How do you determine halal food!?

[The_Humble_One]

Salam all,

I was wondering how everyone distinguishes between halal and haram food that we buy from the supermarket. I heard a lot of the "ordinary" food that we buy is contaminated by non-zabiha and haram animal by-products, lard, etc. and certain things (like vanilla extract) is made using alcohol. so I am quite confused about what haram things I am consuming everyday :(

How do you deal with this? Any help?

[beespreeteam]

i stay away from anything with animal fat tbh

[sahih-baba]

salam

1. buy foods which are as pure as possible - meaning with as few ingredients as possible - even halal products!

2. in the uk many products have the V sign for Vegetarians - prefer these products, but always check for alcohol in the ingredients if chocolate / sweets.

3. you should not be buying supermarket meat, unless it is clearly marked as halal slaughtered meat of muslims.

[Travelleress]

if you're in the UK, find out if theres a HMC butcher near you: http://www.halalmc.org/

[Devoted]

i am from singapore. i just seee if theres a halal stamp or ill just go to the halal section. sometimes i wonder what pork tastes like but then again its so unclean so nvm.

[sahih-baba]

i am from singapore. i just seee if theres a halal stamp or ill just go to the halal section. sometimes i wonder what pork tastes like but then again its so unclean so nvm.

pork tastes like those halal sausages.

[ENIGMA]

Yeah, in the UK the V sigh's are good but like someone else posted, gotta check for the alcohol. Alot of people dont actually do that,check for the alcohol I mean. So many people ive mentioned it to now and they said they'd never thought of the alcohol aspect.

I always buy my meat from genuine muslim butchers who I know personally. I tend to stay away from stuff which is not cleary marked or labelled.

Even in the days of jahilliyah, i never wanted to try bacon. I just look at the way the pig actually lives on a day to day basis and that thought just put off.

[Waleeja]

Go shopping with a Muslim food guide. :)

[Colonel_Hardstone]

Go shopping with a Muslim food guide. :)


Asslamo Allaikum,

In that case you will be making a major mistake because it hasn't been updated in over 4-5 years & Mufti Sacha has no plans on updating it.

I presume that a lot of products have changed since then.

[The_Humble_One]

i will try those suggestions. in the US there are no V signs indicating vegetarian. i wish the vegeterians were more hardcore :)

what do you do about soaps, shampoos, deodorants, etc.?

[Waleeja]

Asslamo Allaikum,

In that case you will be making a major mistake because it hasn't been updated in over 4-5 years & Mufti Sacha has no plans on updating it.

I presume that a lot of products have changed since then.

Yes, I know. I was referring to the guides on the internet, not the actual book.

[The_Humble_One]

salam brothers and sisters,

http://www.getjar.com/products/8291/HalalGuide provides a list of halal and haram INGREDIENTS that you can download into your mobile phone. great source. check it out.

[rasheedahmed]

Assalam O Alaikum

Please go to www.muslimconsumergroup.com then click Food Products then click other countries products. It contains Halal food products from Tesco and Sainsbury supermarkets in London. I did the research in 2005.

Syed Rasheeduddin Ahmed
Muslim Consumer Group

[Sister Khadijah]

With regards soaps, and stuff like that - there are vegetarian soaps I'm sure - there are companies that make 'em - just do a google search...and if not then you can always (long) make ur own soaps.

I don't know.

Oh, check out the Kosher logos - surely they must avoid pork or non-halal animal products in their goods...

[rasheedahmed]

Assalam O Alaikum

In USA/Canada, there is bar soap called 360 which is available in Whole Food Markets. It does not have any animal derived ingredients and there is no alcohol in fragrance according to customer relation department.

Irish Spring bar soaps in USA/Canada are made with 100% non zabiha beef fat but no information about alcohol in fragrance.

There are no Kosher symbol on the bar saop in USA.

Syed Rasheeduddin Ahmed
Muslim Consumer Group
www.muslimconsumergroup.com

[iqadeer]

:salam: Brother Rasheed Ahmed,

I have your halal products books at home (new and old editions) and I have also visited your site many times to seek guidance with regards to halal food products in the USA. I am somewhat confused as to why is Kraft's American cheese slices considered to be Haram. According to the letter that I had received from them, they use rennet derived from a cow or a sheep in this product. Is there something that I am missing here that I need to know? I would really appreciate your response with regards to the above. :jazak:

[rasheedahmed]

Assalam O Alaikum Br. Iqadeer,

I just published the requirements of a Halal cheese on Sunniforum under Ehtyl alcohol in foods. Here is the requirements for Halal cheese. Since Kraft foods do not use Halal media upon which the starter culture grows and source of Starter culture bacteria unkown. The rennet is obtained from non zabiha cow and sheep. This is the reason Kraft American cheese is not Halal. There are many brands of artificial american cheese available in supermarkets and natural american cheese by Miller and Migdal brands avialable in Kosher food markets.

CHEESES AND ITS HALAL STATUS:

The following things have to be Halal in order for a cheese to be considered Halal:

Ingredients used to make the Mother Starter Culture growth Media
Ingredients used to make the Bulk Starter Culture growth Media
Starter Bacterial culture are Halal if they obtained from milk source and not from meat source, usually in practice they obtained from milk.
Milk Coagulating Enzyme, such as Microbial rennet used to coagulate milk or Rennet obtained from Zabiha slaughtered calves
Fat Hydrolyzing Enzyme, such as Microbial Lipases
Dairy ingredients such as Non Fat dry milk solid or cream or dry milk added
Artificial color such as artificial blue or green color is added to neutralize natural yellow color in curd for Asiago or Blue cheese
Media to grow mold Penicillium roquefortti providing blue color in blue cheese
Harmless plant based enzyme is added for curing or flavor development and growth media for biological curing agent used on the surface of Brick cheese
Flavoring, hydrolyzed lactose, whey for cold packed cheese food, gelatin is allowed in cream cheese but most manufacturer use gums instead of gelatin


Syed Rasheeduddin Ahmed
Muslim Consumer Group
www.muslimconsumergroup.com

[abuhajira]

Assalam O Alaikum Br. Iqadeer,
....
CHEESES AND ITS HALAL STATUS:

The following things have to be Halal in order for a cheese to be considered Halal:

A . Starter Cultures
a. Ingredients used to make the Mother Starter Culture growth Media
b. Ingredients used to make the Bulk Starter Culture growth Media
Starter Bacterial culture are Halal if they obtained from milk source and not from meat source, usually in practice they obtained from milk.


B . Rennet
Milk Coagulating Enzyme, such as Microbial rennet used to coagulate milk or Rennet obtained from Zabiha slaughtered calves

C. Hydrolyzing Enzymes
Fat Hydrolyzing Enzyme, such as Microbial Lipases

D.
Dairy ingredients such as Non Fat dry milk solid or cream or dry milk added
Artificial color such as artificial blue or green color is added to neutralize natural yellow color in curd for Asiago or Blue cheese

E.
Media to grow mold Penicillium roquefortti providing blue color in blue cheese
Harmless plant based enzyme is added for curing or flavor development and growth media for biological curing agent used on the surface of Brick cheese

F
Flavoring, hydrolyzed lactose, whey for cold packed cheese food, gelatin is allowed in cream cheese but most manufacturer use gums instead of gelatin


:salam:

Could you detail out each point as to why and where in the process they become haram for consumption. InshAllah this will be a learning experience for me..

BTW the hanafi opinion of rennet from non zabihah is that of permissibility on the opinion of Imam Abu Hanifa r.a

P.S The page about cheese on MCG is not working..

:ws:

[dhameera]

Salam Alaikum

My advice, go organic, and call companies about their products.

The problem with most people is they tend to get lazy when it comes to investigating products, and become content with what they think they know.

I cannot stress enough CALL THE COMPANIES!!! Find out about their products, even if you have to call all the companies from every single product you ever purchased, it's worth it.

I myself just found out (from calling Kraft) that Miracle Whip has pork in it (among other things like modified food starch), and the reason it is not listed because from time to time instead of using pork enzymes, they MAY (and I stress may) use vegetable enzymes, but majority of the time it's pork..so stay away from it!


Like I said go organic, it's better, and healthier.

As for soap, I can recommend two soaps which I know for a fact are made with all natural organic ingredients, 1) http://www.drbronner.com/ and 2) http://www.sweetsunnah.com/cgi-bin/category/OS

I've used the first soap since I was a child, and still use it today, and the second one I use as well....I can attest to both products.


My skin is too sensitive to use anything else.

As for toothpaste, use Meswak toothpaste

http://www.prestostore.com/cgi-bin/store.pl?ref=crescentcatalog&ct=2978&pd=9110 <--- that brand, best toothpaste I've ever used, it's Halal. and it comes from India.


Hope this helps

Walikum Salam.

[rasheedahmed]

Assalam O Alaikum Br. Abu Hajira,

1. The purpose of adding starter culture bacteria to milk before curding it is to
provide texture and flavor to cheese. These starter culture bacteria can be obtained from meat source such as pork or beef or from milk source. These culture has to grow to make millions cells on starter culture media. They are grown either on milk (Halal media), whey(could be Halal or Haram), in some countries on pancreatin from pork(not used in USA), Lactose a milk sugar(could be Halal or not Halal), yeast extract to provide nutrition for growth of bacteria. The yeast extract could be brewer yeast ( a by product of beer making). Yeast extract from baker yeast is Halal.

2. Rennet is used to coagulate the milk after starter culture bacteria is added to milk. The rennet could be from pork(mostly hard cheese or Italian made cheese), from non-zabiha cow(many ulema in USA do not considered it Halal but some ulema considered it Halal), 80-90% cheese and whey are made with microbial rennet in USA which is Halal.

3. Lipase enzyme is added to break the fat. Lipase could be from pork, non zabiha cow or microbial. Only Microbial lipase is Halal.

4. Non Fat dry milk solid or cream are Halal, dry milk are also added which is Halal only if dried on dryer not used for pork products, but artificial color is added in liquid form. The dry artificial color is Halal. In liquid color solvent such as vegetable oil or glycerin is used for mixing with liquid. Glycerin could be from pork or beef or vegetable fat. only vegetable fat is Halal.

5.Penicillium roquefortti is Halal but the media has to be Halal.

6. Flavoring, hydrolyzed lactose, whey has to be Halal. In flavor, flavoring material and solvent has to be from Halal sources. Gelatin is also used in some cream cheese, again many US ulema do not consider it Halal except other Ulema.

We use very strict approach so that our Halal status is acceptable to all Muslims including different school of thoughts.


Syed Rasheeduddin Ahmed
Muslim Consumer Group
www.muslimconsumergroup.com

[rasheedahmed]

Assalam O Alaikum Br. dhameera,

Organic products are not substitute for Halal products unless they meet the Halal requirements, there is also organic pork available.

Kraft Miracle Whip is under orthodox circle K kosher certification and they will not allow any pork product to be used in Miracle Whip.

All the hidden ingredients are protected by Halal or Kosher certification. The enzyme modified egg yolk where microbial Lipase is used to break the fat of egg yolk. The artificial flavor and natural flavor contain vegetable oil as a solvent not alcohol because of high fat content of Miracle Whip. Miracle Whip is a Halal product. Brother I used to work for Kraft USA and visited its Mayonnaise and Miracle Whip plant in Urbana, IL.

Syed Rasheeduddin Ahmed
Muslim Consumer Group
www.muslimconsumergroup.com

[abuhajira]

Assalam O Alaikum Br. Abu Hajira,

1. The purpose of adding starter culture bacteria to milk before curding it is to
provide texture and flavor to cheese. These starter culture bacteria can be obtained from meat source such as pork or beef or from milk source. These culture has to grow to make millions cells on starter culture media. They are grown either on milk (Halal media), whey(could be Halal or Haram), in some countries on pancreatin from pork(not used in USA), Lactose a milk sugar(could be Halal or not Halal), yeast extract to provide nutrition for growth of bacteria. The yeast extract could be brewer yeast ( a by product of beer making). Yeast extract from baker yeast is Halal.

2. Rennet is used to coagulate the milk after starter culture bacteria is added to milk. The rennet could be from pork(mostly hard cheese or Italian made cheese), from non-zabiha cow(many ulema in USA do not considered it Halal but some ulema considered it Halal), 80-90% cheese and whey are made with microbial rennet in USA which is Halal.

3. Lipase enzyme is added to break the fat. Lipase could be from pork, non zabiha cow or microbial. Only Microbial lipase is Halal.

4. Non Fat dry milk solid or cream are Halal, dry milk are also added which is Halal only if dried on dryer not used for pork products, but artificial color is added in liquid form. The dry artificial color is Halal. In liquid color solvent such as vegetable oil or glycerin is used for mixing with liquid. Glycerin could be from pork or beef or vegetable fat. only vegetable fat is Halal.

5.Penicillium roquefortti is Halal but the media has to be Halal.

6. Flavoring, hydrolyzed lactose, whey has to be Halal. In flavor, flavoring material and solvent has to be from Halal sources. Gelatin is also used in some cream cheese, again many US ulema do not consider it Halal except other Ulema.

We use very strict approach so that our Halal status is acceptable to all Muslims including different school of thoughts.


Syed Rasheeduddin Ahmed
Muslim Consumer Group
www.muslimconsumergroup.com

:salam:

Jazak Allah.. nice info.. something for me to start on...

:ws:

[andy8118]

We use very strict approach so that our Halal status is acceptable to all Muslims including different school of thoughts.

:salam:

much appreciated - unfortunately the shafi's are lacking in this department and even when we go buy "halal" some hanafi-run halal Co's allow for gelatine (because of the change in its molecular make-up etc) and as in another thread the use of some types of alcohol - so us shafi's still have to check when its 'halal' certified anyway. Why not make it halal for everyone or it isn't halal for everyone?

Both gelatine (derived from non-zabiha animals) and alcohol of any type and derivation (as long as it is intoxicating if consumed) is haram, and najis.

:ws:

[Husain]

:salam:

much appreciated - unfortunately the shafi's are lacking in this department and even when we go buy "halal" some hanafi-run halal Co's allow for gelatine (because of the change in its molecular make-up etc) and as in another thread the use of some types of alcohol - so us shafi's still have to check when its 'halal' certified anyway. Why not make it halal for everyone or it isn't halal for everyone?

Both gelatine (derived from non-zabiha animals) and alcohol of any type and derivation (as long as it is intoxicating if consumed) is haram, and najis.

:ws:

:ws:

To the best of my knowledge, Sanha in South Africa has a solution for this predicament.
Certain items are certified halal by Sanha, while others are simply said to be suitable for consumption, but don't carry a stamp.

In order for it to be cartified halal, no alcohol may be used, just as the gelatine has to be from totally halal sources, the rennet has to be from zabihah sources or microbial etc.
A product containing alcohol or rennet only suitable to Hanafi's is not certified halal, however if you query the product with them, they will tell you it is halal suitable, due to the leeway in the Hanafi madhab.

[Colonel_Hardstone]

Asslamo Allaikum,

US has some of the most stringent Kosher laws outside of Iran & Israel.

Some symbols to look for are:


Pareve (Symbol P) (http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_Pareve)

K, KOF, KOF-K (http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=kosher+K&meta=)

Also check for "U" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kashrut) or better yet "OU" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_of_Orthodox_Congregations) symbol

You need to be aware of what these symbols represent and then also check for ingredients beause they could have wine and ther bits in them.

In the UK there are two symbols called:

"Vegetarian"

and "Suitable for Vegetarians"

but they are self-governed

better ones and more stringent are "Suitable for Vegans" and Vegsoc label (http://www.vegsoc.org/)

Unfortuanely there is no European convention or enforceable laws within EU about vegetarian products and you have to know what you are doing to get Halal food in Europe.

Even in UK at the moment you cannot guarentee the "Vegeness of a Product (*)" by law and you cannot take someone to court because of FSA guidelines (http://www.food.gov.uk/news/newsarchive/2006/apr/vegvegan)

I travel a lot and never have a problem with food because I can easily take Cheese (Non-Pork) and just eat tons of it for Calories and survive with tons of Milk...Job done.

In US Vitamin D is added to milk which comes from Fish while in Europe & UK it is synthetic.


(*) This is the term used by the vegetarian brigade in UK for their food. :p

[rasheedahmed]

Quote from Andy 8118: "much appreciated - unfortunately the shafi's are lacking in this department and even when we go buy "halal" some hanafi-run halal Co's allow for gelatine (because of the change in its molecular make-up etc) and as in another thread the use of some types of alcohol - so us shafi's still have to check when its 'halal' certified anyway. Why not make it halal for everyone or it isn't halal for everyone?

Both gelatine (derived from non-zabiha animals) and alcohol of any type and derivation (as long as it is intoxicating if consumed) is haram, and najis."

Assalam O Alaikum

There is no chemical change in collagen the raw material to gelatin, only make it soluble in water by acid or base hydrolysis by removing the cross link bond. The protein and amino acids the main building block are same as in collagen and gelatin. There is different of opinion among Hanafi ulema regarding gelatin from non zabiha cow and alcohol. In USA, IFANCA Halal certify food products containing alcohol in flavor and we do not. As I mentioned our Halal certification is good for every Muslim.

Syed Rasheeduddin Ahmed
Muslim Consumer Group
www.muslimconsumergroup.com

[rasheedahmed]

QUote from Muadh_Khan :"Asslamo Allaikum,

US has some of the most stringent Kosher laws outside of Iran & Israel.

Some symbols to look for are:


Pareve (Symbol P)

K, KOF, KOF-K

Also check for "U" or better yet "OU" symbol

You need to be aware of what these symbols represent and then also check for ingredients beause they could have wine and ther bits in them.

In the UK there are two symbols called:

"Vegetarian"

and "Suitable for Vegetarians"

but they are self-governed

better ones and more stringent are "Suitable for Vegans" and Vegsoc label

Unfortuanely there is no European convention or enforceable laws within EU about vegetarian products and you have to know what you are doing to get Halal food in Europe.

Even in UK at the moment you cannot guarentee the "Vegeness of a Product (*)" by law and you cannot take someone to court because of FSA guidelines

I travel a lot and never have a problem with food because I can easily take Cheese (Non-Pork) and just eat tons of it for Calories and survive with tons of Milk...Job done.

In US Vitamin D is added to milk which comes from Fish while in Europe & UK it is synthetic.


(*) This is the term used by the vegetarian brigade in UK for their food."

Assalam O Alaikum Br. Muadh_Khan,

In London, I stayed at a hotel near Excell center for a Halal Food conference in 2005. I ordered tuna fish at the hotel restaurant and ask for the ingredients, it was my surprise to see wine in tuna fish and I cancelled the order. In USA tuna fish is made with tuna and mayonnaise only.

There are two kind of Kosher symbols, one orthodox(majority of them meet the Halal requirements except 16 ingredients mentioned on our website)the other is liberal. A K symbol is appears on Kraft's Jell-O gelatin which is made with pork and beef and certified by Rabbi Ralbaig. He considered it kosher because of the changes during processing. The orthodex kosher organizations with symbol such as OU, Circle K, CRC, V, KOF K, COR(in Canada) etc do not considered it as Kosher. Kosher gelatin with K symbol is made with pork and non kosher beef. The orthodex Kosher organization certified gelatin made with fish bones.

I have researched food products at Sainsbury and Tesco supermarkets in London in 2005 and listed them with their status on our website. The Halal list food products are based on kosher symbol and suitable for vegetarian without flavor, wine, alcohol. The suitable for vegetarian symbol also appears on food products made with flavor containing alcohol, wine, alcohol, yeast extract(obtained from beer making). OU Kosher symbol is also appears on UK made products. Prave means kosher certified food products made without dairy ingredients and suitable for Passover.

Muslim Consumer Group do not consider the cheese as Halal if it does not have Halal or Kosher symbol.

By law milk in every state in USA except California has to be fortified with Vitamin A and Vitamin D3. The Vitamin D3 in US milk fortification is obtained from lanolin(sheep wool without slaughtering the sheep). Vitamin A is produced commercially by reacting Calcium Carbonate with water and then esterified with Palmitic acid (this is a fat source ingredient and source has to be from vegetable fat). Milk in USA/Canada is Halal for any brand with or without kosher symbol because all the vitamins mixes are Kosher certified in USA/Canada.

Syed Rasheeduddin Ahmed
Muslim Consumer Group
www.muslimconsumergroup.com

[Colonel_Hardstone]

Muslim Consumer Group do not consider the cheese as Halal if it does not have Halal or Kosher symbol.



Asslamo Allaikum Brother,

Is that because of Rennet?

[kr_islam]

if you're in the UK, find out if theres a HMC butcher near you: http://www.halalmc.org/

There are on HMC certified restaurants or takeaways where i live....
Also recently found out that some of the so called halal chicken frm our halal shops are not halal apparantly.....i was very shocked to hear that. How do we find out where they get the chicken and meat frm ?
They are sellig it to evryone sayig its halal.....how ca we make sure that it is REALLY HALAL?
Are all the meat and chicken frm halal shop actually halal?And who checks it?

[dhameera]

Assalam O Alaikum Br. dhameera,

Organic products are not substitute for Halal products unless they meet the Halal requirements, there is also organic pork available.

Kraft Miracle Whip is under orthodox circle K kosher certification and they will not allow any pork product to be used in Miracle Whip.

All the hidden ingredients are protected by Halal or Kosher certification. The enzyme modified egg yolk where microbial Lipase is used to break the fat of egg yolk. The artificial flavor and natural flavor contain vegetable oil as a solvent not alcohol because of high fat content of Miracle Whip. Miracle Whip is a Halal product. Brother I used to work for Kraft USA and visited its Mayonnaise and Miracle Whip plant in Urbana, IL.

Syed Rasheeduddin Ahmed
Muslim Consumer Group
www.muslimconsumergroup.com


SalamuAlaikum,

I don't know where you got your information about Miracle Whip, but I received mine straight from Kraft.

What I was told is, the enzymes that are used are sometimes pork, sometimes vegetable, and it does not require them to put pokr enzymes on the label because they sometimes use vegetable enzymes. But the woman stressed, mostly pork is used.

Secondly, maybe you are from the UK, but in America the FDA's regulations aren't as strict.

Example: you can have 1% organic in a product, and that will be USDA approved as organic.

Also I've never seen a K for Kocher on a Miracle Whip bottle.


Walaikum Salam

[rasheedahmed]

Quote from Muadh Khan " Is that because of Rennet?"

Assalam O Alaikum Br. Muadh Khan,

Many Muslims consider a cheese Halal if the rennet is from microbial or zabiha beef source. This is not the case, even if the rennet is from Halal source, there other ingredients such as starter culture bacteria, the composition of medium used to grow these starter culture bacteria, the lipase enzyme to break the fat are part of cheese making in the world, if they are not from Halal sources then the cheese will not be Halal. In the absence of Halal or Kosher symbol on cheese package you can get ingredients information from the cheese manufacturer. Mediium to grow the bacteria is a hidden ingredient (called processing aid ingredient)not mentioned on the ingredient list. But rennet, culture, enzymes(sometime rennet is not mentioned but it is included enzymes which include both rennet and Lipase in USA). In USA, every big city has kosher food shops where you can buy the Halal cheese of Miller and Midgal brands.


Syed Rasheeduddin Ahmed
Muslim Consumer Group
www.muslimconsumergroup.com

[rasheedahmed]

Assalam O Alaikum Br. dhameera,

I thought you was talking about Mircle Whip made in USA, please next time mentioned your country's name. It is true that Kraft do not have Kosher certified Miracle Whip in Europe. I believe you about the information you got from Kraft is correct. I could not find it at Sainbury and Tesco supermarkets in London in 2005. I do not know whether they use "enzyme modified egg yolk" in Mircle Whip ingredients or not, if they do then the enzyme which break the fat in egg yolk is Lipase which could be from vegetable or pork or beef source. The egg yolk companies buy this enzyme either on contract basis or whatever available in the market. Please mentioned the name of your country and if possible please provide the ingredient list of Miracle Whip to find out which ingredient has the enzyme.

I am from USA, USDA is regulate the requirements for organic products not FDA in USA. I disagree with you about FDA, they have very strict regulations. You can not call a product organic if you have few ingredients label as organic and rest are not organic.


Syed Rasheeduddin Ahmed
Muslim Consumer Group
www.muslimconsumergroup.com

[Aarif]

As-salaamu alaykum,

When is 'lipase' (found in cheese) considered haraam? (Is it similar to rennet, where it is halal regardless of the source being halal or not - according to Hanafi view)

If possible, could Moulana Abu Hajira answer.

Jazakumullah Khair,

[rasheedahmed]

Assalam O Alaikum Br Aarif,

Lipase enzyme is Halal only when it is made from microbial source or zabiha slaughtered Kid (baby Lamb) and under supervision of Halal or kosher certification. When 80-95% cheese makers in USA are using microbial rennet and microbial Lipase then there is no need of rennet or Lipase obtained fron non zabiha Halal animals. I think this ruling is for those times when there was no Halal alternate available. You can not use this ruling in our times, this is my personal opinion.

Syed Rasheeduddin Ahmed
Muslim Consumer Group For Food Products USA
www.muslimconsumergroup.com
www.canadianhalalfoods.com

[Aarif]

As-salaamu alaykum,

When is 'lipase' (found in cheese) considered haraam? (Is it similar to rennet, where it is halal regardless of the source being halal or not - according to Hanafi view)

If possible, could Moulana Abu Hajira answer.

Jazakumullah Khair,

Wa'alaykum salaam,

Jazak-Allah Khairan for your reply, but I was wondering if lipase is considered 'similar' to rennet, and hence, halal even if derived from non-zabiha sources. (Following the Hanafi opinion ofcouse).

Please if a scholar could respond. Was-salam,

[rasheedahmed]

Assalam O Alaikum Br. Aarif,

I already wrote that when Halal rennet and Halal Lipase enzymes are easily available, you can not justify the use of said ruling beside many other Hanafi Ulema do not agree to that ruling. If the ruling is based on the dead status of rennet enyme in the stomach as I read before on other websites then scientifically it is not applicable because the rennet enzyme from the stomach of Halal animal is alive and thats why it curds the milk. A dead thing do not do such thing. Lipase enzyme is also obtained from ruminant animals stomach of the Halal animal such as KID (Baby lamb), I think same ruling may be applied.

Syed Rasheeduddin Ahmed
Muslim Consumer Group For Food Products USA
www.muslimconsumergroup.com
www.canadianhalalfoods.com