Key Control Points of Halal Certification

Preface 'Key Control Points of Halal Certification' is a brief analysis of the common key control points of halal standards, to help a company's quality managers understand which substances affect the company's suitability for halal compliance. 1. Meat products 1.1 Fish products All fish are halal, except those contaminated by impurities (such as blood) or by unclean, harmful, poisonous or intoxicating substances. Common fish products include: fish oil, canned fish, frozen fish, fish gelatin, fish collagen (peptides), fish bone chondroitin, etc. 1.2 Products containing animal sources Apart from fish products meeting the above requirements, all meat products obtained without slaughter according to halal-certification rules, and meat products containing blood, cannot pass halal certification. Common animal-derived products include: beef and mutton, gelatin, capsules, oils and fats, animal flavors, citric acid, colors, enzyme preparations, amino acids, etc. 1.2.1 Beef and mutton: under the slaughter requirements of halal-certification rules, cattle and sheep must be slaughtered by a trained adult Muslim man, in a humane manner. First, the animal must be alive before slaughter. Slaughter must cut the throat or the wide part of the esophagus and trachea and the two veins of the neck, so the blood can drain completely. Slaughter must be done in a single cut. 1.2.2 Gelatin, capsules: gelatin products may only come from halal animal bone or skin. Capsule products may only come from halal-certified gelatin or plant-source capsules. 1.2.3 Oils and fats: products include vegetable oil, edible oil, glycerin, etc. If the factory does not press its own oil but buys crude oil externally, the crude oil needs a halal certificate. If the crude oil cannot provide a halal certificate, the inspector may visit the crude-oil plant. The crude-oil processing plant should press only vegetable oil and not process animal fats such as tallow/fish oil (though visiting the crude-oil plant is often not feasible). 1.2.4 Flavors: beef and mutton flavors, etc. Some very important compounds in the flavor industry, though listed as 'natural flavors' on the ingredient list, are essentially non-halal — such as civet, bull musk, castoreum and ambergris. These flavors are natural but by no means halal. Flavor houses mix many compounds to create the taste they or their customers want, and the pepsin used in making chewing gum comes from the digestive juices of pigs or cattle. Therefore all flavors and fragrances need a reliable halal certificate. 1.2.5 Citric acid: the culture medium used in citric-acid processing comes from beef extract or plant-source media such as glucose. Beef extract must be halal-certified; glucose processing uses alpha-amylase, and all enzyme preparations need a halal certificate, so citric acid also needs a halal certificate. 1.2.6 Colors: can be extracted from tomatoes and peppers, from shrimp shells, or from insects such as cochineal. Color from cochineal is prohibited, so colors also need a reliable halal certificate. 1.2.7 Enzyme preparations: enzymes can come from animals or plants, so all products containing enzyme preparations need a halal certificate for the enzyme. 1.2.8 Amino acids: amino acids can come from animals or plants, so amino acids need a halal certificate. If crude amino-acid raw materials are purchased, all such crude amino-acid materials must provide a halal certificate. If no crude amino acid is purchased, and amino acids are prepared from the original biological fermentation of beet or cane molasses, no halal certification qualification is needed — but the certification process for it is also complex. 2. Dairy products Any raw material involving dairy products needs a halal certificate. Common products containing dairy raw materials include: lactose, milk candy, ice cream, whey protein, milk powder, milk flavor, chocolate, etc. 3. Egg products Eggs (or their derivatives) from non-halal birds are non-halal. Similarly, caviar must come from halal fish. In addition, eggs may not come from a hatchery, because such eggs may contain blood streaks. So if a certified product contains eggs, the inspector visits the egg factory to check compliance, or the egg material must provide a halal certificate. Common products: egg powder, egg noodles, caviar, etc. 4. Insect-related products All insects and products containing insects cannot pass halal certification; products prone to infestation must be protected against insects. Representative products — flour and grains: a dedicated sieve is needed to sift out insects. Most noodle and flour factories have sieves. 5. Alcohol The alcohol must be food-grade alcohol produced by a chemical plant, not from a distillery/winery dedicated to producing drinks for human consumption. It may not be used as an ingredient — only as a solvent, for disinfection or for cleaning. MUIS residual-alcohol requirements for finished products: for seasonings, flavors/fragrances and pharmaceuticals, no more than 0.5%. For other products: no more than 0.1%. For cosmetics applying for halal certification, the alcohol content may be somewhat more lenient depending on use, but must not exceed national standards or reach a level that harms consumers' skin. Wet wipes have no alcohol-content limit.