Halal and Haram Products
- Islam in Australia
- Halal Butchers in Sydney
- Mosques and Musallahs
- Islamic Organisations
- Halal and Haram Products
- Australian Halal Products
Franklin's Lakemba has become the first supermarket in Australia to have Halal Accreditation by the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (AFIC). If this experiment is proved to be successful, it will be implemented in other Franklin's stores, and perhaps other supermarkets will take-up the idea. Our support for this type of project is essential if we are to be sure that the products we buy are permissible.
By placing a green tag in exchange of the white one, Muslims no longer need to carry a list of mysterious numbers and check the ingredients each time they go shopping. It must be noted however that the marked items are not the only Halal items, but only the ones which have been checked and confirmed.
It is unfortunate and a calamity that many people do not realise the enormous importance of consuming Halal products, and will ignore suspicious ingredients and numbers, with the argument that all you have to do is say "Bismillah." What do numbers such as 471 mean, and is gelatine all right? How can items such as soaps be Haram? Let us begin with the big one- Gelatine
Gelatine is classified as food according to the EEC's Codex Alimentarius, and is a derivative from animals. This is where the problem lies.
Allah in the Holy Qur'an forbids the eating of the flesh of swine unambiguously in II:173, V:4, VI:145 and XVI: 115. All the four Imams have agreed that that all parts of the animal are forbidden as food including its nails, hair, skin, fat, bones and teeth.
Gelatine is a water soluble protein found in all parts of the pig in different concentrations, and remains a protein during any production process. When we purchase any product with Gelatine in it, we are most likely to be consuming pork fat; even if it were not from swine, it is most likely not to be from a halal sauce.
By law, manufacturers are required to list the ingredients of their products, and they usually do so through the numbering system. So when we hear of halal and Haram numbers, we must be conscious of the Islamic rulings towards these ingredients. Take emulsifiers for example. Most emulsifiers are based on stearic acid, extracted from animal fats. This substance starts as such, is extracted as such and does not change its state to anything other than stearic acid. As such, any food containing emulsifiers are generally considered to be Haram, since all emulsifiers are made from animal fats (including pork), except 322, 471 and 476 which can be made from Halal ingredients.
Below is a brief list of items and why they can be Haram, although people may not consider them to have any Haram substances:
* Tinned vegetables can be Haram. Not all of course, but the ones with sauces can have emulsifiers added.
* Frozen vegetables containing sauce can be Haram. Be careful for frozen sauces, for when frozen they separate, and for this reason emulsifiers are added to stop this phenomenon.
* Breadcrumbs, batters and fillers can be Haram. Bread is made with emulsifiers to make them appear soft and fresh, so it stands to reason that breadcrumbs made from Haram bread are Haram. Batters contain water, water separates when defrosted, emulsifiers (Haram!!!) stop the separation. Fillers can have 21 Haram flavourings, and or Haram fats!
* Vegetable or blended vegetable oils can be Haram. Vegetable shortening and margarine's contain emulsifiers again and are described in food as vegetable oil or blended vegetable oils. It is misleading but lawful.
* Vegetable shortening, animal fats and some margarine's are Haram. Animal fats are made by collecting trimming from abattoirs and butcher shops to make fats. As for margarine's, they contain emulsifiers that can be Haram or whey powder made with Haram rennet.
* All soaps contain animal fats. To be called soap it has to contain animal fats. This item is controversial, and will not be discussed here.
* Bread containing dried yeast is Haram: dried yeast contains Haram substances so it stands to reason that bread made with dried yeast is Haram!
I'm sure there are people who will still ignorantly consume products described here as Haram. Remember that when you knowingly do so, you are openly disobeying your Creator, who will in turn not answer your supplications.
The Prophet (s.a.w) has predicted the day when people eat the forbidden by calling it something else, and the Qur'an states :"But say not any false thing that your tongues may put forth, this is lawful and this is forbidden so as to ascribe false things to Allah. For those who ascribe false things to Allah will never prosper.."
NOTE: This article was prepared with the help of brother Mohamed El-Mouelhy, who is responsible for giving the Halal Accredidation. We stress that the information supplied is not fake, nor from hearsay, or from an amateurs point of view, but rather from a qualified food technologist. If you have any further queries as to which products are halal, or why the mentioned ingredients are Haram, please contact Mohamed on the the Halal Hotline, phone number: (02) 232 6731 during business hours or fax (02) 223 8596. Alternatively you can write to Mohamed c/o Halal Helpline, 14 Martin Place, Sydney 2000.
