fully ruled out at these sites.

βšͺ Unknown

Insufficient data to assess. The code may be from Scotland, Northern Ireland, or the EU β€” submit it to help the community.

The Evidence

The UK's slaughter numbers

Official FSA data on how UK animals are slaughtered β€” and why the label on your pack tells you nothing about it.

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Sheep
Stunned77%
Non-stunned23%
72.5% of all UK sheep go through some form of religious slaughter β€” the highest of any species
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Cattle
Stunned99.1%
Non-stunned0.9%
0.8% is kosher (shechita) β€” always non-stunned by law. 0.1% is halal non-stun. 98% of non-stun beef stays in the UK.
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Chicken
Stunned97.7%
Non-stunned2.3%
16.7% total religious slaughter β€” most is halal with pre-stunning. 93% of non-stun chicken is sold in the UK, not exported.
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Goats
Stunned75%
Non-stunned25%
Non-stun rate tripled from 7.5% in 2018 to 25% in 2022 β€” the fastest-growing trend in UK religious slaughter
~80%
of UK halal meat is pre-stunned
Most supermarket halal is certified by bodies that permit pre-stunning. Only certifiers like HMC require fully non-stunned slaughter. Your label almost never tells you which standard applies.
75%
of UK consumers concerned about welfare
33% are "highly concerned" and 42% "somewhat concerned" about animal welfare at slaughter, according to FSA consumer research β€” yet UK law requires no disclosure of slaughter method on packaging.
0
mandatory labelling laws in the UK
There is no legal requirement to declare whether an animal was stunned or slaughtered by religious method. Denmark, Sweden, Iceland and New Zealand have banned non-stun slaughter outright. The UK has not.

Sources: FSA Slaughter Sector Survey 2022 (England & Wales) · FSA Annual Animal Welfare Report 2023/24 · House of Commons Research Briefing SN07108 · Miele et al., Consumption & Society 2024

Questions

Frequently asked

No. The majority of halal-certified meat in UK supermarkets is stunned before slaughter. However, some certifying bodies such as HMC (Halal Monitoring Committee) require non-stunned slaughter, while others like HFA (Halal Food Authority) permit pre-stunned. Meat Checker flags both types so you can see exactly which applies to each establishment.
Yes. Kosher (shechita) slaughter requires the animal to be fully conscious at the point of slaughter β€” stunning is not permitted under kosher law. Any establishment carrying kosher certification will always use non-stunned slaughter.
There is currently no legal requirement in the UK for food labels to declare the slaughter method used. This is exactly why Meat Checker exists β€” to fill that transparency gap using FSA register data, certification body information, and community intelligence from thousands of users.
Medium Risk means the establishment is a registered slaughterhouse but we have no confirmed evidence of religious certification. Slaughterhouses in the UK can perform religious slaughter on an ad-hoc basis without being publicly listed as certified, so the absence of a certificate does not guarantee conventional slaughter. The app allows you to report what you find to help others.
Codes from Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland use different numbering schemes and are not always in the FSA England and Wales register. You can still enter the code β€” the app lets community members submit and verify these codes so the results benefit everyone. Alternatively, scan the barcode to see if the product has been reported by other users.
Yes, if you are using a modern version of Chrome on Android or desktop. The scanner uses your camera to detect product barcodes and automatically looks up the establishment code and any community reports. For the best experience β€” including offline use, a map of safe places, and leaderboards β€” download the free Android app.
Yes, completely free. The website and Android app have no ads, no subscription, and no data selling. The project is community-driven and supported by people who care about food transparency.
Android App

Scan in the supermarket

The free app gives you barcode scanning, a live map of safe places, community reporting, leaderboards, and badges β€” everything you need in the aisle.

πŸ€–Download for Android πŸ‘₯Facebook Community