According to HALAL certification standards, all food and beverages can be divided into the following categories:

1) HALAL

'HALAL' is Arabic, meaning lawful or permitted. Any food or beverage belonging to this category can be consumed. Most food and beverages are considered HALAL, unless they are explicitly specified as forbidden or non-HALAL in the HALAL standards.

2) Non-HALAL

'Non-HALAL,' traditionally also called 'Haram,' means unlawful or not permitted. As the name suggests, any food or beverage classified as non-HALAL is forbidden to consume. Generally, anything harmful is non-HALAL. Examples include the meat of dead animals and birds, the flesh of pigs, intoxicating drugs and alcoholic beverages.

3) Syubhah

Any food or beverage in a gray area that is not clearly in the HALAL or non-HALAL category is classified as 'Syubhah,' also called questionable or doubtful.

An example of a Syubhah ingredient is lecithin. Lecithin can be extracted from plants or animals. If the lecithin comes from plants, it is considered HALAL, but if the lecithin comes from pigs or animals not slaughtered according to Islamic law, it is considered non-HALAL.

Until the situation becomes clear, Muslims should avoid consuming Syubhah food or beverages.

FAQ

According to HALAL certification standards, into what categories are food and beverages divided?
They are divided into three categories: 1) HALAL (lawful, permitted to consume; most food and beverages belong to this category unless explicitly specified as forbidden); 2) Non-HALAL (i.e. Haram, unlawful, forbidden to consume, such as the meat of dead animals and birds, pork, intoxicating drugs and alcoholic beverages); 3) Syubhah (gray-area, questionable or doubtful, not clearly HALAL or non-HALAL).
What is Syubhah, and what should be done when encountering such food?
Syubhah refers to questionable food or beverages in a gray area that are not clearly HALAL or non-HALAL. For example, lecithin - HALAL if from plants, non-HALAL if from pigs or animals not slaughtered according to Islamic law. Until the situation becomes clear, Muslims should avoid consuming Syubhah food or beverages.