The U.S. Halal food industry serves a Muslim population that the Pew Research Center estimated at 3.45 million in 2017 and projects will reach 8.1 million by 2050, along with many non-Muslim shoppers. It runs on private certification bodies rather than a federal standard: the U.S. Department of Agriculture does not define Halal, and protection against false claims comes mainly from state laws.
This article was first published in August 2021. It has been updated with current population projections, the federal and state legal framework, a 2025 petition to the USDA on “zabiha halal” labels, and guidance for exporters. Market estimates from undisclosed private research in the original have been removed.
Reviewed by Hafiz Maqsood Ahmed.
The United States matters to the halal economy in two ways: as a consumer market and as one of the world’s largest food exporters. Globally, Muslim consumers spent $1.53 trillion on food and drink in 2024, according to the State of the Global Islamic Economy Report 2025/26, produced by DinarStandard, and American beef, poultry, dairy and processed foods compete for that market. For U.S. exporters, our guide to halal export certification sets out what major importing countries require.
Who buys halal food in America
The core market is American Muslims. Pew estimated that about 3.45 million Muslims of all ages lived in the United States in 2017, about 1.1 percent of the population, and projected that the number would reach 8.1 million, or 2.1 percent, by 2050, according to a Pew analysis. The population is young, diverse and concentrated in metropolitan areas such as New York, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles and Washington.
Demand also comes from outside that community. Halal meat is sold in mainstream supermarkets, halal food trucks are a fixture of American cities, and some non-Muslim shoppers choose halal products for reasons of taste or perceived quality. We examine the retail side in our report on why halal meat is growing in American grocery aisles.
There is no official measure of U.S. halal food sales. Private research firms publish estimates, but their methods are often undisclosed and their figures vary widely, so The Halal Times does not repeat them.
Who certifies
Halal certification in the United States is done by private, mostly nonprofit bodies. Among the best known is the Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America (IFANCA), based in the Chicago area, whose Crescent M mark is one of the most widely recognized marks on U.S. shelves. Others include Islamic Services of America (ISA), the American Halal Foundation and the Halal Food Standards Alliance of America (HFSAA), which focuses on hand-slaughtered zabiha meat. Certifiers differ on key questions such as whether stunning is acceptable and whether mechanical slaughter of poultry is allowed.
For companies, recognition matters as much as the certificate itself. A U.S. certificate is useful for export only if the importing country recognizes the certifier; Malaysia, Indonesia and the Gulf states each maintain their own lists or agreements. Our step-by-step guide to U.S. halal certification explains the process.
The federal role
There is no federal halal standard. The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) inspects meat and poultry plants for safety and requires labels to be truthful, but it does not define religious terms. In 2016 FSIS denied a petition asking it to determine whether meat labeled halal was hand-slaughtered or mechanically slaughtered, according to Food Safety News.
A new petition, filed on Aug. 25, 2025, by Saad Ali of Main Halal Meats in Harrisburg, Pa., asked FSIS either to define “zabiha halal” as hand slaughter without stunning or to treat it as a third-party certified claim whose certifier must publish its definition, Food Safety News reported. As of September 2025, FSIS had not responded.
State laws
Several states have laws against false halal claims or requiring sellers to disclose who certified their products. They include California, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Virginia and Washington, according to a compilation by HalalWatch. Penalties and requirements vary; New Jersey’s Halal Food Consumer Protection Act, for example, requires sellers to disclose the basis for their halal claims.
What drives growth
- Population. The Muslim population is projected to more than double by 2050, according to Pew.
- Processed food. As more meals come from packaged and prepared foods, shoppers rely on certification rather than personal knowledge of the butcher or cook. The difference between food that looks acceptable and food that has been audited is explained in our article on halal-suitable versus certified food.
- Retail adoption. National grocers and brands now carry halal-certified lines; Saffron Road, owned by American Halal Company, launched halal-certified frozen meals at Whole Foods Market.
- Exports. Mandatory certification in Indonesia since Oct. 17, 2024, for most food and drink, and strict import rules in Malaysia and the Gulf, push U.S. exporters to certify.
The main challenges
The lack of a single standard creates confusion for shoppers, who may not know what a given certifier allows, and for exporters, who may need several certificates for different markets. Fraud and mislabeling remain risks where enforcement depends on state attorneys general and private lawsuits. Supply is another constraint: the number of plants offering hand slaughter is limited, which keeps zabiha meat more expensive than conventional meat.
For a checklist of what to ask a seller beyond the certificate, read Halal vs Tayyib Explained: What to Check Beyond the Label.
