What HMS can tell you
Is Sanderson Farms HMS certified?
No. HMS has not certified Sanderson Farms and has not inspected the facilities that produce Sanderson Farms chicken. HMS cannot confirm that it meets HMS Zabiha requirements.
What HMS would have to check
We certify only what we check. For a packaged meat product that means the slaughterhouse itself, where permissible animals must be slaughtered by hand Zabiha with Bismillah on each animal, and then every processing step, ingredient and storage practice that follows. See deli meat and ground beef and processing.
Because HMS certification can be limited to specific products, check the individual item in the HMS certified directory and look for the HMS mark on the pack rather than assuming a whole range is covered.
HMS would rather say less and be accurate than say more and be wrong. That is the whole meaning of certifying only what is checked, and it is why this page stops at what HMS has genuinely verified about this name.
Our advice: avoid it and eat HMS Certified only
The Prophet ﷺ gave us the rule for exactly this situation:
“Leave that which causes you doubt for that which does not cause you doubt.”
Our advice is clear: avoid it until its Halal status has been verified. What you feed your family becomes part of their bodies and their worship, and no bargain is worth risking your deen for. Buy your meat from HMS Certified stores and meat markets only. Find an HMS Certified place near you.
Answers in the Halal Knowledge Center reflect the standards followed by Halal Monitoring Services (HMS), which operates as part of the Shariah Board of America. HMS certifies only what it checks.