ABSTRACT
In recent decades, halal/kosher food production has been lifted out of its traditional religious base in local community butcher shops and delicatessens into mainstream super- and hypermarkets. This chapter examines kosher/halal in this context. It discusses how super- and hypermarkets can live up to increasing halal and kosher requirements, not only in terms of keeping kosher/halal versus non-kosher/halal products seperate, but also the way in which – in some locations – shops are designed according to kosher/halal requirements. The chapter also explores some of the controversies and opportunities involved. More than 80% of kosher food sold in the US is certified by the Big Five. As halal proliferated in urban Malaysia and Singapore in the 1980s, new shopping spaces and zones emerged to lift halal out of its traditional base in butcher shops into standardised super- and hypermarket contexts.
