What is Halal?

Dairy Foods, April, 2000 by Donna Berry

It's time for the U.S. dairy processing and dairy ingredient industries to become familiar with the term Halal, which is the Islamic counterpart of Kosher, and means "permitted or allowed" to Muslims.

Why? For starters, Halal certification of foods is becoming increasingly important as the country's Muslim population grows. According to Mian Riaz, graduate faculty of the food science and technology program at Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, the number of U.S. Muslims is growing three times faster than most other minorities, with this group's buying power of food checking in at about $12 billion. Riaz points out that only about half of U.S. Jews practice Kosher eating habits, whereas almost all Muslims observe Halal.

It's also important for the export business. More than 95% certified-Halal dairy ingredients are going to highly Muslim populated countries, such as those in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. To give you a perspective of how big this market is, there are about 1.4 billion Muslims worldwide, as compared to 14 million Jews, says Riaz. Growing Muslim countries include the former Soviet Union, China and South Africa.

Now, back to the question of what is Halal? Most foods are considered Halal except pork and pork byproducts, meat of dead animals, blood and blood products, carnivores and certain other animals, and alcohol. All vegetable ingredients are Halal except intoxicating ones. Animal-derived ingredients should be from animals slaughtered by Muslims or from fish.

Using these guidelines, one would think that all dairy foods are Halal. Well, think again. Some ingredients that go into dairy foods are objectionable. Consumers observing Halal often find it difficult to read ingredient labels and select permitted foods because labels do not usually provide enough sourcing information. Examples include the gelatin used to stabilize yogurt, the emulsifier used to disperse fat-based vitamins in fortified milk and the enzyme used to coagulate milk during cheesemaking.

To formulate Halal dairy foods, these objectionable ingredients must be avoided:

* Emulsifiers containing fatty acids derived from lard (pork fat).

* Gelatin made from pork skin.

* Enzymes such as pepsin, which come from pigs' stomachs. Calf-sourced enzymes are acceptable if the calf is slaughtered accordingly.

* Whey from cheese made using non-Halal enzymes.

* Glycerin or lecithin that's animal sourced.

* Alcohol is an intoxicant and prohibited. Many liquid flavorants contain alcohol, and thus are not acceptable.

Halal certification of both ingredients and finished products is possible. Before deciding on a certifying agency, research the agency's reputation and find out if countries you plan to export to accept this certification.

For more information, contact Mian Riaz at 409/845-2774, or mnriaz@tamu.edu.