Halal Policy

Halal Food on Campus

The University is a multicultural community, with a diverse body of students, staff and visitors who have differing religious and non-religious beliefs and ethics. We are committed to ensuring that services provided meet the needs of this diverse community.

Food at Brookes does not operate any exclusively Halal kitchens. Our kitchens also produce dishes which are Haram. For this reason none of our kitchens are certified by the Halal Authority and we cannot use the official Halal symbol. However we do strive to source Halal certified or “Halal-sourced” meat for specific services and menu items in line with our recognition of the diverse needs of our customers. This includes:

  • Halal chicken served in Taylors Yard  & Union Bar as standard 
  • A hot Halal dish served weekly at Harcourt Kitchen, Marston Road, Wheatley and The Terrace in Headington. 
  • A range of bought-in Halal sandwiches and pasties available across all campuses. 
  • Any Halal meat supplied by our butcher will be Halal certified.
  • Halal meat is covered, labelled and segregated (within the same refrigerator/freezer) from other, Haram products.
  • Where Halal product is placed into a container, this is marked and colour coded yellow.
  • The kitchen has a designated work surface for Halal products, marked and colour coded yellow.
  • There is a designated food preparation sink for Halal products, marked and colour coded yellow.
  • Staff wash their hands before the preparation of Halal products.
  • Where appropriate, staff wear new disposable gloves before the preparation of Halal products.
  • There are designated cooking utensils, chopping boards, knives and equipment for the preparation of Halal products. They are marked and colour coded yellow and stored in a segregated area.
  • Halal dishes do not contain:
    • alcohol
    • pork or pork derivatives (e.g. bacon, ham, sausage or gelatine from animal origin)
    • lard.
  • All oils and fats used in the preparation and cooking of Halal dishes are of vegetable origin.
  • Cheese used as part of the dish is vegetarian (i.e. does not contain rennet from animal origin).
  • Wherever practicable, Halal food is cooked in a separate oven. Where this is not possible, the food is covered and the Halal dish placed above other dishes to minimise the risk of cross contamination.
  • During service, separate utensils are used for the service of Halal dishes and these are marked and colour coded yellow.
  • Hot food left over after service is discarded (i.e. no food is reheated so there is no possibility of cross contamination from subsequent procedures).
  • All production and service staff are trained in these codes of practice.