Halal Q&A (FAQ)

What is halal? Halal is an Arabic word meaning lawful or permitted. Any halal food or drink is permissible to consume. Most food and drink is considered halal unless it is expressly forbidden or non-halal under halal rules — such as pork, lard, alcohol, and meat not explicitly stated to be slaughtered according to halal requirements. What is halal certification? Halal certification is the recognition, by an independent Muslim organization or an authorized body, that a product/food is suitable for Muslim use and consumption. What are the prohibited ingredients in halal certification? In halal certification, everything can obtain a halal certificate except the following six: alcohol and drugs; blood (liquid or coagulated); carnivorous animals and birds; animals and birds that have died (i.e., naturally); food used for sacrifice/offering; pigs and their derivatives. Is rennet halal? A food's halal status is usually determined jointly by its ingredients (intrinsic factors) and its preparation, storage and distribution (extrinsic factors). To ensure a product is truly halal, all its ingredients must be halal, and during preparation, production, storage and distribution it must never contact any non-halal item. Rennet is an enzyme used in cheese-making. There are two types: bovine rennet and microbial rennet. Bovine rennet comes from a calf's stomach and is therefore considered doubtful. If the bovine rennet comes from a cow slaughtered according to halal rules, it is halal; otherwise it is non-halal. Microbial rennet is generally halal. Why are some ingredients classified as doubtful? If the source or halal status of an ingredient is uncertain, that ingredient is doubtful. I bought a product with a halal mark on the packaging, but on checking the ingredient list I found a doubtful ingredient. Is the product still halal? Generally, products bearing a halal mark are usable by Muslims. Although the product contains a doubtful ingredient, the halal body that certified it will have confirmed the product's halal status in advance. If you wish to confirm further, you can contact the halal certifying body or the product's manufacturer. What are emulsifiers? Are they halal? Emulsifiers are a widely used class of additives, mainly used to stabilize mixtures and ensure their consistency. Emulsifiers generally belong to the E400-series additives (for example, E400 to E495). Emulsifiers may come from plants or animals, and can be judged halal, non-halal or doubtful depending on their source. a) Halal emulsifiers: from plants or from halal animals slaughtered according to halal rules. b) Non-halal emulsifiers: from non-halal animals or animals not slaughtered according to halal rules. c) Doubtful emulsifiers: where it cannot be determined whether the source is halal or non-halal. Can enzymes be used in producing halal food? Enzymes are often used as processing aids in producing cheese, juice, edible oil, food ingredients and many other products. Enzymes may be extracted from plants, animals or microbes. Enzymes of plant and microbial origin are generally halal. But for enzymes of animal origin, the enzyme is halal only if the animal is halal and slaughtered according to halal rules. Bovine rennet is often used in cheese-making; to produce halal cheese, the way the source cow is slaughtered matters — only rennet from a cow slaughtered according to halal rules is halal. Is rice wine halal? Rice wine is a golden, sweet wine fermented from freshly steamed glutinous rice. The most famous Japanese rice wines are sake and mirin. Although most rice wines are low in alcohol, rice wine is still classed as an alcoholic drink. It is therefore not suitable for Muslim consumption and is non-halal. What is chocolate liquor? Many people think chocolate liquor is an alcoholic drink, but in fact chocolate liquor — also called cocoa liquor — is the liquid obtained when cocoa beans are ground into cocoa mass. It converts cocoa powder and cocoa butter into the final product and is a basic ingredient in chocolate manufacturing. Chocolate liquor is halal.