Eating poultry raised on feed with animal protein

A question about poultry fed protein powders made from slaughterhouse waste that may carry traces of pork, in which Jordan's General Iftaa Department answered that such birds do not count as jallala (animals that feed on filth) if most of their feed is pure and their meat is unchanged, so they may be eaten once properly slaughtered. ¹

The questioner asked about eating the meat of poultry raised all its life on feed containing animal protein powders made from the waste of animals not slaughtered according to the sharia, with scientific reports pointing to traces of pork in them. ¹

The Department answered that feeding filth to an animal that is eaten is disliked in principle, citing Ibn Hajar al-Haytami's Tuhfat al-Muhtaj. ¹ It said an animal that feeds on filth takes the ruling of the jallala: for the Shafi'is its meat is disliked if its smell or taste has changed and not disliked if no change appears, citing Zakariyya al-Ansari's Asna al-Matalib and al-Khatib al-Shirbini's Mughni al-Muhtaj. ¹ It noted that some scholars apply the term jallala only when most of an animal's feed is impure, and that these powders make up a small share of the feed described, the rest being pure. ¹ It concluded that the birds do not take the ruling of the jallala if most of their food is pure, no spoilage appears in their meat or eggs and specialists find no harm in eating them, so there is no objection to eating them after proper slaughter; if all their feed is impure or their meat spoils, eating them is disliked, and it is better to give them good feed for a while before slaughter. ¹

Jordan's General Iftaa Department published this fatwa on aliftaa.jo as no. 3896, dated 9 July 2024. ¹ The museum records this text as a historical document attributed to the body or scholar that issued it; it issues no ruling of its own.