In order to assure the Muslim community that all meat is Halal, Tex-Med established the Texas HalalTM brand. This assures the community that the requirements as stated in the Quran and explained by the Imams and the community are met. Today, a variety of individuals do the blessing. These individuals come from Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, Pakistan and Turkey. Tex-Med has managed to put together a team of different cultures that practice the Islamic faith. Both partners are quick to mention the new State of Texas Statute regarding Halal.
The statue became law on September 1, 2003. Les likes to make it clear to all those concerned, "this new law should be read by both Muslims and native Texans, especially those in the meat business. It advises the Muslim community that once again the great State of Texas is in the forefront of acknowledging and protecting its diversified citizens. Those in the meat business should look upon the new law as a business opportunity not only in our own backyard but worldwide."
With the Halal Law in place as well as following the Sunah teachings the partners took an unprecedented step by going to the one source readily recognized in the Muslim world, the Al-Azar Al-Sharif in Egypt. Al-Azar is the world's oldest Islamic university and research center, as well as the highest authority on Islamic practices. Sam went to Egypt to meet with the religious scholars and explained how U.S. plants operated while following the practice of Sunah teachings as well as what they would be producing. Upon his return he was pleased to advise Les, "we have received a set of approvals as well as a special Fatwa (religious decree) for what we are doing." Both partners were overjoyed that the many steps they had taken to put in a recognizable certification process for the Texas HalalTM brand had been accepted at this level.
As the demand increased, the partners needed to provide federally (USDA) approved lamb and goat meat. Finding the correct plant was not easy. With good fortune on their side they established an association with Ranchers' Lamb of Texas, in San Angelo. Ranchers' was the largest plant dedicated to lamb and goat in the U.S. Ken Emrick, General Manager of Ranchers' was extremely interested in what the partners had to offer. As Sam likes to tell it, "Ken is an extremely nice person who understands the needs of our community and was open minded from the day we contacted him." Today, Tex-Med in association with Ken and Rosen & Sons offer Halal lamb and goat to the market. The partners then decided to approach the retail market by introducing the Texas HalalTM brand.
With a retail plan in hand they approached several of the large retail stores. At the same time Frances Shay of H-E-B contacted them about their Halal meats. They were soon discussing a course of action to offer packaged meats at the grocer's meat counters. H-E-B designated a special section to feature the Halal meats which consist of beef, lamb, goat and chicken. Seven stores in designated areas would carry the meats. With great enthusiasm of working with H-E-B the retail branding of products was on its way. Both partners will tell you that putting together a "Halal Program" was exciting, frustrating and at times just plain comical.
Author, Ataa Shadi visits Tex-Med partners at the H-E-B grand opening on Bellaire and Hwy 6., December 2003. Left to right Bassam (Sam) Rayes, Les Mallory & Ataa Shadi.
Learning curves in meat retailing were quick ones for both partners. Sam was already experienced in retail packaging and marketing due to his previous associations with Coca-Cola, Nestle and Johnson & Johnson. Les who lived in the Middle East in his younger days has a deep appreciation for the multiple cultures of the area. He came out of a demanding 24/7 petroleum industry and was well acquainted with getting the job done. He enjoys giving Sam a hard time about Texas culture and oilfield ways of doing things. He especially enjoyed watching Sam at cattle auctions having to explain to some of the buyers exactly what he wanted and who he was. As Les states, explaining Halal to Texas cattlemen at an auction is not the easiest thing in the world, but then again they all had one thing in common, good beef and good prices.
Les who breeds Texas Longhorns once told Sam not to even consider looking at his cattle, known as Quixote Longhorns, if they were short of meat supplies. Les told Sam "heck Sam we will sell you before we sell one of those good looking critters." When Sam had purchased 15 head to be processed for Eid he took Les to the holding pens to look them over. As each one was being inspected one turned out to be a young but large Longhorn. Les asked Sam, "is that one of ours?" The reply was yes. The Longhorn was to be blessed the next day and shipped to Nasser Hittiny a local Houston grocery store owner for the start of Eid. That same afternoon Les asked Sam to call the packaging plant and pull the Longhorn from being blessed. Today the Longhorn is at Les' ranch and serves as the company's mascot and is named "Eid" in honor of the yearly celebration.
