Industry News

During a recent factory inspection in October, MUIS inspectors at a domestic food-grade company discovered that the factory used a significant amount of alcohol as a solvent during production, all of which was brewed alcohol. Although the alcohol in the finished product had been processed and evaporated, leaving it virtually alcohol-free, the high level of brewed alcohol used in the production process ultimately resulted in the factory failing certification.

Domestically, the use of chemical-grade alcohol as an additive to food-grade products is strictly prohibited, while Halal production also strictly prohibits the use of brewed alcohol. How can we meet Halal production standards while not violating the standards of the national food safety law? To this end, we immediately called the International Halal Certification Headquarters to learn about the production of Halal food in other countries.

It turns out that some companies producing halal foods abroad also use alcohols such as ethanol, methanol, and isopropyl alcohol during the dissolution, cleaning, or disinfection processes. However, because the dosage is relatively small, a small amount of chemically synthesized alcohol can be added to replace edible alcohol. Some specialized processes, such as stevia production, require large amounts of solvent to dissolve the sugars adsorbed on the resin pores. While alcohol is almost always used in China, other solvents are commonly used abroad.

The MUIS Halal certificate is issued by the government, and its certification system has very strict requirements regarding alcohol. In addition to limiting the alcohol content in finished products to 0.1%, all companies producing food-grade products must use only small amounts of chemical-grade alcohol as a solvent, cleaning agent, or disinfectant during production. Otherwise, even if the finished product contains no alcohol, it will not pass certification.

Besides the official MUIS certification, other privately certified brands also have stricter alcohol content requirements. The final product's alcohol content generally cannot exceed 0.5%, and alcohol can only be used as a solvent, cleaning agent, or disinfectant, not as a raw material. Regarding the source of the alcohol, almost all organizations agree that brewing alcohol is non-halal.

Therefore, when producing halal products and using alcohol, companies must pay special attention to the source and purpose of alcohol to ensure that the factory inspection can be passed smoothly.