What are Halal certification's requirements on brewed alcohol?

Brewed alcohol is a forbidden raw material for Halal certification. In one case, a food-grade company added a large amount of brewed alcohol as a solvent during production; although the finished product's alcohol had evaporated and contained almost none, it ultimately failed MUIS certification because of the large amount of brewed alcohol used. The MUIS system has strict alcohol requirements: the finished-product alcohol content cannot exceed 0.1%, and if alcohol is used as a solvent, cleaning agent or disinfectant in producing food-grade products, only a small amount of industrial-grade alcohol may be used as a substitute. Other private certification brands generally require finished-product alcohol content not to exceed 0.5%, alcohol only as a solvent/cleaning agent/disinfectant rather than a raw material, and almost all bodies consider brewed alcohol non-Halal.

How do foreign Halal companies handle alcohol use in production?

According to the international Halal certification headquarters, some companies producing Halal food abroad also use alcohols such as ethanol, methanol and isopropanol in dissolving, cleaning or disinfecting, but because the dose is small, a small amount of synthetic industrial alcohol can replace edible alcohol; for special processes requiring large amounts of solvent (such as stevia production, which dissolves sugar adsorbed on resin), China almost always uses alcohol, but abroad other solvents are generally used instead. Companies must pay special attention to the source and use of alcohol when producing Halal products to ensure the factory audit passes smoothly.

Halal's Latest Requirements on Alcohol

Brewed alcohol: a forbidden raw material for Halal certification.

In the factory audits just this past October, MUIS inspectors, while inspecting a domestic food-grade company, verified that the factory added a large amount of alcohol as a solvent during production, all of it brewed alcohol. Although the alcohol in the finished product had been processed and evaporated, containing almost no alcohol, because a large amount of brewed alcohol had been used in the production process, it ultimately failed certification.

Domestically, the use of industrial-grade alcohol in food-grade products is strictly prohibited, while Halal production strictly prohibits brewed alcohol. How can one meet both the Halal production standard and not violate the national food safety law standard? On this, we immediately called the international Halal certification headquarters to learn about how Halal food is produced in other countries.

The alcohol-use secret of foreign Halal companies

It turns out that some companies producing Halal food abroad also use alcohols such as ethanol, methanol and isopropanol in dissolving, cleaning or disinfecting processes. But because the dose is quite small, a small amount of synthetic industrial alcohol can be added to replace edible alcohol. For some special processes that require large amounts of solvent - such as the production of stevia, which needs a large amount of solvent to dissolve the sugar adsorbed in the pores of resin - China almost always uses alcohol, but abroad other solvents are generally used to replace alcohol.

The MUIS Halal certificate is issued by the government, and its certification system has very strict requirements on alcohol. Besides the alcohol content in the finished product not exceeding 0.1%, all companies producing food-grade products, if they use alcohol as a solvent, cleaning agent or disinfectant in production, may only use a small amount of industrial-grade alcohol as a substitute. Otherwise, even if the finished product contains no alcohol, it cannot pass certification.

Private bodies: the alcohol issue cannot be ignored

Besides the official MUIS certification, some other private certification brands also have fairly strict requirements on alcohol content. The alcohol content of the final finished product generally cannot exceed 0.5%, and alcohol may only be used as a solvent, cleaning agent or disinfectant, not as a raw material. As for the source of alcohol, almost all bodies are completely consistent on the point that brewed alcohol is non-Halal.

Therefore, in the process of producing Halal products, companies must pay special attention to the source and use of alcohol to ensure that the factory audit passes smoothly.

FAQ

What are Halal certification's requirements on brewed alcohol?: Brewed alcohol is a forbidden raw material for Halal certification. In one case, a food-grade company added a large amount of brewed alcohol as a solvent during production; although the finished product's alcohol had evaporated and contained almost none, it ultimately failed MUIS certification because of the large amount of brewed alcohol used. The MUIS system has strict alcohol requirements: the finished-product alcohol content cannot exceed 0.1%, and if alcohol is used as a solvent, cleaning agent or disinfectant in producing food-grade products, only a small amount of industrial-grade alcohol may be used as a substitute. Other private certification brands generally require finished-product alcohol content not to exceed 0.5%, alcohol only as a solvent/cleaning agent/disinfectant rather than a raw material, and almost all bodies consider brewed alcohol non-Halal.
How do foreign Halal companies handle alcohol use in production?: According to the international Halal certification headquarters, some companies producing Halal food abroad also use alcohols such as ethanol, methanol and isopropanol in dissolving, cleaning or disinfecting, but because the dose is small, a small amount of synthetic industrial alcohol can replace edible alcohol; for special processes requiring large amounts of solvent (such as stevia production, which dissolves sugar adsorbed on resin), China almost always uses alcohol, but abroad other solvents are generally used instead. Companies must pay special attention to the source and use of alcohol when producing Halal products to ensure the factory audit passes smoothly.

FAQ

Related