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What is Halal food?
2025-05-15
Halal food is food that is made in strict accordance with the principles of Halal diet. The following are the regulations on Halal diet:
1. Prohibited foods.
According to halal principles, Muslims are forbidden from eating dead animals, blood, pork, or animals slaughtered in the name of anyone other than Allah. Furthermore, drinking alcohol, gambling, idolatry, and fortune-telling are considered satanic practices and should be avoided. Therefore, for Muslims, dietary restrictions extend beyond simply "not eating pork"; "alcohol consumption" is a more significant taboo.
2. Animal products must be slaughtered in accordance with Halal regulations before they can be eaten.
The basic concept behind "reciting the name of Allah" is that the person who slaughters the animal must be a Muslim, the animal must be slaughtered after reciting "In the name of Allah," and the animal must be alive. Muslims do not eat animals that have died of natural causes. When slaughtering, the throat should be slaughtered to minimize the animal's pain. The following are the requirements for slaughtering:
1. The animals to be slaughtered must be Halal animals as specified in the Halal laws and regulations.2. The slaughtering process must be performed by an adult Muslim who is fully aware of the Halal laws and regulations.
3. The animal must be alive before being slaughtered.
4. The animal must be completely slaughtered, using a metal and sharp knife.
5. Before slaughtering, the following words must be recited in Arabic: Bismillah Allahu Akbar.
6. When slaughtering an animal, you must cut the throat, esophagus, or the wide part of the trachea, and the two lines on the neck; this will allow the blood to drain completely.
7. Killing must be done with one cut.
3. About aquatic products.
According to Halal principles, animals and food from the sea are legal and can be eaten. They do not need to be slaughtered in the above manner.
4. Regarding food raw materials.
As Islamic scholars have studied Islamic doctrines and the Quran, more detailed definitions of halal food ingredients have emerged. The world's largest halal food certification agency, Indonesia's authoritative certification agency MUI (Majelis Ulama Indonesia), defines the following ingredients:
"pork"Pig and its by-products (including fat, fatty acids, hair, feathers, bones, enzymes, etc.) are considered non-halal and any processing of pork is prohibited (including using pig by-products as a medium in fermentation processes).Human body partsAll ingredients derived from the human body are non-halal (e.g. cysteine amine from human hair).
"Alcohol"Any product that causes intoxication is classified as alcohol. Any beverage containing at least 1% ethanol is classified as alcohol. Beverages classified as alcohol are non-halal and impure due to fermentation processes. Beverages containing less than 1% ethanol are not classified as alcohol, but are still non-halal if consumed.
EthanolEthanol produced by the non-alcoholic industry is halal (pure). Regarding the alcoholic beverage (alcohol) industry: 1. Fusel oil produced by the alcoholic beverage industry is non-halal. 2. Fusel oil produced by the non-alcoholic beverage industry is halal. 3. Any component physically separated by the alcoholic beverage industry is classified as a non-halal raw material, such as fusel oil, isoamyl alcohol, beer yeast, and tartaric acid. 4. If the separated components are chemically reacted to form new components, the new product is halal and pure. Vinegar is halal and pure. 5. The yeast separated and cleaned from alcoholic beverages to form a new raw material (without alcohol taste, flavor, or color) is halal and pure.
Non-Halal Artificial FlavoringsProducts with non-halal names and organoleptic appearances (such as rum flavouring, etc.) are classified as non-halal even if their ingredients are derived from artificial raw materials (halal raw materials).
Microbial productsA microbial product is halal if its ingredients (from extracts to production media) are not derived from non-halal raw materials.
Halal workshopHalal production lines must be separated from non-halal production lines. All equipment used for the production of pork and its by-products cannot be used as Halal production lines. Cleaning procedures for equipment that has been used for pork or its by-products: wash with water 7 times, and use soil/sand or other cleaning media for 1 of the times.