General Guidelines in Halal Food Management by Adam Idrus Bunajos
GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR HALAL FOOD SEMINAR
DURATION: 3 HOURS
BY: MR. ADAM IDRUS BUNAJOS
Halal
Halal originates from an Arabic phrase that means allowed or permitted by Islamic Law. When the term is used in relation to food in any form whatsoever, in the process of trade or commerce as an aspect of trading or part of an aspect of trading for the referred to food, the terms "Halal‟, "Guaranteed Halal‟ or "Muslim Food‟ or any other terms that may be used to indicate or may be understood as meaning to indicate as permissible to be consumed by Muslims and allowed in their religion for the referred to food to be consumed, must therefore mean the following, that is, the food for which such terms are being used:
• does not stem from or consists of any part of or item from animals that are forbidden to Muslims by Islamic law, or animals that have not been slaughtered according to Islamic law;
• does not contain any substance that is considered impure in Islamic law;
• is not prepared, processed or manufactured using equipment or utensils that are not free from impurities as defined by Islamic law ; and
• that, in the preparation, processing or storage stage, does not come in contact with or is stored near any kind of food that does not meet the requirements or any substances that are considered impure by Islamic law.
Food and Beverage Products
Food and beverage products refers to products that are made or produced or are products or produce or output that involve food and beverage.
Consumer Goods
Consumer Goods refers to goods that are not food or beverage based, for instance cosmetics, clothing and equipment.
Food Premises
Food Premises refers to buildings and premises where food and beverage business is conducted including restaurants, food courts, commercial kitchens, cafeterias, bakeries, fast food restaurants, canteens, club/hotel restaurants, kiosks, caterers and others.
Slaughter House
HALAL FOOD PRODUCTION
In this Course we will try to explain how Islamic laws and regulations apply to real situations in the production of halal food. The guidelines are in general in nature, and specific guidelines for different product types appear in Course. Here, foods are broadly classified into four groups to establish their halal status and to formulate guidelines for halal production and certification.
MEAT AND POULTRY
It is understood that meat of only halal animals is allowed for consumption by Muslims. An animal must be of halal species to be slaughtered as halal. The animal must be slaughtered by a sane adult Muslim while pronouncing the name of God. A sharp knife must be used to cut the throat in a manner that induces thorough removal of blood and quick death. Islam places great emphasis on humane treatment
of animals. The animals must be raised, transported, handled, and held under humane conditions. However, these are only desirable actions and mishandling of animals does not make their meat haram.
FISH AND SEAFOOD
Muslims living in different regions. Fish with scales are accepted by all denominations and groups of Muslims. Some groups do not consume fish without scales (e.g., catfish). There are additional differences among Muslims about seafood, especially molluscs (e.g., clams, oysters, and squid) and crustaceans (e.g., shrimp, lobster, and crab). The requirements and restriction apply not only to fish and seafood but also to flavors as well as ingredients derived from such products.
MILK AND EGGS
Milk and eggs from halal animals are also halal. Predominantly, milk in the West comes from cows and eggs come from hens. All other sources are required to be labeled accordingly. Numerous products are made from milk and eggs. Milk is used to make cheese, butter, and cream. A variety of enzymes are used in the production of cheeses. Types of enzymes used in the making of cheeses are very important.
Enzymes can be halal or haram, depending on their source of origin. Enzymes from microbial sources or halal-slaughtered animals are halal. However, an enzyme from a porcine source is haram.
Depending on the enzymes used in production of cheeses or other dairy products, the products are classified as halal, haram, or questionable. On the same basis, other functional additives such as emulsifiers or mold inhibitors should also be screened to take the doubt out of milk or egg
products.
PLANT AND VEGETABLE MATERIALS
Foods from plants are halal, with the exception of khamr (intoxicating drinks). In modern processing plants, however, animal or vegetable products might be processed in the same plant on the same equipment, increasing the chances of contamination. For example, in some factories, pork and beans as well as corn are canned on the same equipment. When proper cleaning procedures are used and the halal production segregated from non-halal, contamination can be avoided.
Functional ingredients from animal sources, such as antifoams, must also be avoided in the processing of vegetables. This intentional inclusion of haram ingredients into plant and vegetable products may render them as haram. It is evident that processing aids and production methods have to be carefully monitored to maintain halal status of vegetable products.
FOOD INGREDIENTS
Food ingredients are one of the main subjects of concern. Vegetable products, as mentioned earlier, are halal unless they have been contaminated with haram ingredients or contain intoxicating substances. We have already discussed the requirements for animal slaughter and types of seafood permitted for consumption. Here we discuss some of the commonly used ingredients such as gelatin, glycerin, emulsifiers, enzymes, alcohol, animal fat and protein, and flavors and flavorings. Because most of the products fall into questionable or doubtful categories, they require that the majority of manufacturers have their plants inspected and products certified as halal.
The use of gelatin is very common in many food products. Gelatin can be halal if from dhabh-slaughtered animals, doubtful if from animals not slaughtered in a halal manner, or haram if from prohibited animal sources. The source of gelatin is not required to be identified by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on product labels. When the source is not known, it can be from either halal or haram sources, hence questionable. Muslims avoid products containing gelatin unless they are certified halal. Common sources of gelatin are pigskin, cattle hides, cattle bones, and, to a smaller extent, fish skins. For formulating, halal products use gelatin from cattle that have been slaughtered in an Islamic manner or from fish.
Glycerin
Glycerin is another ingredient widely used in the food industry. Products containing glycerin are avoided by Muslims because it could be from animal sources. Currently, glycerin from palm oil and other vegetable oils is available for use in halal products.
Emulsifiers
Emulsifiers such as monoglycerides, diglycerides, polysorbates, diacetyl tartaric esters of mono- and di-glycerides (DATEM), and other similar chemicals are another commonly used group of ingredients that can come from halal or haram sources. Some of the companies have started to list the source, especially if it is vegetable, on the labels. If an emulsifier from vegetable sources is used, it is advantageous to indicate that on the label. Emulsifiers from vegetable sources and halal-slaughtered animal sources are halal.
Enzymes
Enzymes are used in many food processes. The most common are the ones used in the cheese and the starch industries. Until a few years ago, the majority of the enzymes used in the food industry were from animal sources; now there are microbial alternatives. Products such as cheeses, whey powders, lactose, whey protein concentrates, and isolates made from microbial enzymes are halal as long as all other halal requirements are met. Some products made with mixed or animal-based enzymes are haram if porcine enzymes are used; otherwise, they fall in the doubtful category.
Bovine rennet and other enzymes from non-halal-slaughtered animals have been accepted by some countries. As more and more microbial enzymes become available, such acceptance will decrease. Use of dairy ingredients in all types of food products is very common, because whey and whey derivatives are an economical source of protein. For the products to be certified halal, dairy ingredients as well as other ingredients must be halal.
Alcohol
Muslims are prohibited from consuming alcoholic beverages, even in small quantities. Alcoholic drinks such as wine and beer should not be added to other products for flavoring or during cooking. Even a small amount of an alcoholic beverage added to a halal product makes it haram. Cooking with wine, beer, and other alcoholic beverages is quite common in the West as well as in China. In Chinese cooking, rice wine is a common ingredient in many recipes. Product formulators and chefs should avoid the use of alcohol in preparing halal products.
Alcohol is so ubiquitous in all biological systems that even fresh fruits contain traces of alcohol. During extraction of essences from fruits, alcohol might get concentrated into the essences. Because such alcohol is naturally present and unavoidable, it does not nullify the halal status of food products in which such essences are present. Furthermore, alcohol in its pure form is used for extracting, dissolving, and precipitating functions in the food industry. As it is the best solvent or chemical available in many cases to carry out certain processes, religious scholars have realized its importance for use in the industry. Ingredients made with alcohol or extracted by using alcohol have become acceptable as long as alcohol is evaporated from the final ingredient. Food ingredients with 0.5% residual or technical alcohol are generally acceptable. In halal food laws, if an impurity is not detectable by taste, smell, or sight, it does not nullify the halal status of a food. Wine is haram; however, if the same wine turns to vinegar it becomes halal. The use of the vinegar derived from wine is halal as long as no wine remains in it. From these examples, it becomes clear that if an unlawful food item changes state, then the original ruling also changes.
Animal Fat and Protein
Meat and poultry products are not only consumed as staple food items, but are also converted into further processed ingredients to be used in formulating a myriad of nonmeat food products. Less desirable parts of the carcass and by-products are turned into powders and derived food ingredients, and used as flavoring agents for soups, snacks, etc. Animal fat is purified and converted into animal shortening, emulsifiers, as well as other functional food ingredients. Feathers and hair can be converted into amino acids. Such ingredients would be halal only if the animals are halal and all precautions are taken to eliminate cross-contamination.
Flavors and Flavorings
Flavors and flavorings can be as simple as a single spice such as pepper or as complex as cola flavor or pastrami flavor containing several ingredients. Some of the more complex flavorings can contain over one hundred ingredients of various origins. Thousands of ingredients can be used to create a flavor. These ingredients can be from microorganisms, plants, minerals, petroleum, or animals as well as synthetic sources. For formulating halal food products, the manufacturer has to make sure that any flavors, proprietary mixes, or secret formulas are halal and free from doubtful materials.
SANITATION
During the manufacture of halal products, it is imperative that all possible sources of contamination be eliminated. This can be accomplished through proper scheduling of products as well as by thoroughly cleaning and sanitizing production lines and equipment. For nonmeat products, it is adequate to clean equipment and determine cleanliness by visual observation. A company might treat haram ingredients similar to allergens and make it part of an allergen control program. Chemicals used for cleaning (especially soaps and foams) should be screened to avoid animal fat origin.
OTHER REQUIREMENT
o Every producer or manufacturer / food premise / slaughter house must produce only halal products.
o Every company must ensure that the source of ingredients is halal and they must choose suppliers or sub-contractors that only supply halal goods or have Halal Confirmation Certificates.
o It is advise to have a Muslim workers in the kitchen / handling / food processing section;
o Products must be clean and do not contain non halal ingredients as per Islamic law , during preparation, handling, processing, packaging or transfer;
o Employees must always be present at their designated duty areas, for example at the halal quality check point and halal raw material purchase point;
o Employees must be responsible and committed to abiding by the underlined halal policy.
o Equipment and appliances used on the premise must be clean and free of contamination by impurities based on Islamic law and not detrimental to health;
MOST COMMON ISSUE
A Brief Description of the Question:
Mostly Muslims wonder about the rule on eating meat or chicken or other halal animals during the trip to another country (especially in non-Muslim country). We don't know and cannot learn that the meat was cut in the name of Allah or not (but i consider that with high possibility, mostly it was not cut by the name of Allah in non-Muslim country).can we eat those meat or chicken or fish? What can we eat or cannot eat? Is it sin to eat those meats that was not cut in the name of Allah? May Allah guide us all.
The Answer:
The world is going to be like a village. A Muslim may not only stay in the border of his/her country, but also may live in a non-Muslim country as a worker, student and businessman as well, like his/her own country. And also s/he may want to have a life suitable to Islam there. However, s/he may face with some difficulties on some matters.
The subject of buying meat from butchers includes one of these difficulties. Some says that meat is not bought from Christian butchers, so they trend to special slaughter houses. Yet, everybody may not have such a chance. Maybe, they may not lean towards such a place. For this reason, families fall into difficulties on providing meat due to such situations. So they ask their question like that:
-Cannot Muslims who live in foreign countries buy meat from Christian and Jewish butchers?
-If they buy, cannot they eat? Is the meat slaughtered at such places judgmentally forbidden (haram) for Muslims?
-Or else, is there a solution, a way for explanation? Can Islam be lived easily at such places as well?
leaving Muslims in a difficult situation. There is no prohibition about “they cannot buy meat from the butchers of which country they live”. The basic judgment we see is this:
-What the People of the Books slaughtered is eaten.
With the term of “the People of the Books”, we understand the Christians who believe Gospel and the Jewish who believe Torah among the Books that Allah sent.
Accordingly, there must not be any conception such as `meat cannot be bought from a Christian or Jewish butcher; if it is bought, it cannot be eaten‟.
As a matter of fact, not the seller of the meat, but the faith of the slaughter man is important. If the slaughter man believes the divine Book; that is to say, if he is among the People of the Book (generally what comes mind is in a Christian country, a person among the People of the Book slaughters the animal), both can meat be bought from that butcher and the meal be eaten which is prepared by a person among the People of the Book.
So, Muslims who are in Christian countries do not stick in a difficult situation. Because there is no hesitation about the meat slaughtered by a Christian or a Jewish who is among the People of the Book. As for the matter of citing the name of Allah:
If one forgets to cite the name of Allah, the meat slaughtered can be eaten. Not the one who ignores, but the meat slaughtered by the one who deny Allah is not eaten. As it is known, such a person who deny, cannot be said that s/he is among the People of the Book as well.
-How will we know that who did slaughter the meat in the butcher? If we do not know, what shall we do? Besides, generally we do not know.
As long as there is no information, it is thought the meat has been slaughtered by a person who is suitable to religion (That is to say, when there is no information, we think that the slaughter man is among the People of the Book.). Because the hesitation and its being forbidden are not certain, by listening to the hearsays we cannot say `it is haram and cannot be eaten”. So this is, too, a solvent situation.
Another hesitation subject: It is not unfavorable to calm the animal with an arrow or shock in order to slaughter it easily before slaughtering. What is important thing here is “it's being slaughtered”. Whether slaughtered with an arrow or shock is not important. If the animal dies with an arrow or shock before slaughtering, the meat of that animal is not eaten.
After stating these easiness's, there may be ones who approach the matter with the perception of Taqwa (fearing of Allah). They may be more attentive and careful. So, they do not have to buy meat from the butchers they hesitate. Those are not criticized, on the contrary they are praised. But, the same thing should not be wanted everyone. Taqwa is preferred by those who want it voluntarily.
In fact, the most important subject that must be attended is pork. Because the pork is in no way permissible, it cannot be bought, sold and eaten however it is slaughtered and whichever material it is cleaned with.
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