Animal derived ingredients in processed foods like cheese, instant noodles, etc

[Nura]

Salam All,

Has anybody ever come across articles on the Internet that say cheese maybe haram depending on the source of the animal derived enzyme? Some say all cheese is halal for consumption, irrespective of the halal status of the animal from which rennet (the enzyme used to make cheese ) has been extracted. What do you people think? If the source of the rennet has to be considered as well, then consuming processed food in the west is going to become very difficult as even a thing as simple as a loaf of bread also contains monoglyceride and di-glyceride which are animal derived. Also chicken, beef flavored instant noodles are haram some of them say. Can anyone please shed some light on these issues and give some advice as to what I should do? Should I avoid all processed food? It is nearly impossible to know what actually goes into making our food now-a-days..

Thank You

[Seraphina]

Yes sister Nura I have come accross those articles, and I have the same struggle with animal derived ingredients in soaps and shampoos. "100% herbal" products are very expensive, and you can't be clean without them. And, most of processed foods are not labeled "halal", and those that are, are more expensive than others. With economic crisis and high unemployed rates in many countries, knowing these answers for sure would ease us a lot, if not at expenses at least at choosing.
Hope brother Joseph manages to answer,
God bless you,
Your sister Seraphina ☺

[Duster]

Shalom / peace Nura ...you asked a similar question already in the thread below? ....>>>

http://quransmessage.com/forum/index.php?topic=944.msg3634#msg3634

I liked truthseeker's response ....and Saba's point .."best to err on the side of caution"....Also >>>I can see you have already been given a general response by br. joseph and I think his final comment says a lot.... just my take.

[Nura]

Salam Duster,

The post you referred to was regarding gelatin. Avoiding gelatin is not such a hard thing to do. But animal derived ingredients, like mono-glycerides, diglycerides, enzymes are all making their way into products that are generally considered halal like cheese and bread. I am not talking about gelatin here. I am asking about rennet which is present in a lot of branded cheese (Kraft cheese slices), and I don't know whether you have read or not, due to this, some muslims have labelled Dorritos haram. So, I wanted some quran-focused opinions regarding this. I don't know, why but I am starting to feel people are nit-picking, and this extent of nit-picking will render every processed food haram. Living in the west is becoming difficult because of all this. I just wanted to know whether I could consume a cheese flavored snack without worrying at a get-together where most people don't maintain halal-haram status of food presented to guests.

[Sardar Miyan]

Salam Nura & others , Please read the following article which may be helpful for identifying Halal food.


Ahmed: ASAK
Pl read till end n avoid using products labelled with these E codes which r Haram.

HISTORY OF PIG FAT

[Sardar Miyan]

Ahmed: ASAK
Pl read till end n avoid using products labelled with these E codes which r Haram.

HISTORY OF PIG FAT

[Nura]

Salam Sardar Miyan,

Could you please post a link to the article you mentioned.

[Hamzeh]

Asalamu Alykum

I'm not sure what Br. Joseph would say about this, but by reading other similar threads, this verse comes to mind quite often and I believe that if anyone does this honestly then it would not be worth too much time looking at all the things cheese and noodles and processed foods are made from if its going to take phone calls and a whole bunch of things that might be impossible. If your certain about something containing swine or non halal meats then I would avoid it and seek an alternative solution as best one can. At times these days most of the substances and ingredients in foods are so hard to pronounce and unknown to most people. But the most and whole of the food is usually what it looks like. But if you know for sure that a product contains something forbidden I would avoid it.

064:016
“So keep your duty to God as best you can / what you are able (Arabic: ma is’tata’tum), and listen, and obey, and spend; that is better for your souls. And whoso is saved from his own greed, such are the successful”

022:078
"And strive for God with the endeavour which is His right (Arabic: haqq). He has chosen you and has not laid upon you in religion any hardship / difficulty / impediment (Arabic: Haraj)..."


Peace

[Joseph Islam]

Dear readers,

As-salamu alaykum


If our 'difficulty' is merely assessed by what processed foods, or particular items of food we can consume in the West, whether it be a particular brand of chocolate, crisps or type of margarine, then I think we are leading ourselves into a very precarious position from a spiritual perspective.  In my humble view and as I trust many (if not all) of you would appreciate, from the severity of trials God could arguably impose on His servants, this would not even be worthy of being considered a serious 'test'. Famine is just one example of a great trial.

Even in the West, many consume a diet of plenty of fresh foods, whether what the earth grows in terms of vegetables and fruits, but also wholesome meat products prepared in a manner that one rarely encounters such issues. If the source of a particular item of food is of dubious content, there are arguably other options one can take or even curtail its consumption out of choice.

With respect, I simply cannot fathom anyone starving in the West because they limit certain food choices because they are not convinced of the source of some of the ingredients of a particular food item, whether it is cheese, a particular loaf of bread, flavoured noodles or even a bag of 'Doritos'.

After all, certain believers should feel fortunate that they live in the West where food choice is diverse and abundant; there is a drive towards healthy wholesome eating (something supported by the Quran - So eat of what God has provided you, lawful and good / wholesome 16:114) and that food produce is often aptly labelled so that consumers can make informed choices. Believers should remain cognizant that they are fortunate (and blessed) that they have not been imposed stringent dietary laws such as those that have been prescribed for the Jews.

As a candid example, a tub of mere margarine with dubious ingredients can in my humble view, be substituted if not curtailed. It can also be seen as an opportunity for conscientious folk to plug the apparent void in the market with appropriate alternatives.

Quite simply, it is my humble view, if it comes to one's knowledge that a particular item of food (particularly in the West) has an ingredient which is sourced from a place that is not deemed 'lawful', then one should find other choices to supplement their dietary habits or curtail it's consumption.

As far as topical products, (such as shampoo, soaps and even perfumes), this is not an issue as the Quran's focus is only on dietary consumption. Such topical products are not meant for consumption.

I believe brother Hamzeh has parted with great wisdom which I would incline to agree with and quote, as I feel the sentiment can be broadly supported by Scripture.

"If your [sic] certain about something containing swine or non halal meats then I would avoid it and seek an alternative solution as best one can"

Personally, I have found that if one's lifestyle is geared towards 'eating healthy' (of good and wholesome foods (16:114), without excess 7:31) much of these issues including health concerns do not even arise. Much of the problems we create for ourselves (whether physical or psychological) are often usually due to a departure from God's guiding verses.

I hope that helps, God willing
Joseph
 
 

[Sardar Miyan]

Salam sister Nura I tried to post E- Codes but these were not appearing after posting. I will inshallah try in my Computer by which I may be able to post. Thanks

[Sardar Miyan]

So, request all MUSLIMS or non pork eaters to check the ingredients of the ITEMS of daily use and match it with the following list of E-CODES. If any of the ingredients listed below is found, then DEFINITELY  AVOID  IT, as it has got PIG FAT;

E100, E110, E120, E140, E141, E153, E210, E213, E214, E216, E234, E252,
E270, E280, E325, E326, E327, E334, E335, E336, E337, E422, E430, E431,
E432, E433, E434, E435, E436, E440, E470, E471, E472, E473, E474, E475,
E476, E477, E478, E481, E482, E483, E491, E492, E493, E494, E495, E542,
E570, E572, E631, E635, E904.

Dr. M. Amjad Khan
Medical Research Institute
United States
Here are the Codes given above sister Nura

[Seraphina]

Thank you brother Joseph for your eye-opening answer. That's what I've been trying to do all the time, and it's a great comfort to hear you confirming it.
Thank you others who posted as well.
Salamun alaikum

[Joseph Islam]

Thank you brother Joseph for your eye-opening answer. That's what I've been trying to do all the time, and it's a great comfort to hear you confirming it.
Thank you others who posted as well.
Salamun alaikum

Dear sister Seraphina,

Wa alaikum assalam

Thank you for your kind feedback.

With humility, I do feel it is the best position one can take. Furthermore, I also feel it prudent to 'err on the side of caution' whilst doing the best one can, especially in matters of religion.

God bless 

Joseph

[Seraphina]

"To err on the side of caution" -Absolutely the best position my brother
God bless you too, have a nice weekend