About GB 4359
BFS is based in Crewe (CW25AD), England. The Food Standards Agency approves it for cutting meat, making mince, re-wrapping and repacking, cold storage and producing mechanically separated meat.
Is meat from GB 4359 halal?
The code shows which plant cut, prepared or packed the meat, not whether it is halal. Look for a halal logo from a named certifier, such as HMC or HFA, or ask the brand which certifier approves the product. More in halal meat codes.
What this approval means for halal
A cutting plant cuts carcasses into joints and portions. It does not slaughter animals, so the meat arrives from a slaughterhouse and the halal question moves upstream: where the meat came from, and whether halal meat is kept apart from non-halal meat while it is cut.
A mince approval means the plant makes minced meat. Mince is made from trimmings, so one batch can combine meat from several carcasses and suppliers.
A re-wrapping approval means the plant unwraps and packs meat again without preparing it. A pack can carry this plant's code while the meat was slaughtered and cut elsewhere, so the supplier before the repack matters.
What to ask before you rely on it
- Which slaughterhouses supply this plant, and are they halal certified?
- Is halal meat cut on separate lines or at separate times from non-halal meat?
- Is the raw meat halal certified at source?
- Is halal mince made separately from non-halal mince?
- Who supplied the meat before it was repacked?
- Does the halal certificate cover the repacking step?
Ask the brand on the pack, or the halal certifier named on it. Plants rarely publish this, so a written answer from the brand is the best evidence.
Meat plants in the area
The CW postcode area has 3 approved meat plants in the Food Standards Agency list, 1 of them slaughterhouses and 3 cutting plants. England has 731 in total.