FOOD INGREDIENTSASIA
SUPPLEMENT
19
Halal Ingredient and Raw
Material Classif
It isoftenmisunderstood that in Islamic
law, halal–haram is seperated like black
and white. In fact, although Islamic law
states that haram is like black color which
is forbidden to touchor tamperwith, itdoes
not classifyhalal aspurewhite. Islamic law
classifies halal into four groups, similar
to different degrees of white and gray as
following:
1)Halal -Halal
“Halal”meansapproval.
Therefore, the ingredients in thisgroup refer
to foods thatarehalalbynaturesuchasnon-
toxic vegetable or fruit. Or if the products
are contaminated by toxic components or
substancewhichareharmful tohealth, they
have to be removed correctly. Or it refers
to non-toxic aquatic animals which have
gone through theprocessof toxic removal
and can be safely consumed. Halal in this
category isconsidered thesafest.Theyare
halal materials unconditionally.
2)Halal-Dhabihah
“Dhabihah”means
slughtering method according to Islamic
law. Ingredientsor foodproductsunder this
grouparemeator ingredientsderived from
halal animals such as land animals and
poultry.The treatment beforeconsumption
has to follow the proper slaughtering
methodasprescribedby Islamicguidelines
to transformhalal-dhabihah intohalal-halal.
3) Halal-Mubah
“Mubah” refers to
an action considered neutral religiously
or the consumption entails neither
punishment nor reward. It is also the case
for non-consumption. There are several
ingredients and foods under this category
and their classification are currently
questionable. For instance,a foodproduct
or an ingredient can be categorised as
halal due to its physical appearance.
However, its preparation process can
make its halal classification unclear or it
is not fully recognized as halal according
to the Islamic law. For example, when
the product goes through the industial
productionprocess, itcanbecontaminated
by haram components at certain stage of
production.Cases like thisshould reassure
consumers’confidencebymakingavailable
the certification from recognised Islamic
organization. Otherwise, the products
should be examined in the halal forensic
laboratorywithMuslimscientistsonduty to
transform the ingredients in this category
into halal - halal.
4) Halal-Makruh
“Makruh” means
something disgusting or distasteful. It
should be avoided rather than consumed.
In Islamicbelief, it isnotsinful,butaperson
who abstains from it will be rewarded. For
instance, squid is halal food. But it can be
disgustingor “makruh”when it isexposed to
flies.Salt ishalal.However, if therearedogs
walking round thesalt field, it isdisgusting.
It is also the case with fermented fish
or pickled fish. If insects lay egg during
the fermentation process and there are
maggots in it, it is disgusting, constituting
tomakruh. Ingredientsand foodunder this
groupshould receiveproper hygieniccare
to ensure they are halal-halal.
Halal Food Production Chain
Due to the saying “Halal food must
be produced from halal raw materials
and halal production process”, halal food
requires attention from the first step or
the selection of halal raw materials. In
case the ingredients are not halal by
nature, theyshouldbecertifiedbycredible
organizations.Andbefore theygo through
the production process, they must be
washedaccording to Islamic jurisprudence
by the flow of water. The Central Islamic
Council of Thailand requires that “in
washing materials and components used
in production, dip them or use water in a
container. Rinse with clean water flowing
through the rawmaterials or components.
In the final rinse, the water used in this
process cannot be reused to wash other
materials or reused in the production.”
After thematerialsareproperlywashed,
one has to prepare raw materials for
productionprocess.Eachproduct requires
differentmethodswithdifferentdetails.The
operatoror industrial factorycancontrol the
productionprocess inaccordancewithhalal
foodmanufacturingprocedureasspecified
in the internationally-recognizedstandards.
Or, theymay use the supportive indicator
by establishing
“Halal Food Standard”
referring to the practice aimed to ensure
halal food production is in accordance
with the standard prescribed by Islamic
law. To establish a standard, it is required
to ask experts to share the knowledge to
executives, supervisors and employees
involved in the production of halal food,
who should understand the principles
and are aware of the need to produce
halal food. Moreover, the expertswill give
recommendations how to analyze and
determine the critical moment that can
cause haram contamination. They should
alsomake recommendations to
restrict
or
eliminate
contamination. In the end of the
process, religious scholars should take
part in system evaluation to help making
decision and delivering the judgement
based on Islamic law.
How canwe Control the Process
of Halal Food Production?
The ingredients used in the food
industryhavebecomemorecomplexdue to
themanufacturing technological advance,
making it more difficult to analyze the
status of halal food. In this case, it requires
halal forensic scientists to help classify
and identify the status of rawmaterials so
that the production of halal food is not too
difficult. It alsoensures safety bothphysical
and spiritually.
Controlof thehalal foodproductionmust
start from upstream, that is the process to
select rawmaterials. It canbe controlledby
theuseof halal forensic science. Start from
examination
process. In thiscontext, it refers
to the examination of document, which is
halal certificates from reliableorganizations.
In theabsenceof thedocument, theproduct
willhave toenter theprocessof
investigation
to confirm its halal status. Investigation in
this context refers to the process to seek
information from related persons who can
beusedas references. The final stepof the
halal forensicscientificprocess is laboratory
diagnostics
by using modern technologies
and tools. The findings will be analyzed
by expertized professionals equipped with
required skills currently recognized.
Using laboratory tocontrol theproduction
takes timeand it iscostly.Theoperatorscan
find it complicating. Agroup of scientists of
the Halal Science Center Chulalongkorn
University has therefore produced the halal
ingredient database system known as
H-number. “H” stands for halal, imitating the
E-numberdatabase,which is thedatabaseof
rawmaterialsand foodadditivesprescribed
by the European Union (EU) which is
abbreviated as “E”.
H-numberdatabasesystem isproduced
byaselectionof320entriesof rawmaterials
in E-number database. Of the total, there
are 204 entries of rawmaterials which are
halal by nature, 116 items are “Mashbooh”
ormaterials thatareambiguousand required
theconfirmationof theirstatus.Forexample,
materials produced by animalsmust derive
fromhalalanimalsandnot from the forbidden
parts. Once the status of raw material
under this group is confirmed by halal
forensic science, we will reclassify these
raw materials into H-number group and
use the original number as indicated in the
E-number database to prevent confusion.
And it is necessary to further specify which
company theproductscome from.Currently,
thedatabasehascompleted16entriesof raw
materials or about 14percent of the total.
The database system benefits the
halal food industry because it reduces
the complexity from using laboratory
and the business cost for halal business
operators. When the production of halal
food is easy, halal foodbusinesswill further
expand. People who receive themaximum
benefit ultimately would inevitably be the
“consumers.”
