Pie and pasty manufacturer Lewis Pies has secured a contract to supply a range of its Halal accredited British food products to 70 Tesco stores across the UK.
The Wales-based business produce its own ‘Crescent Halal Pies and Pasties’.
The pies and pasties are produced under extremely strict conditions at Lewis Pies’ pork free site. Only halal certified suppliers are used and the process is regularly audited by the Halal Authority Board (HAB), a Halal Standards organisation.
Lewis Pies has been HAB-accredited for two years and has invested in training two key staff members as halal representatives to ensure all staff are fully educated about the importance of halal integrity and how compliance is achieved.
The products available under the company’s Crescent brand include a minced beef and onion pie, a steak slice and a sweet chilli chicken slice and are available to other wholesalers across the UK.
Wilf Lewis, Managing Director of Lewis Pies, said the products are proving extremely popular with second and third generation Muslims who may have acquired a taste for classic authentic British food products but have been unable to easily buy them from Halal accredited sources – until now.
Wilf Lewis said, “We are very proud of the steps we have taken to be the first Halal accredited savoury product manufacturer in the UK and the first to apply these standards to authentic British food.
“We believe there is big demand in this country for these types of products and we are delighted to have secured such a substantial contact with Tesco to distribute our Crescent range across the country.”
Louise Malyon, QA Manager and Halal representative at Lewis Pies, added, “It has taken a significant investment in terms of both time and equipment to secure Halal accreditation but we are delighted with the standards we have now achieved.
“We have boosted our technical team and implemented a lot of change to achieve this so it is fantastic to see all that hard work result in what we hope will represent the start of a long and fruitful relationship with Tesco.”
Shaykh Tauqir Ishaq, a member of the board of HAB, said, “We are always keen to help new companies secure Halal accreditation and we were delighted to help Lewis Pies achieve that milestone.
“The range of products being offered by the company is also very different to anything we have seen before in that they offer the Muslim community a taste of a range of authentic British products previously unavailable under Halal-accredited rules.”
Naved Syed, Technical Director of the Halal Authority Body, said, “It is great news that an authentic British food producer has backed the use of Halal food. It is something that has been a long time coming and we are thrilled to see the integration of Halal accredited food in British supermarkets.
“Tesco is one of the most forward thinking retailers in this space and it is fantastic to see them backing this project from the start.”