Eid-al-Adha at Manitoba's Permitted Abattoirs

The Manitoba government recognizes many cultural and religious celebrations, such as Eid-al-Adha (Eid), that bring people together, and often involve sharing food. The Manitoba Food and Food Handling Establishments Regulation allows for accommodation of the traditions of these celebrations to help Manitobans access legal meat as quickly as possible during Eid.

Manitoba meat inspectors can consider religious and cultural practices making allowances where they can be safely accommodated.

The regulation requires that meat products from provincially permitted abattoirs are cooled to 5 ºC before they can be sold to consumers or sent to retailers. The regulation authorizes inspectors to exempt certain abattoirs and retailers of this requirement, for Eid specific products.

A shared responsibility

Abattoirs strive to ensure everyone receives service in a safe and respectful environment. In obtaining your meat at a Manitoba permitted abattoir, you are taking a positive step to safeguard your family's health and safety.

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Manitoba's meat inspection services

Manitoba's meat inspectors are important partners in the province's food safety and animal welfare system. By law, the province's meat inspectors work with meat plant operators to ensure that the province's food safety and animal welfare laws are met, including the humane transport of animals.

They make sure the inspected meat you obtain for Eid is safe for you, your family and friends to enjoy. If a risk to public safety, food safety, or animal welfare is identified, inspectors may intervene in the slaughter operation.

How do I obtain inspected meat for Eid?

In Manitoba, it is illegal to slaughter food animals (red meat) for sale outside of provincially permitted abattoirs. You can obtain inspected meat directly from a permitted abattoir or a retailer.

Provincially permitted abattoirs are independent businesses performing slaughter services year-round and during Eid.
Meat inspectors are on site at abattoirs to ensure that the province's food safety and animal welfare regulations are met.
Meat products obtained from permitted abattoirs for Eid are inspected and stamped, indicating they are approved and safe to eat.
To ensure that as a consumer or retailer you get what you need, contact the closest permitted abattoir to you, well before Eid to book your order.

List of permitted abattoirs

For a list of Manitoba's permitted abattoirs, please see Provincial abattoirs. Currently, only three abattoirs are involved in Eid harvesting of sheep, goats and beef:

Oak Ridge Meats in McCreary
All Natural Meats in Carman
Banman Meats in Schanzenfeld, Winker

Ensuring animal welfare

Everyone benefits when the well-being of animals is respected. Ethically sound treatment of animals is everyone's responsibility. Having an inspector on site during Eid harvesting ensures animal welfare.

The sections below detail important information for abattoirs, consumers and retailers.

Information for abattoirs

Follow these steps when releasing meat products for shipping to a retailer at a temperature above 5 ºC:

Ensure the carcass is approved and stamped by a meat inspector for human consumption.
Ensure refrigeration of meat products after slaughter until loading into the refrigerated transport vehicle.

Follow these steps when releasing meat products for sale to a consumer at a temperature above 5 ºC:

Ensure the carcass is approved and stamped by a meat inspector for human consumption.
Ensure refrigeration of meat products after slaughter until they are sold to a consumer.
Provide the Celebrating Eid-al-Adha postcard for consumers prepared and supplied to you by Agriculture and Resource Development with the product sold to each consumer.

Information for consumers

If you are planning to obtain your meat directly from a provincially permitted abattoir during Eid rather than from a retailer, follow these steps:

Contact the abattoir prior to Eid to place your order and arrange carcass pick up time.
Check in with the operator or staff when you arrive at the abattoir, and follow the operator's instructions to receive your meat products.
If you wish to perform ritual slaughter to fulfill religious obligations, you can do so on stunned and unconscious animals at a permitted abattoir, by informing the abattoir operator in advance and making arrangements for proper sanitary and safety attire. This includes clean clothing or a lab coat to cover clothes, a hard hat and closed toe shoes (COVID-19 policies and health orders may be in place).
Direct any questions to the abattoir operator.

If you are planning to obtain your meat directly from a permitted retailer during Eid rather than from an abattoir, follow these steps:

Contact the retailer prior to Eid to place your order and arrange carcass pick up time.

Is there a food safety risk?

Meat products are required to be refrigerated. However during Eid exemptions are made if you wish to take the meat products from the abattoir before they have been cooled to 5 ºC.

Cooling practices are in place to limit the growth of microorganisms including pathogens. Therefore, transporting meat prior to cooling may increase the risk of a food borne illness. However, during the two and a half days of Eid observance, the timeframe from slaughter to preparation is short, which significantly minimizes the food safety risk.

You are encouraged to follow the steps below to maximize the safety of the meat product you pick up from a permitted abattoir that has not met the cooling requirement.

Handling and transporting meat products from a permitted abattoir

Remember that this meat has not been refrigerated at the abattoir. Follow these food safety best practices:

Ensure your meat products are well wrapped to prevent contamination.
Use a clean portable cooler with bagged ice or ice packs to transport meat products.
Minimize the length of time the meat products are left in the temperature danger zone: 5 ºC (41 ºF) to 60 ºC (140 ºF).
Refrigerate the meat as soon as you arrive home until it is ready to cook.
Thoroughly clean all surfaces that raw meat contacts.
Cook meat to a minimum internal temperature of 71 ºC or 160 ºF.

Information for retailers

Follow these steps when transporting meat above 5 ºC from an abattoir:

Transport the meat products under continuous refrigeration.
Ensure meat product surface temperature is maintained or reduced during transport.
Ensure that the meat product purchased from the abattoirs on behalf of the clients for Eid are only sold to them, i.e., carcasses are labeled for the client that is to be receiving them.
Any meat that is purchased not for a particular client for Eid must reach an internal temperature of 5 ºC prior to selling.

Factsheets

Abattoirs (299 KB)
Consumers (300 KB)
Retailers (311 KB)

Guidelines

Guidelines for Knife Use During Ritual Slaughter in Provincial Abattoirs - English (PDF 275 KB)
Guidelines for Knife Use During Ritual Slaughter in Provincial Abattoirs - Arabic (PDF 1278 KB)
Guidelines for Knife Use During Ritual Slaughter in Provincial Abattoirs - Urdu (PDF 1270 KB)

Postcards

Postcard for consumers - English (469 KB)	Postcard for consumers - French (351 KB)
Postcard for consumers - Arabic (419 KB)	Postcard for consumers - Urdu (420 KB)