Is Subway Halal? Let's Find Out

The debate around various fast-food places and whether they are halal or not has been quite questionable because many non-Muslim majority countries are populated heavily by Muslim people, which of course, love fast food just like non-Muslims do.

Since Muslims have specific requirements when shopping and eating, food being halal is one of them. Subway is one of the leading sub sandwich places in the entire world.

The massive Muslim communities around the world that live in non-Muslim countries such as the US, UK or Canada have quite an issue regarding eating halal food.

Food that is not permissible for eating in the Muslim community is called Haram. In simple words, Haram food includes anything with pigs’ meat or alcohol in it.

Muslims face a problem when consuming meat that other fellow Muslims do not slaughter because the way of slaughtering animals such as chickens, goats, cows, et cetera is differently done by Muslims compared to other religions.

For example, Muslims slaughter their animals by reciting something, including “Bismillah,” which makes the process holy.

They use a sharp knife to cut the animal in the throat. This is the Islamic way of slaughtering their animals because it is believed that the blood is drained from the animal’s body correctly.

Muslims consume only that meat that other fellow Muslims slaughter. And even that is only permissible meat which excludes any meat but pigs’ meat.

There is also an issue regarding contamination which makes even halal things Haram. Various fast-food chains such as McDonald’s or dominoes claim their chain is halal.

But when it comes to cross-contamination and dealing with things such as pork or pepperoni, the same surface is being used to prepare halal and Haram simultaneously.

This is what makes even halal food Haram. Since halal means permissible, halal food is food that adheres to Islamic law defined in the Quran.

Food that is halal or permissible is known to be that way when it is certified by true halal monitoring services.

The halal certifications are approved by two major nonprofit agencies in the US called halal monitoring services HMS in Chicago and Illinois, as well as the halal food standards alliance of America HFSAA in Oakland, California.

Generally, the certification for halal products is given by the Muslim majority countries and various halal certification groups.

Topping such as pepperoni and ham become non-halal, and even other forms of meat such as chicken and beef become non-halal when they have been slaughtered in a non-Islamic way or crossed contaminated with non-halal toppings such as the pepperoni or various types of meat.

The only way a fast-food chain can be halal is if the makers of the foods in the entire restaurant are handling meat that is slaughtered in the correct and Islamic-certified manner.

Also, there should be no haram meat or toppings in that fast food restaurant. Are fellow Muslims or the producers of the meat used in the various dishes on the menu and the supply in general?

Other than that, there should be no risk of cross-contamination because pork being handled on the same surface and storage compartment will make even halal food haram.

Depending on the locality, Subway can be either Halal or Haram. On Subway’s official website, they claim in their Menu and Nutrition FAQ section that the menu items in Subway Turkey are halal certified.

They also have an FAQ regarding what items are explicitly pork-free. These include sandwiches and salads: meatball marinara, tuna, roast beef, cold cut trio, Subway Seafood and crab, turkey breast, steak and cheese, roasted chicken and onion, sweet onion chicken teriyaki.

They add that their vegetable sources and cheeses are also pork-free. Although they claim this, it is still skeptical whether other pork included items are fried in the same oil, cooked in the same pans, or even if the subs are assembled on the same surfaces on which the pork is made.

Other than that, some people believe that the meat used is not slaughtered in the Islamic way, even if subway claims it is. For instance, Subway mentions that Turkey has all certified halal products such as Pakistan, Kuwait and UAE.

Some subway chains in non-Muslim countries are also halal such as the 202 stores in the UK, which serve halal meat at their subway locations.

Out of 2000 subways serving halal meat, this only equates to about one out of 10 subways serving halal food.