Calls for Muslims to boycott halal meat during weekends in July appear to have fallen on deaf ears.

The Grocer uncovered news in June of the boycott§ to force abattoirs to adopt stricter standards and end mechanical slaughtering on halal lines.

Campaign organiser Abdul Raja claimed that sales of halal meat had fallen 25% in the Midlands and Lancashire since the campaign began.

However, supermarkets, meat processors and community leaders insisted sales had been unaffected.

"I haven't heard anything about a boycott," said a spokesman for halal brand Mumtaz.

Halal sales at an Asda in an ethnically diverse area of Manchester had not changed, said acting store manager Alan Creegon. "Sales have been static, but halal lines are still very popular," he said.

Major supermarket suppliers Sun Valley Foods and 2 Sisters Food Group also reported unchanged sales of halal meat for the first two weekends of July.

Suppliers and retailers said consumer interest in halal meat continued to rise on the back of support from multiple retailers.

Leading halal meat brand Tahira said there had been a sharp rise in demand for its range of halal meats.

"We are enjoying one of our strongest periods to date," said marketing executive Faiza Akmal. "Somerfield will shortly be listing our fresh range; Morrisons is expanding distribution to another 12 stores; sales of the fresh range in Lidl in the past few weeks reached record levels; while sales in Asda are currently up 23% year-on-year."

The Lancashire Council of Mosques - one of the groups Raja said were supporting him - also sought to play down talk of a boycott.

"We never told anyone to boycott meat," said general manager Nasrullah Anwar. "Our issue is mostly with meat coming in from abroad, where processors are allowed to add protein."

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