halalfocus.net » The Americas

Canada: Halal meat carving out niche market in growing Muslim community

salama — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:43:41 +0000

Some like their meat rare, while others insist on organic free-range fare. But a different category of meat is gracing restaurant menus and filling grocery store shelves in Nova Scotia.

As the Muslim community across the province grows, the number of businesses from butchers to restaurants selling halal meat has grown in lockstep.

It’s a budding trend turning into big bucks for businesses offering beef, goat, lamb and chicken slaughtered according to Islamic religion.

Taiba Halal Grocery, a small shop “run by Muslims for Muslims,” opened in Halifax three years ago selling meat allowed under Muslim law and other specialty foods.

“We became frustrated with the quality of halal meat available here,” co-owner Khalil Alshanti said Thursday. “We opened up the grocery store as a service to the Muslim community and over time we’ve also served some non-Muslims, too.”

Alshanti and his business partner, Ahmad Alhamoui, buy the meat for their grocery store at farms in Upper Rawdon and Bridgewater.

“We go down there and slaughter the animals,” he said. “The main thing is you don’t want the animal to experience any shock or trauma before it’s killed. The animal shouldn’t see blade before it’s slaughtered with the single swipe of a blade.”

With Nova Scotia’s growing Muslim community, now estimated to be close to 20,000, as well as an influx of university students hailing from the Middle East, Alshanti said competition has grown over time.

In the capital region, Bailey’s Meat Market in Bedford, House of Halal Groceries in Halifax and Mid-East Food Centre & Cafe in the north-end Halifax offer halal meet.

In Sydney, Lebanese Flower opened last September.

“My family only eats halal meat and we knew a lot of Muslims in Cape Breton would like a restaurant that served halal meat,” said Ray Kassem, whose family owns and operates the restaurant. “We’ve also had a lot of support from the local non-Muslim community who really love the food, too.”

Halal has many meanings in Arabic but generally means “what is permissible” in the Islamic religion. Things that are not halal include pork and gambling, for instance.

Mike Oulton had never heard of halal meat when he started farming in Martock many years ago. But now it’s an integral part of his farming operation and the Mike Oulton Meat Shop.

Long-time employee Terry Patterson said serving the ethnic community is a very strong part of the business and continues to grow each year.

“There is a Muslim who comes by every Tuesday and blesses the animals and slaughters them,” he said. “We have a number of Muslims that come here to pick up the meat and we also do deliveries to homes, restaurants and stores.”

(bbundale@herald.ca)

Crescentrating Top 10 Halal Food Blogs/Sites

salama — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 10:09:21 +0000

Crescentrating presents its Halal Friendly Travel (CRaHFT) Ranking for the Top 10 Halal Food Blogs/ Sites in 2012!

The dictionary defines the word ‘food’ as “any nourishing substance that is eaten or drunk to sustain life, provide energy and promote growth”, but what the dictionary doesn’t tell you is that food also brings families and friends together, incites new sensations, and offers people a simple way of experiencing a culture.

This is the first year that we have included this category in our CRaHFT Ranking and hope to make it part of our annual ranking. There were more than 30 Halal Food blogs which were nominated this year and we had more than 36,000 votes spread across them.

These 10 food blogs/ sites, out of thousands of pages which discuss the latest culinary concoctions and techniques, share great recipes and reviews so that everyone can attempt to master the art of cooking and suggest various Halal food products for consumers worldwide. After much consideration, and passionate voting by our readers, we are excited to present to you Crescentrating’s Top 10 Halal Food blogs/ sites for 2012.

1. Fauzia’s Kitchen Fun
Fauzia likes to consider herself as an “average girl tinkering around her kitchen” but Fauzia has made cooking a fun and exciting activity for many people around the world. The Facebook page, which has over 28,000 loyal fans, offers a variety of recipes from snacks and sandwiches to main dishes such as yummy meatloaf or seafood specials, all with step-by-step instructions.

The Facebook page is also a great platform for others to share their favorite recipes, discuss their latest culinary escapades, triumph in the dishes that came out great, and figure out what went wrong in the ones that didn’t turn out so well. With everything going on with Fauzia’s Kitchen Fun, it is most definitely one of the top Halal food pages of 2012!

2. Foodilcious “Cooks @ Work”
Five women. Five destinations. One goal: To learn and share new recipes and tips.
The Foodilcious network is an intricate Facebook page (more than 75,000 likes!) where people can view recipes submitted by one of the five page owners, recipes submitted by other group members, request for a specific recipe, or discuss cooking know-how and tactics.

The page’s photo albums have thousands of recipes in categories such as “Microwaveable Goodies”, “Chocaholics”, “Our Dining Tables” and “High Tea Snacks” along with the more custom categories such as desserts, appetizers, and basics. The Foodilcious “Cooks @ Work” page is unquestionably one of the top 10 Halal food pages too look out for!

3. Masala Mornings
Craving for something that your mother used to make for you when you were younger? Look no further than Aunty Shireen from Masala Mornings TV, where every meal has a little touch of a home.

Every weekday, Shireen Anwar, lovingly known as Aunty Shireen, cooks your favorite recipes on live TV! You can then visit the Masala Mornings Facebook page and take down the recipe to make it on your own. Step by step directions in English, as well as Arabic, make this a great page for every cook!

4. Ramadan Recipes
The Ramadan Recipes Facebook page came to be… well, during Ramadan! What was initially created as a platform to share and talk about the meals prepared during the month of fasting, soon expanded to a collection of recipes which are great for any time of the year!

The page is filled with recipes for scrumptious meals such as lasagna, chow mein, biriyani, curries and many other mouth-watering appetizers, main courses and desserts. The layout of the recipes are a bit different on this page since not only do you get step by step directions, but each step is accompanied with a picture to give you a better idea of how well the directions are being followed. Great recipes, detailed directions – a definite page to explore for the up and coming cook.

5. Lecker & Yummy Recipes
The Lecker & Yummy Recipes blog page is run a by a hard-core foodie named Sajeedha, who has been cooking since she was very young. She began experimenting in the kitchen at the age of 19; her love for food has followed her well past college, marriage, and is now an activity she shares with her own kids as well.

The blog has recipes for a variety of foods, some of which originate from India, Turkey, and Germany. A few of the more popular recipes listed include Mansaf, a traditional dish in Jordan, Maqloobeh, famous in Palestine, and Ispanak Tepsi Borek, hailing from Turkish cuisine. Take your family to these amazing destinations with one mouthwatering bite!

6. Delicious Bytes “Love of Cooking”
The Delicious Bytes “Love of Cooking” Facebook page is not only a collection of recipes, but a vault of information related to cooking. The recipes found on this page are shared from cut newspaper clippings, recipes that were jotted down from TV shows, and anywhere else where people may have found a good recipe worth sharing.

“Our mission is to spread the love of food and cooking from our kitchen to yours”; and boy, have they! Cooks of all levels will appreciate the types of food which can be found on the Delicious Bytes “Love of Cooking” page, especially the many pickles, chutneys and jams! A definite must-visit Halal food site this year!

7. Zaiqa.net
Zaiqa is a word from the Urdu language which translates to ‘taste’… and the Zaiqa food blog guarantees great tastes in every recipe listed! One of the most unique qualities of this site is the ‘Category Index’ which allows you to find recipes based on an ingredient – making it easy to prepare something with leftovers! Other than a never-ending list of recipes, visitors of this amazing food blog will also find links to many other food sites which the author enjoys.

The Zaiqa food blog offers its visitors kitchen tips, quick fix meals, and even product reviews. Be aware, users might go to the page for one particular recipe and end up walking away hours later with 10 other recipes to try.

8. Basma’s Cuisine
From ‘Chessboard Cookies’ to ‘Chicken Lasagna’, Basma’s Cuisine is a page filled with nice recipes for the beginner cook. The site has step-by-step instructions along with accompanying photographs and visitors will enjoy finding such unique and tasty recipes!

The page was created to express the owner’s love and respect for cooking while creating a platform which shares their interest with the rest of the world.

9. ElZaA
The ElZaA food blog was initially created in 2007 by Ruhina with the intention of helping her family refine their skills in the kitchen as well as being a platform to share family recipes. Now, almost 5 years later, it offers a chance for people to bring their families together around the world, with recipes of hearty meals of both local (Pakistan) and international cuisine.

The blog offers a more personal twist on cooking and most, if not all, recipes are ones that Ruhina herself makes for her family. The blog is great for beginner and experienced cooks, and we just had to include it in our Top 10 list!

10. Sameer’s Eats
Sameer’s Eats makes it easier to find a good Halal-restaurant in North America! Sameer of Sameer has only one thing in mind: amazing Halal restaurants; and his goal is to find as many of them as possible for people to enjoy and dine at.
Sameer hosts the leading online show for discovering the best Halal eateries; not only does he review restaurants, he also releases videos of dining experiences as well as identifying Halal food items in well-known restaurants. The site is refreshingly honest and has to be added in our list of must-visits for this year!

We thank all those who participated passionately in voting for their Food blogs that has become part of their everyday life! In the next few days, we will also highlight all other great Food Blogs who were nominated this year, but did not make it to our top 10 list. Keep an eye on them, there is a good possibility that some of them will make it on to the list next year!

And that concludes the Top 10 Halal Food Blog/ Sites for 2012!

USA: OSK-UOB Islamic Fund Management signs with IdealRatings as their Shariah screening provider

salama — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 22:53:45 +0000

San Francisco, USA – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia January 16th, 2012 – OSK-UOB Islamic Fund Management, a joint-venture company formed between the OSK Group, one of Malaysia’s leading investment bank and Singapore’s UOB Group, one of Asia’s leading financial institutions, announced today that it has signed a strategic agreement with IdealRatings, Inc. a global Shariah compliant fund management service provider to utilize IdealRatings’ unique research based screening for their global growth strategy of equity funds.

According to Mohamed Noor, CEO, OSK-UOB Islamic Fund Management, OSK-UOB Islamic Fund Management was looking to find a partner who could provide detailed analysis of the revenue breakdown for the global stock market specifically for food companies involved in any non-halal elements. “IdealRatings, did an outstanding job screening companies with their one of a kind research methodology along with their comprehensive Shariah fund management solution. We feel confident relying on IdealRatings to provide us with top quality Shariah screening data for our Global Halal Food Fund and also for the other unique funds we will be offering as part of our portfolio in the future” said Mohamed Noor.

“The team at OSK-UOB Islamic Fund Management has great plans for much needed products in the market. We are proud to help such team with our service to develop successful products to meet the market demands in a high growth market” said Mohamed Donia, CEO of IdealRatings.

Canada: Indian cuisine leader Tandoor Chef now Halal Certified

salama — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 10:30:35 +0000

Deep Foods, the leading producer of restaurant quality, all natural frozen Indian cuisine, including the Tandoor Chef brand, announces halal certification for all chicken and lamb dishes through the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA).

The halal products are currently distributed in Indian and Pakistani grocery stores across the country. Deep Foods obtained the halal certification to make its unique brand of traditional, authentic Indian food available to a wider range of consumers. The ISNA logo will be clearly displayed on all Deep Foods lamb and chicken dishes.

“Deep Foods is a company that respects the preferences of all consumers, including those that follow a halal, vegetarian, vegan and/or gluten-free diet,” said Mike Ryan, VP Marketing, Deep Foods. “We mark each product so that the consumer has all information and control over which Indian food products they buy, including our ISNA halal and American Vegetarian Association (AVA) dishes.

Halal is a widely accepted method of animal agriculture determined by the Qu’ran in Islamic religion. Halal is one of the most humane methods of animal agriculture for the consumption of meat, according to reputable sources including the Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the Humane Society International.

Since 1977, Deep Foods has been an industry leader and manufacturer of frozen Indian cuisine. Committed to producing restaurant quality, all natural frozen Indian food, Deep Foods is a second-generation family owned and operated company. A quality innovation leader, Deep Foods provides exotic flavors and meal experiences, rooted in the convenience of the frozen food category.

Web Site: http://www.DeepFoods.com

The future of ritual slaughter in the U.S.

hamid — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 10:49:54 +0000

By Michael Fielding on 1/12/2012

Last month a plan for an outright ban on ritual slaughter in the Netherlands failed to pass the Dutch Senate. The move prompted the deputy minister for agriculture to present a compromise asking slaughterhouses and the Islamic and Jewish communities to agree on the length of time an animal is conscious before dying, opening the door for more discussions about stunning the animal before slaughter – something long opposed by many in the Jewish and Islamic communities.

Meatingplace contacted Joe M. Regenstein, professor in the Department of Food Science at Cornell University, to discuss recent issues and the future of ritual slaughter in the United States.

The Dutch vote is an important one on the issue of ritual slaughter, and it’s been a hot-button topic across Europe for much of 2011. In June the parliament passed the ban, but its implementation is riding on passage in the Senate. To what degree is the animal rights lobby influencing passage of this proposed ban — and how does it bode for similar legislation in North America?

Holland is the first country in Europe to elect members of an animal activist group to seats in their parliament. The Party for the Animals has two seats in the lower house as I understand it. This then gives them the right to propose legislation. As it was explained to me, they submitted a large number of bills and the only one that had any traction was the bill to ban religious slaughter. I do see this approach eventually coming to the United States, but I do not believe that a bill solely targeting religious slaughter would at this time get the same type of traction.

The vote in the Dutch lower house reflected both a very inaccurate view of religious slaughter and a high degree of Islamophobia and some anti-Semitism. It is sad that a country like Holland with such a long history of religious freedom should be the first country since the Nazi era to actually vote a ban on religious slaughter. All of the other European bans (except for Switzerland, which was done in a bout of anti-Semitism in the 1890s) were done before World War II in countries with Nazi sympathies.

What factors in the United States have made it increasingly attractive for meat processors to add kosher and halal products?

The first is the market itself. The kosher-observant population in the United States is increasing because of the family demographics of the Orthodox Jewish community. The Muslim community is both growing and becoming more organized so that they can be reached with products targeting them. In addition, the additional inspections and the respectful slaughter methods (i.e., a religious person slaughtering the animal with concern for the animal’s slaughter) are attractive to many other consumers.

What is the main concern among animal rights groups over kosher and halal slaughter. Is it founded?

The research on religious slaughter has been poorly done. There is a real need for proper research. For example the so-called definitive work recently reported from New Zealand used a short knife that was machine sharpened. The whole key to religious slaughter is the use of a razor sharp knife without nicks. This takes a highly trained slaughterman using the right knife. So the use of the proper knife in a laboratory setting for religious slaughter has not been studied.

In other cases, field data is collected without a description of the slaughter systems used, which is a major violation of the ethics of science in which others should be able to duplicate the work. So on the surface it appears that there is data to suggest that religious slaughter does not work as well – but it is actually done on oranges and discussed as apples.

On the other hand, Dr. Grandin and I do continue to admonish the religious communities for some of their slaughter practices that are not using the best available technology consistent with religious requirements. A key contribution of Dr. Grandin has been her strong attitude of measuring, improving, and managing all forms of slaughter and working with the industry to do things better rather than trying to denigrate all or part of the slaughter industry.

If one reads about Dr. Grandin’s experience with kosher slaughter, we may find when the research is done right that religious slaughter may in fact have the highest level of animal welfare.

Is it possible for a processor to realistically accommodate concerns about animal welfare and the certifying authorities that recognize that a product was processed in accordance with religious laws?

We have some very fine operators both in the secular and religious communities that are using Dr. Grandin’s information to slaughter animals going through their facilities with a high level of animal welfare. Other facilities are still in need of improvement. So, yes, I do believe that the issue is one of doing things properly and even then always seeking to improve. Those doing anything less must do better.

Source: The Meatingplace

Canada: Winnipeg beef packing project to press ahead

salama — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 11:47:52 +0000

A new Winnipeg slaughter plant will go ahead despite the loss of $10 million in federal funding and an effort by Manitoba Beef Producers to end the voluntary $2 checkoff funding the project, according to its chief executive.

“We are ready for shovels in the ground when we finish our financing, and when Mother Nature co-operates,” said Doug Cooper, president and CEO of ProNatur, formerly called Keystone Processors. “We’re expecting those two things to collide about the second week of March.”

Cooper suggested that opposition to the project that surfaced at the recent Manitoba Beef Producers annual meeting didn’t reflect the views of a majority of the province’s cattle producers.

“They have every right to put in a resolution to lobby to do away with the checkoff and they did by a vote of 24 to 21,” said Cooper. “Now I don’t know if there are more than 50 cattle producers in Manitoba, but I’m betting there are.”

But attendees at the Manitoba Forage Council’s recent annual Grazing School didn’t seem ready to rally around the project.

“We’re not here to be antagonists,” Cooper told the unresponsive crowd, adding it’s time for producers to decide if they want the plant to go ahead.

“This plant should be built if Manitoba producers want it, and the best way for them to say they want it is to continue the voluntary checkoff,” Cooper said. “And really it goes a step beyond that. Because this checkoff is voluntary, they can request this money back, so if Manitoba producers want this they will leave it in.”

The voluntary $2 checkoff was created to finance the Manitoba Cattle Enhancement Council, which was formed in the wake of the BSE crisis, with the province matching funds. The council changed its name to Keystone Processors Ltd. after merging with producer-owned Natural Prairie Beef Inc. in 2008, but due to potential brand confusion south of the border, the company has now been rechristened ProNatur.

It wants to build a 63,000-square-foot plant on Marion Street in east Winnipeg capable of processing 250 animals a day. The plant has been designed so it can easily increase capacity to 500 animals a day.

“Huge demand”

A major element of its business plan is to process kosher and halal beef, which requires having religious personnel on site to ensure cows are slaughtered in a way prescribed by Jewish and Muslim dietary laws.

“In fact, 31 per cent of our throughput is planned to be (a) religious harvest,” said Cooper. He added meat processed at the plant would be shipped to three different continents.

“There is a huge demand for this,” he said.

Cooper said the plant will process at a slower pace to allow time for the religious certification to occur, but will be able to command a substantial premium for kosher and halal beef. He said the project has secured $18 million in funding from RBC, and is negotiating with private investors and venture capitalists to replace the $10 million in funding withdrawn by the federal government this summer.

The company is also contacting beef producers to line up a supply of cattle.

“We hope to identify these niche markets and offer people an array of programs to choose from, and also develop relationships right through the chain,” said Butch Shadbolt, director of producer relations.

– Shannon Vanraes is a reporter with the Manitoba Co-operator

USA: All-American Muslim: Why Advertisers Are Right to Boycott

salama — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 14:36:29 +0000

Another advertiser pulled out of TLC’s All-American Muslim—but it’s not because the company is ‘Islamophobic.’ It’s simply a terrible program, writes Asra Q. Nomani.

As a real-life American Muslim, I should have loved the new TLC reality show All-American Muslim. I agreed with CBS anchor Katie Couric when she said we need a “Cosby Show for Muslims.” But after I eagerly watched the first episodes, I’ve got to say I think we ended up with something more like a Muslim Jersey Shore, the low-grade MTV series about Snooki’s party life in New Jersey.

Forget political correctness. Lowe’s, the national chain, did the right thing in pulling its advertising from the series. The company said it killed advertising from the show because it had become too controversial, but there is another legitimate reason the company could have given for yanking its advertising: it’s bad TV.

Now, Kayak, an Internet travel company, announced that it too is pulling its advertising. Robert Birge, chief marketing officer at Kayak, put it as plain as it gets: “…I watched the first two episodes,” he wrote in a letter to customers, titled “We Handled This Poorly.” “Mostly, I just thought the show sucked.” He was a little more delicate than I was when a friend asked what I thought about the series: “It SUCKS,” was my subtle response.

A lot has been said about boycotting Lowe’s. I imagine there will be a boycott planned of Kayak, too. As an American Muslim consumer, I can say that I’ll likely buy the lumber for my son’s treehouse at Lowe’s, and I’ll switch from Expedia to Kayak. I like the company’s common sense. “We get what America is about,” Birge wrote, adding, “We would not want anyone to think that we caved to hatred.” But, as he concluded, the show didn’t pass his personal Gong Show, the 1970s TV talent show that banged the gong on stage acts that didn’t pass muster.

Adam Rose / TLC

To me, the issue of Islam-bashing has become a straw man in this debate. This isn’t a referendum on whether a person hates on Islam or not. It’s about TV—and what makes for good TV and what doesn’t. For example, I made it through only two episodes of TLC’s Toddlers and Tiaras, because how many times can we watch Princess Penelope throw a temper tantrum? If Lowe’s or Kayak didn’t advertise there, would we argue that they were trashing prissy little girls and their mom? No, we’d say that they don’t want to spend their ad dollars on bad TV.

Here are just a few plot twists that are stomach turners to me as a Muslim seeking some sort of challenge to conventional, traditional, old-school Islamic interpretation reminiscent of the Dark Ages. In “How to Marry a Muslim,” an American-Muslim woman with tattoos meets an Irish-Catholic love interest in a bar; they plan to get married, but then she tells him he has to convert to Islam first. It’s painful to watch the backyard conversion. Many Muslim women are challenging the notion that they can’t marry non-Muslim men, and it’s a shame we had to watch this Irish-Catholic man go through the same old gauntlet of conversion. This isn’t “How to Marry a Muslim,” and it’s a little disingenuous to present it as the how-to guide. Yawn.

Then, the newly married American-Muslim bride with a tattoo tells her newly converted Irish-Catholic husband that his dog can’t live in their house because it’s haram, or illegal—which thank you very much is just a medieval fatwa like the recent one that says women can’t eat bananas because bananas are just too sexy for a Muslim woman. It’s part of an old idea that a dog’s saliva is dirty. Uh, ever heard of rabies shots?

Even when I thought I couldn’t watch anymore, I did, for research purposes. Lo and behold, Jane Muslim runs to her imam for a faith check on whether she can do artificial insemination or not. I can tell you what he is going to say before she wraps her scarf dutifully around her hair to go meet the imam. Not only, no, but hell no—with a smile. But what if she covers her hair? Would that help? That would “please Allah,” the imam responded. Really? That’s a new strategy of fertility treatment I hadn’t yet heard about.

I’ll be honest. More than taking on the extremists inside our Muslim community, I was afraid of trashing the show. The creators of the show have rallied massive support lobbying through groups such as Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow, a nonprofit group run by the folks who wanted to create the “Ground Zero mosque,” Daisy Khan and Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf. In press releases and press briefings, they’ve trumpeted how they won over everyone from hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons to leading national media columnists.

USA:Reality TV catches up to reality with Muslim show

salama — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 08:46:03 +0000

Reality TV catches up to reality with Muslim show

Adam Rose/AP – Nawal Aoude, a pediatric respiratory therapist, left, and her husband, Nader, go for a walk in a scene from the TLC series, “All-American Muslim.”

By Paul Farhi

Among the themes of “All-American Muslim,” a cable reality show about the daily lives of five families in Dearborn, Mich., is the suspicion and bias that ordinary Muslims face in a nation uneasy about all things Islamic after Sept. 11, 2001.

As it happens, reality has caught up to reality TV.

Peppered by a conservative group’s complaints about the program, the Lowe’s home-improvement chain last week pulled its sponsorship — and has been fielding countercomplaints that the company had caved in to the very prejudices faced by the program’s protagonists.

After “All-American Muslim” debuted last month on the Silver Spring-based TLC network, a group called the Florida Family Association asked its members to target the show’s advertisers. The organization, ironically, was peeved by the program’s generally positive portrayals of Muslims in America. The Florida group branded the series “propaganda that riskily hides the Islamic agenda’s clear and present danger to American liberties and traditional values.”

Its complaints were echoed by several prominent conservative bloggers, including Pamela Geller, who was instrumental in leading the opposition to an Islamic community center and mosque near the site of the World Trade Center in Manhattan.

Lowe’s took heed, yanking its ads and issuing a statement that said, in part, that the program had become “a lightning rod” for individuals and groups with “strong political and social views on this topic.” It added: “We believe it is best to respectfully defer to communities, individuals and groups to discuss and consider such issues of importance.”

Muslim groups and advocates for Muslims condemned Lowe’s decision.

“Corporate America needs to take a stand against these anti-Muslim fringe groups and stand up for what is right because this is what it means to be an American,” said Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), the first Muslim American elected to Congress.

Rap mogul Russell Simmons and a California state senator, Ted Lieu (D), have counter-complained. Simmons suggested a boycott but stopped short of calling for one if Lowe’s didn’t reverse its position, and he announced he has purchased the remaining commercial spots on the show next week. Lieu told the Associated Press that he was considering legislation to compel the chain to restore its advertising.

The Tampa-based Florida Family Association, a Christian evangelical group that says it promotes “traditional, biblical values,” said it has persuaded 65 advertisers to abandon the program.

The organization’s campaign is reminiscent of other interest-group protests that have driven advertisers from programs that the groups found objectionable, including Glenn Beck’s talk show on Fox, and MTV’s “Jersey Shore” and “Skins.”

Anti-Islamic sentiment also has fueled opposition to Campbell’s Soup and Whole Foods Market over their plans to market halal foods — foods prepared according to Islamic dietary law. It also may have slowed the cable and satellite distribution in the United States of TV channels produced by al-Jazeera, the government-owned news organization based in Doha, Qatar.

On the other hand, the controversy over “All-American Muslim” has generated so much attention — the broadcast networks’ morning shows all aired segments on it Monday — that it may spike viewership of the program. The eight-episode show has averaged around 1?million viewers, a modest figure, since its mid-November debut.

A spokeswoman for TLC, which is owned by Discovery Communications, offered a terse statement Monday: “We stand behind the show ‘All-American Muslim’ and we’re happy the show has strong advertising support.” The spokeswoman, Laurie Goldberg, did not comment on the Florida group’s claims that other advertisers have pulled out of the show.

Critics have been generally lukewarm about the program. The Washington Post’s TV critic, Hank Stuever, called the series “assiduously straightforward and careful .?.?. mainly an act of public relations, going out of its way to avoid becoming ‘The Real Housewives of Dearborn.’?”

USA: Food Safety Eclipses Rising Food Costs as Top Food Story of 2011

salama — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 13:14:50 +0000

Cantaloupe Listeria Outbreak Tops List in Annual Survey Commissioned by Hunter Public Relations

NEW YORK, NY, Dec 08, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) — Food safety tops the list of an annual survey asking Americans to choose the most significant food story of 2011. Even in a year when global food prices hit record highs and both restaurant menus and retail food labels got a new look, the safety of the American food supply dominated the headlines and consumers took notice. The survey was commissioned by Hunter Public Relations, a leading public relations agency specializing in the food and beverage industry.

Now in its ninth year, the Hunter PR food survey provides a look back at the top food-related stories of each year. To compile the 2011 list, the Hunter PR Food Group collaborated with industry experts, including Phil Lempert, editor of Supermarket Guru; Regina Ragone, food director of Family Circle; Elizabeth Fassberg, owner of food and nutrition consultancy Eat Food; Brad Thompson, chef and restaurant consultant; and Megan Steintrager, freelance food writer and editor. After polling 1,000 Americans, the following were named the top three food-related stories of 2011:

#1: Twenty-Nine Deaths Caused by Cantaloupe Listeria Outbreak To date, 29 people have died, and another 133 were made ill from tainted cantaloupe in 2011. Traced to bacteria growing on packing equipment at Colorado’s Jensen Farms, the incident is already the second largest listeria outbreak in U.S. history.

#2: First Lady Michelle Obama with USDA Unveils MyPlate, Replaces Food Pyramid For the second year in a row, First Lady Michelle Obama was part of one of the top food stories of the year. Together with the USDA, she revealed MyPlate, the new dietary guidelines campaign, replacing the 20-year-old food pyramid.

#3: Global Food Prices Hit Record High The number three spot finds its home at the intersection of food and finance: global food prices skyrocketed in 2011, putting pressure on the restaurant, travel and hotel industries. To avoid passing costs to consumers, companies are scrambling to renegotiate contracts, find cheaper suppliers and reconfigure menus.

The survey also revealed how consumer behavior was impacted by these stories and how these stories will affect Americans in the coming year.

Digesting Food News

USA: Brand Courage and the American Muslim Consumer

salama — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 12:59:08 +0000

Brand Courage and the American Muslim Consumer

2011/12/08 · Shelina Janmohamed · Responses (7)

The Arab Spring is opening a new frontier for brands, but American marketers may want to look a little closer to home. Ogilvy Noor’s Shelina Janmohamed reports that engaging America’s 7 million Muslims takes courage, but pays dividends.

Twelve months ago American Muslims were fired up with optimism that the moment had come for U.S. brands to embrace them.

In a struggling market, 7 million Muslim consumers with an estimated spending power of more than $170 billion seemed to have come of age at the very moment when brands were in greater need than ever of new growth opportunities.

But 12 months later brands still appear ambivalent despite the open arms with which Muslim consumers are inviting them in. So why are brands hesitant to commit themselves to serving this powerful demographic?

It’s been a tumultuous year. The controversy over the mis-named “Ground Zero” mosque grabbed headlines around the world. Media-baiting Pastor Jones threatened to burn the Qur’an. Osama Bin Laden was killed. The 10th anniversary of 9/11 came and went.

And then the Arab Spring turned the Middle East upside down, igniting fears that Islamic governments with hostilities toward the West might sweep to power.

With this political backdrop you can hardly blame brands for being nervous about speaking publicly to Muslims and welcoming them into the bosom of their marketing strategy.

Friends in need

Despite the events of the past year, American Muslims continue to remain optimistic about their place in American society.

In a Gallup poll released in August of this year 60 percent of American Muslims said they are “thriving.” Dalia Mogahed, the director of the Abu Dhabi Gallup Center which published the report, added that Muslims “feel a greater sense of belonging in their country” than they did in 2008.

What this means is that brands need to demonstrate commitment to the idea that that the Muslim consumer market is valuable. Muslim consumers recognize the political climate within which brands are operating, and appreciate them sticking their necks out. The response is loyalty, pride and collective endorsement. Friends in a time of need are not forgotten.

All-American Muslim

The “Happy Eid Al-Adha” image on a Best Buy flyer sparked controversy, but ultimately won customers. Image courtesy of TechCrunch

Last year, U.S. consumer electronics retailer Best Buy prompted a backlash when it referenced the Muslim festival of Eid in a holiday flyer. Best Buy stood by its decision, winning the support of Muslim consumers in the process.

This year’s marketing campaign by health food supermarket chain Whole Foods to promote Saffron Road halal foods during the month of Ramadan also faced criticism. They too held firm, sales went up 300 percent and Whole Foods acquired a new segment of customers.

Just last month, TV channel TLC began airing an eight-part series called All-American Muslim, which follows the lives of five American Muslim families in Dearborn, Michigan. The pilot episode pulled the second-highest ratings of the station’s reality TV shows, beaten only by Sarah Palin’s Alaska.

Predictably, the show has stirred controversy but TLC has kept it on the air and it continues to gain ratings. From a brand perspective this kind of courage is proof that addressing Muslims can and does pay off, and that mainstream America is ready and willing to watch.

But other Muslim-centric content has fallen foul of the political climate. A new superhero cartoon series called The 99, based on the Islamic idea of God having 99 attributes, was bought by a mainstream American channel. With the inflamed political backdrop, the channel has shelved it indefinitely. This is a case where courage is much needed.

From kosher to halal

There is great precedent for American brands reaching out to segments that are part of the fabric of American life, even in the face of objections. In 1911, Procter & Gamble was the first company to advertise that its vegetable shortening product, Crisco, was kosher.

Whole Foods increased sales by 300 percent by selling Saffron Road Halal products

In 1915 the New York State Legislature enacted the United States’ first Kosher Food Law, which was to serve as a model for all subsequent kosher food legislation. This law has been challenged again and again by those who claim it is unconstitutional, but it has stood the test of time.

The U.S. kosher market has grown today to an estimated $12.5 billion, but only 25 percent of kosher consumers are actually observant Jews. Other consumers believe simply that kosher food is healthier. Muslims believe that halal food will have wider appeal than its core target Muslim consumer for similar reasons.

Courage and rewards

The lesson from these examples is that courage and investment in communities pay off. Muslims will respect and show loyalty to brands that support them in the public space. They are not asking for political or media support. In fact they want brands to avoid the political discourse and treat them as mainstream consumers with mainstream needs.

The events of the last year indicate that companies will need to demonstrate courage in embracing this strategy. The good news is that Muslim consumers recognize this and the reward from them is loyalty and public devotion.