What Is the Difference Between Alcohol, Khamr and Non-Khamr?

Khamr, or alcoholic drinks, refers to beverages based on grape fermentation, or drinks that are addictive and intoxicating. The fermentation process produces alcohol as a by-product. In Islamic law, khamr is a drink forbidden to consume, and drinking it constitutes a major sin. So what is the difference between alcohol from khamr and alcohol that is non-khamr? And can alcoholic drinks obtain BPJPH Halal certification through LPPOM MUI? At present, some members of the public who only know “alcohol” may confuse it with “alcoholic drinks (khamr),” thinking alcohol is simply a liquid that makes you drunk. Meanwhile, industry professionals usually mean ethanol when they say alcohol — widely used as a solvent, disinfectant or auxiliary material in production, and applicable to the manufacture of food, drugs and cosmetics, provided the ethanol does not endanger public health. From a chemical standpoint, alcohol is a class of compounds characterised by a hydroxyl group (R–OH), and is also a category name within organic compounds. Ethanol is one compound in the alcohol family, alongside methanol, propanol, butanol and others. It is just that in daily life, the “alcohol” people most often encounter usually refers to ethanol. This is because only ethanol can be used in alcoholic drinks and as a base raw material in the food and beverage industry, while other alcohols such as methanol and butanol cannot be used because of their toxicity. In terms of production process, ethanol can come from petrochemical-based chemical synthesis or from the products of the fermentation industry. Ethanol for human consumption generally does not use chemical synthesis, because it may produce toxic by-products and its flavour is not as complex as fermented ethanol. Fermented ethanol usually uses carbohydrate sources (such as sugar, starch, fruit juice/fruit extract) as raw materials, reacting with microorganisms under anaerobic conditions to convert carbohydrates into ethanol. So what is the difference between khamr ethanol and non-khamr ethanol? According to LPPOM MUI Halal auditor Linda Ayuningtiyas, S.TP., the difference lies in the purpose of ethanol production: if the purpose is to produce alcoholic drinks, it is classified as khamr; if the fermentation is not for producing alcoholic drinks, it is not classified as khamr. Based on the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) Fatwa No. 10 of 2018 (on food and beverage products containing alcohol/ethanol), fermented foods containing alcohol can be Halal when conditions are met: as long as no other non-Halal and impure (najis) ingredients are added during the production process. Linda said: “Alcohol-containing food can apply for Halal certification as long as its alcohol source is not the alcohol industry or the alcoholic-beverage industry. The production process must not be contaminated by non-Halal and impure ingredients, and the alcohol content must not endanger health. In daily life we often see alcohol-containing foods, for example tapai (fermented cassava/glutinous rice, etc.), gochujang (Korean chilli paste), topokki (stir-fried rice cakes) and ripe fruit.” She also used several examples to emphasise the boundaries of use for fermented or alcohol-containing products: for example, dishes mixed with alcohol-containing products such as angciu, mirin and sake remain non-Halal (haram), because the dish is contaminated by non-Halal alcohol products. This differs from soy sauce (shoyu), which is itself produced as a cooking-seasoning raw material. Again, although tapai is fermented and contains alcohol as a by-product, eating it is itself Halal; however, if one deliberately squeezes out the juice from tapai to drink it and become intoxicated, then the fatwa ruling becomes non-Halal. Tapai (often written tape or tapai) refers to a fermented food, a common traditional snack. Raw materials — most commonly tape singkong: fermented cassava, and tape ketan: fermented glutinous rice (white/black). Method — steam/cook the cassava or glutinous rice, add a fermentation starter (locally called ragi tape, a compound starter), and ferment at room temperature for several days. Characteristics — sweet, with a wine aroma and a soft, sticky texture; fermentation produces a small amount of ethanol and a sour taste, giving a “slightly tipsy/wine-like” impression, but it is essentially a food, not an alcoholic drink. At the same time, fermented drinks (non-khamr) are permitted to contain alcohol (residual ethanol), but the content must be below 0.5%. “For fermented drinks, ethanol-content testing must also be carried out to confirm the alcohol content in the product,” Linda explained. Besides fermentation, ethanol in beverages may also come from “carryover” — for example, residual ethanol carried over when ethanol is used to extract herbal ingredients. In addition, so-called “0% beer” and “non-alcoholic wine” cannot obtain Halal certification for other reasons. Based on MUI Fatwa No. 44 of 2020, it is forbidden to use product names similar to non-Halal products, especially when the product resembles an actual non-Halal product in sensory characteristics (taste, aroma). To obtain BPJPH Halal certification, it may be necessary to rename the product and use Halal ingredients.