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Last Updated: Sep 25th, 2006 - 11:36:04 |
UK gets its first halal baby food
Jul 12 2006
By The Huddersfield Daily Examiner
A WEST Yorkshire company has just launched the UK's first range of halal baby food.
Recognising a gap in the market for food that would meet the approval of Muslim parents, Mumtaz, the Bradford company that produces Asian and Kashmiri dishes for supermarkets, has spent five years developing the new products.
They are due to be stocked in around 3,000 independent and local retailers, with interest being expressed by supermarkets.
Rab Nawaz, director of Mumtaz Foods, explained: "There has been a dilemma among Muslim mums for some time because they simply haven't had access to ready-prepared halal baby foods.
"As a result they tend to delay weaning their babies on to solids from around the recommended six months to nearer 12 months, which can mean the babies are missing out on essential proteins and iron in that crucial development stage."
The Muslim food market is currently worth £429m a year in the UK with Mumtaz specifically targeting the 1.6m British Muslims.
Paediatric dietitian Judy More has welcomed the new foods. "Poor dietary iron intake often begins with the weaning diet and it is not unusual to meet Asian mothers who are weaning their babies with baby rice pudding or egg custard at all three meals each day.
"Some mothers are reluctant to use usual family foods for weaning and most Muslims would not use the current range of manufactured weaning foods because the meat is not halal."
Young mothers, such as Shabana Aziz, are also pleased to have access to halal food. She will use the food for her six-month-old son Saif, and felt there was nothing suitable on the market when her older children were babies.
She explained: "Halal meat is one of the most important parts of our faith. It I could not get halal meat I would become vegetarian. It is as simple as that.
"It worried me that my children were not getting enough protein but it is more important that they eat halal meat than their lack of iron and protein. It reflects on your inner being and that is such an important factor."
The Mumtaz range has 10 flavours, including lamb and chicken dishes and puddings. Mumtaz Food Industries started out as a small takeaway in 1980 and now has a £25m turnover, employing 250 people across West Yorkshire.
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