Saba Live Poultry, a Halal poultry processor and live butchery, is applying to open an establishment in Alexandria.
The company, which will operate locally as DC Poultry Market Corp., is on the March 5 docket for the Alexandria Planning Commission. The owner is seeking to open a new slaughter-to-order retail facility at 3225 Colvin Road in Alexandria, just south of the Alexandria Commons shopping center.
Saba Live Poultry has 14 locations nationwide, including several in New York, where the company was founded in 1998. Other locations are in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, California and Florida.
According to the company’s application to open in Alexandria, customers would be able to identify the live chicken they would like to purchase. The chicken would be weighed by a hanging scale before being moved to the slaughter room, where it would receive prayers before it is killed, plucked, cleaned and brought back to the customer, all in accordance with Halal standards.
The term Halal means lawful or permissible. Regarding food, it refers to food that is allowed and prepared in accordance with Islamic law. Those laws call for humane treatment during life, a religious invocation prior to death, specific slaughtering methods and other regulations.
The company’s website, at www.sabahalal.com, was not accessible as of publication time.
However, the narrative attached to the application reads as follows:
“Saba Live Poultry was established in 1998 and opened its first facility in 1998 in Brooklyn, NY. Saba Live Poultry (DC Poultry Market Corp.) is a privately owned and operated company by myself, Abdul Mused. Currently, there are eight locations in New York [tri-state] area open and six locations in other states: PA, CT, CA, FL.”
It continues, “Saba Live Poultry uses the Halal method of slaughter to process poultry. The question most usually asked about Halal concerns the method of slaughter. All meat and poultry we process will be slaughtered strictly in accordance with Islamic rites, where one of the most important prerequisites is the humane treatment of any animal intended for human food. Saba Live Poultry believes that concept of Halal involves the whole process of meat production from the wholesome food fed to the animals in their rearing right through until the meat reaches the consumer.”
More information is available in the application here. Read more about the business in this Business Journals interview with Saba Live Poultry's founder.
