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Halal Foods & Additives
"O you people! Eat of what is on earth, lawful and good..." Holy Quran (2:168)
“O ye who believe! Eat of the good things wherewith We have provided you, And render thanks to Allah if it is (indeed) He whom ye worship” (2:172).
“He hath forbidden you only carrion, and blood, and swineflesh, And that which hath been immolated to (the name of) any other than Allah. But he who is driven by necessity, Neither craving nor transgressing, it is no sin for him. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful” (2:173).
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Terminology of Halal and Haram.
Here is a list of the terminology used by Islamic scholors in reference to halal and haram in Islam.
Halal - That which Allah and the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) have allowed to be done in a lawful manner.
Haram - That which Allah and the Prophet have completely and specifcally forbidden. Engaging in an act that is Haram (i.e. eating food like pork, drinking alcohol, having sex outside of marriage) would lead to punishment in the Next Life, and maybe even in this Life.
Makrouh - Something that is not liked. Also defined as offensive.
Mashbooh - Questionable or doubtful.
Mushtabahat - This is described as the “grey area” that is found between Halal and Haram. It has also been defined as questionable.
It is based on the Hadith: What is Halal is clear and what is Haram is clear. Midway between them are things which people do not know whether they are Halal or Haram. He who keeps away from them will protect his religion and will be saved. He who aproaches them is very near to Haram, like a shepherd wandering his flock near Hima (protected grazing land), who could soon enter the forbidden area, and Allah’s protected area is what He has declared forbidden.”
Makrouh Tahrimi - This is a category of Makruh, and is defined as offensive in the extreme, and close to the Haram.
Makrouh Tanzihi - Another category of Makruh. It is defined as less offensive, but still extremely distasteful.
Tayyibat - This refers to all things which are made halal for Muslims.
Zabiha - An animal slaughtered (or the process of slaughtering) according to the Islamic method without which flesh of a halal animal is not lawful for the food of a Muslim.
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Bakery Products:
Flour enrichment: The enrichment must come from halal sources, either plant- or chemical-based.
Alcohol treatment: Flours and cereal ingredients must not undergo alcohol treatment during processing. For example, some soy products, such as soy protein isolate, use alcohol treatment during processing. Defatted soy flour made after hexane extraction is acceptable.
Emulsifiers/dough conditioners: Emulsifiers and conditioners should be obtained from vegetable fat.
L-Cysteine: L-Cysteine is a non-essential amino acid used as a reducing agent in bakery products such as bagels, pizza crusts, hard rolls and croissants to reduce mixing time. It also prevents shrinkage of pizza crusts made with high protein flour and helps in the machinability of dough. L-Cysteine obtained from human hair is not considered a halal ingredient. Some halal-certifying organizations accept L-Cysteine from duck or chicken feathers. Synthetic L-Cysteine from petroleum is acceptable.
Dairy ingredients used in bakery products (i.e., whey, lactose, caseinates and unsalted butter): These require halal certification, whereas non-fat dry milk is acceptable as a halal ingredient (as long as dryers are not used for non-halal ingredients).
Baker’s yeast: Baker’s yeast is considered halal.
Brewer yeast’s extract in bakery snacks: Most Muslim consumers avoid food products made from brewer’s yeast extract since it is a by-product of beer. Alcoholic beverages are prohibited in halal-certified food products.
Natural and artificial flavors: Natural and artificial flavors in bakery products are the most important ingredients for Muslim consumers. The makeup of flavoring material must be plant-based (no meat). Petroleum-based propylene glycol is considered a halal solvent for flavoring.
Ethyl alcohol is not an acceptable halal solvent. The argument, however, is that it is evaporated during baking. Most halal-certifying organizations will not accept this argument, since the alcohol was originally present as a raw material in the initial stage of production. Alcohol, in a minute amount, produced naturally, is acceptable—such as in over ripened fruits and during yeast fermentation of dough for bread baking.
Vinegar: Only distilled vinegar is acceptable, due to the presence of a very minimal amount of diluted alcohol leftover in the vinegar. Not all alcohol is converted to acetic acid and water. Wine and balsamic vinegars are not considered halal ingredients.
Shortening: Only vegetable oil, vegetable shortening, or vegetable shortening with vegetable fat based emulsifiers is acceptable.
All ingredients that go into a spaghetti dinner, from starter
cultures for cheese to the type of vinegar in the sauce, must be reviewed for their halal status.
Vanilla extract and vanilla sugar: Vanilla extract in cookie products or in ice cream is not acceptable as a halal ingredient because it contains 35% or more alcohol. Vanilla sugar made with sugar and vanilla extract also is not acceptable as halal, for the same reason.
BHT and BHA: They are acceptable as halal ingredients only if the carrier is a vegetable oil.
Beta carotene: Several processing aid ingredients are used in beta carotene color. Only fish gelatin or vegetable oil is acceptable as a carrier, or as a processing aid ingredient.
FD&C colors: FD&C colors without any carriers are acceptable as halal colors. The problem arises when glycerin is used as a solvent in liquid FD&C colors. Only plant-based glycerin or vegetable oil is allowed in the certification of halal liquid FD&C colors.
Soy sauce: Soy sauce made with wheat and soybean is not accepted as a halal ingredient because it is a fermented product, resulting in the presence of 2-3% leftover ethyl alcohol. Soy sauce or all-purpose soy sauce made with hydrolyzed vegetable protein, water, salt, corn syrup and sodium benzoate is considered halal.
Gelatin: Gelatin or kosher gelatin in toaster pastries or in cookies is not acceptable. Fish gelatin or gelatin obtained from cows slaughtered according to Islamic law is fine.
Cereal products: The vitamins, gelatin in marshmallows, dairy ingredients, flavors and colors in cereal products are ingredients to consider in developing a cereal product for halal markets. The source of the above ingredients must be from a halal source.
Dairy products: This is the most important category of food ingredients because it is used in many different food products.
Fortified milk: The source of vitamins A and D3 must be from halal sources. Vitamin D3 from sheep’s wool, lanolin, is acceptable as halal. Vitamin A is produced by reacting calcium carbonate with water. When this esterifies with only a vegetable fat-based palmitic acid, it is considered a halal vitamin A for milk fortification. The most important ingredient in the vitamin mix is the emulsifier, which is considered the processing aid ingredient and is not reported on the milk bottle label. The emulsifier is usually polysorbate 60 or 80, and it must come from a vegetable fat source.
Starter cultures: Developing a natural cheese product for halal markets requires much attention. The starter cultures generally are desirable bacteria that produce lactic acid, gas for eye development, flavor, color and texture, and give milk its consistency. The starter culture bacteria are considered halal, but the source of media used to grow mother cultures and milk starter cultures cannot be ignored in halal-certified dairy products. Only unfortified milk or halal certified milk, used as media, is acceptable. If whey, lactose, pancreatin, autolyzed brewer’s yeast or extract is used along with the milk, then those ingredient sources must be halal.
Cheese enzymes: The majority of cheese manufacturers now are using microbial rennet, which helps in developing a halal cheese product. Lipase from kid, calf and lamb is not acceptable unless they are slaughtered according to Islamic law. Only microbial lipase is acceptable. It is the same for dairy flavors using enzymes. The same principle is applied for acid/sweet whey, lactose and all other dairy ingredients and products.
Annatto color: This is acceptable if it does not contain alcohol (i.e., is alcohol-extracted).
Salted butter: When made with cream and salt, it is considered a halal butter. In unsalted butter, the flavoring must be from a halal source, and alcohol should not be used as a solvent.
Snacks: Developing potato chips, pretzels and popcorn products for halal markets requires close attention to dairy ingredients, yeast extracts, flavors and colors.
Powdered and liquid soft drinks: The flavors, vitamins and colors, including carmine color, are the main ingredients to investigate for their halal status. Carmine red color from beetles obtained from South America is not acceptable because all insects except grasshoppers are not allowed in the halal diet.
Mayonnaise, salad dressing, ketchup and sauces: The main ingredients to look for to certify as halal are sources of flavors, natural flavoring, colors, vinegar and emulsifiers. Wine in salad dressing and in mustard is not acceptable. For natural flavoring, acetone as an extraction solvent is acceptable.
Spaghetti sauce: Romano cheese, flavor and shortening are main ingredients to investigate for their halal sources. Wine in spaghetti sauce is not acceptable.
Candies and chocolate bars: Emulsifiers, gelatin, flavors, waxes and colors are main ingredients to investigate for halal status. Shellac (insect secretion) is acceptable as a halal ingredient.
Macaroni and spaghetti products: All macaroni products that fall under the FDA’s standard of identity are considered halal. Pasta products made with flavors or macaroni products used in dinners are not considered halal unless the flavors in pasta or other products in the dinner meet halal requirements.
Chewing gums: Gum base, softener, gelatin, flavor and color are the critical ingredients to consider in formulating chewing gum products for halal markets.
Fruit juices: Flavors and colors are two main ingredients to investigate before developing products for halal markets.
Nutritional or energy bars: Vitamins, gelatins, flavors, colors and soy isolates are the main ingredients to be considered in developing products for halal markets.
Fermented vegetable products: Fermented vegetable products, such as pickles and sauerkraut made by brining (salting), without production of alcohol, are considered halal products if no other ingredients (such as flavors) are added.
Meat products: Pork is not acceptable in a halal diet. Beef, chicken, lamb and turkey meat is acceptable only if the animals are slaughtered according to Islamic law. The animal’s feed also plays an important role in halal meat. Feed for animals must be from a vegetable source; no meat feed is allowed. Growth hormones are not allowed because they are made with pork-based material. Stunning should be avoided, and most Muslim consumers accept the hand slaughter method. Blood is prohibited in a halal diet, so all blood must be drained from the slaughtered animal.
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E-Numbers are assigned to various food additives. Some E-Numbers are banned in some countries. In UK Numbers without E prefix are allowed but may not be allowed in other country. We are getting lot of e-mails from our Muslims brother and sisters inquiring about Halal status of E-Numbers, so we decided to add to our web site. E-Numbers are divided into following category:
E-Numbers Food Additives
100-180 Colors
200-252 Preservatives
260-297 Acidities
300-385 Antioxidant
400-429 Thickeners
430-499 Emulsifiers
620-640 Flavor Enhancer
950-967 Sweeteners
Halal Status: The Halal status was given to the ingredients which are obtained from 100% Halal raw materials without use of alcohol. These are plant and chemical based material.
Haram: Those are obtained from animal source or use of alcohol. All non-zabiha Halal animal by-products were considered as Haram because Allah’s name was not announced at the time of slaughtering the animal. Off course pork by product was considered 100% Haram. Some Muslims may differ with us about not accepting the meat slaughtered by people of the book as not Halal meat.
Mushbooh: Mushbooh status was given to those E-Numbers where source of raw material was not known, it could be from plant source or animal source and also lack of information of use of alcohol with based ingredients.
Hidden ingredients: We have no knowledge of different food laws in different countries regarding hidden processing aid ingredients which may be Haram.
HARAM E – NUMBERS:
The following ingredients are considered as Haram:
E 120: Cochineal (red color from insects) according to Ulema from UK and South Africa
E 441: Gelatin
E 542: Edible Bone Phosphate
We have carefully checked these ingredients based on our knowledge of the food industry but we are not familiar with different food laws in different countries.
E-Number
Name
Description
Halal Status
E100
Curcumin
Color
Halal if pure grind turmeric
E101
Riboflavin (Vitamin B2)
Color
Mushbooh (Haram if from pork liver & Kidney, Halal if 100% plant material
E102
Tartrazine
Color
Mushbooh
E104
Quinoline Yellow
Color
Mushbooh
E110
Sunset Yellow FCF / Orange Yellow S
Color
Mushbooh
E120
Cochineal / Carminic Acid
Color
Haram according to Ulema from UK & South Africa
E122
Carmoisine / Azorubine
Color
Mushbooh
E123
Amaranth
Color
Halal if 100% plant material w/o alcohol
E124
Ponceau 4R / Cochineal Red A
Color
Mushbooh (synthetic)
E127
Erythrosine BS
Color
Mushbooh
E131
Patent Blue V
Color
Mushbooh
E132
Indigo Carmine / Idigotine
Color
Haram according to Ulema from UK & South Africa
E140
Chlorophyl
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