[JMLot]

Has anyone done any research on Townsend chicken? Townsend is a Deleware, USA based organization that deals with poultry and other food-related services. They also have a division that deals with halal chicken (http://products.townsends.com/group/...P_Chicken/35/). According to the certificate listed on their website (http://www.townsends.com/media/Halal_for_website.pdf), their chicken is certified by Halal Transactions of Omaha. The certificate states that the chickens are slaughters by a Muslim with tasmiah and the neccessary vessels are cut. I called the number listed and the man told me that the tasmiah is said before each chicken (and not in groups) and that the chickens are by an electric knife operated by a Muslim. He also stated that the necks of the chicken are cut off completely, which I understand to be makrooh in the Hanafi madhab.

However, according to the Muslim Consumer Group (http://www.muslimconsumergroup.com/E...l&eventId=313), as recently of April 2007, Townsend was supplying machine slaughtered chicken as Halal/zabiha.

I'm not very well versed in this food hand cut/machine cut issues. I'm just looking for a proper answer on these products according to the Hanafi madhab (I'm well aware of the other thread that states the according to the Shafi madhab, machine cut poultry is fine).