Emulsifier/Lecithin halal?

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Aishath

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Assalaamu Alaykum,

I recently wanted to buy some cakes and looked at the ingredients and saw that it had Lecithin and Emulsifier in it. SOmetimes it says Emulsifier: Soya Lecithin but sometimes it just says lecithin. I was wondering if something just says Lecithin and Emulsifier (and we have no way of knowing whether it came from halal animals or plants) but then it says Suitable for Vegetarians on the front of the box, is it okay for me to consume this product? Just simple because, it is not always possible to contact manufacturers and I figured that if something says Vegetarian, then surely the lecithin or emulsifier was not derived from animal sources.
 
if its suitable for vegies it should be fine... if you trust em of course
 
An emulsifier is any product that allows oils and non-oils to mix together such as vinegar and vegetable oil to make mayonnaise. It is a naturally occurring product found in all cells animal and plants. It is found in largest concentrations in egg yolk and in the past egg yolk was the most common emulsifier used. It is also found in large concentrations in soy beans and sun flower seeds. Soy beans being the most common product to extract it from. But as sun flower seed production increases in the USA sun flower seeds are fast becoming the most economical product to extract it from. Nearly all of the world's sun flower seeds come from the USA in the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas. Sun flowers are native only to North America and the majority are still grown here. Buying something with lecithin should only be an issue if you are boycotting all American made products lecithin sold any place on earth, most probably came from the USA. Soy lecithin is produced mostly in the USA, Western Europe and Japan.

Beside lecithin other emulsifiers are mono- and di-glycerides of fatty acids esters of monoglycerides of fatty acids and phosphated monoglycerides. Foods using those have to be checked further as they can come from meat oils. Although they most commonly come from vegetable oils.
 
Thank you.

How about chocolate truffles? Sorry I know this has nothing to do with the original post but just wondering? I recently bought some chocolate truffles with a cookie base (which was the product that contained Soya Lecithin). However, I was wondering if truffles in itself were haram? The ingredients at the back as far as i know are halal (is dried whey halal?).

Also, the whole product is suitable for vegetarians. What do you think?
 
Oh , I just had a look and chocolate truffles have nothing to do with the truffle (fungus) do they? Because someone told me pigs are used to dig up truffles and i thought that referred to the chocolate ones.

Anyway, the product in question is the Marks and Spencer cookies
 
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Aileen said:
Oh , I just had a look and chocolate truffles have nothing to do with the truffle (fungus) do they? Because someone told me pigs are used to dig up truffles and i thought that referred to the chocolate ones.

Anyway, the product in question is the Marks and Spencer cookies
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If the label is correct they are a purely vegetarian product and should be halal.

Pigs are generally used in France for finding truffles (The Fungus, underground mushroom) but truffles can be found in any temerate zone Oak forests and most people who harvest them outside of France do not use pigs. In the USA in the Oregon area where most are found dogs are used. But the dogs only pinpoint their location by sniffing the ground and the Truffle hunter digs them up by hand.
 
Woodrow said:
If the label is correct they are a purely vegetarian product and should be halal.
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Well these truffle cookies have a vegetarian sign and it's also form Marks and Spencer so I trust the vegetarian label a lot (i hope anyway lol). How about dried whey? Where does that come from? is that halal (given that the product is vegetarian)?
 
Aileen said:
Well these truffle cookies have a vegetarian sign and it's also form Marks and Spencer so I trust the vegetarian label a lot (i hope anyway lol). How about dried whey? Where does that come from? is that halal (given that the product is vegetarian)?
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Whey is the watery part of milk, Curds and whey is what is known in the usa as Cottage cheese. It is halal. It is made commercially by separating milk with a mild acid such as vinegar or lemon juice.
 
Woodrow said:
Whey is the watery part of milk, Curds and whey is what is known in the usa as Cottage cheese. It is halal. It is made commercially by separating milk with a mild acid such as vinegar or lemon juice.
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So all whey in the US is halal? I've been avoiding it all this time. -_-
 
Rashad said:
So all whey in the US is halal? I've been avoiding it all this time. -_-
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As long as cows milk is halal it should be. It is a natural part of cows milk and separated out to obtain the curds for making into cheese. The cheeses made in this manner should also be halal as no enzymes or rennet are used. Starts off as soured mild, made sour by adding a mild acid usually white vinegar or lemon juice.or in home made kinds the milk is simply allowed to sour naturally.
 
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Rashad said:
So all whey in the US is halal? I've been avoiding it all this time. -_-
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No. Milk seperates into curds and whey either after acidification eg with citric acid, lemon juice, or vinegar, by naturally going sour, or by renneting. Renneting is most often done commercially, and the rennet is normally from the stomachs of calves (most often not halal). Nowadays though there is an increasing trend to make food suitable for vegetarians. So if a product contains whey and doesn't say vegetarian on it, do not assume it is halal. Contact the manufacturer to find out. I have in the past contacted food manufacturers who confirmed that animal rennet was used in the production of the whey in their product.

:sl:
 
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Insaanah said:
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No. Milk seperates into curds and whey either after acidification eg with citric acid, lemon juice, or vinegar, by naturally going sour, or by renneting. Renneting is most often done commercially, and the rennet is normally from the stomachs of calves (most often not halal). Nowadays though there is an increasing trend to make food suitable for vegetarians. So if a product contains whey and doesn't say vegetarian on it, do not assume it is halal. Contact the manufacturer to find out.

:sl:
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Glad you brought that out. I have never used rennet to separate out the whey and neither do the local cheese makers I know. I guess it must be more economical for the large companies, for the small guys vinegar is the cheapest way.
 
on this note, i presume Rashad your looking 4 protein powder? try myprotein.co.uk their whey protein is suitable 4 vegetarians and whey isolate even has a halal certificate. they say they dont have a halal certificate on the whey protein because it costs too much to renew it (ive heard from heresay i think). Allah hu Alim. theyre quite cheap but research em urself 1st. also i can give you my discount number 4 5% off.
 
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I guess we could check to see if it's suitable for vegetarians.

Anyway I'm going to assume my cookies were okay because it was suitable for vegetarians, and had no alcohol listed as an ingredient. There was dried whey which i was unsure about but insha Allah, if it's suitable for vegetarians it's okay. I don't know why i thought all chocolate truffles were haram lol

Edit: lol i was halfway through eating them and felt uncomfortable thinking of alcohol even though it didn't list it at the back cz someone said truffles often have alcohol
 
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Aileen said:
i was halfway through eating them and felt uncomfortable thinking of alcohol even though it didn't list it at the back cz someone said truffles often have alcohol
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You do need to be careful, because chocolates can have alcohol contained as part of the flavouring, as a carrier for the flavouring or as a by-product of the flavouring process.

Ingredients that do not have to be listed include those used as processing aids, solvents or media for other additives or flavourings and those that may be present in the final product but serve no technological function in it.

In other words, small quantities of alcohol can be present in the product but the alcohol does not have to be listed. Legally, all that needs to be written is "flavouring."

There is a thread here somewhere about the Rubicon Juice drinks which the manufacturer states contain up to 0.05% alcohol, which results from the flavouring process. This alcohol is not listed as an ingredient.

The Thorntons brand of chocolates are very good; apart from writing "suitable for vegetarians" on appropriate products , they also write "free from alcohol" on those of their products that contain no alcohol at all.
 
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I am doubtig everything so much now. I am normally very paranoid but literally everything feels off limits at the moment. Does anyone know if dried glucose syrup is ok? (its sometimes an ingredient in Bachelors super noodles that are suitable for vegetarians). I just had one and now all i can think of is, did it have alcohol even though it seems so far fetched to think super noodles could have alcohol
 
as a general rule if the alcohol content is not enough to intoxicate you then it is not haram.
 
Aileen said:
I am doubtig everything so much now. I am normally very paranoid but literally everything feels off limits at the moment. Does anyone know if dried glucose syrup is ok? (its sometimes an ingredient in Bachelors super noodles that are suitable for vegetarians). I just had one and now all i can think of is, did it have alcohol even though it seems so far fetched to think super noodles could have alcohol
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It is wonderful to be cautious but there is no need to be paranoid. Have trust that the labeling is honest. Make an honest effort to avoid what is forbidden but remember you can not prove all things and for much we have to place trust that the labeling is correct and we need not go out of our way to find reasons to assume everything is haram.

There is no need to take extraordinary steps that hinder our lives. Simply use common senseand avoid the obvious haram and question that which gives you reason to doubt. Reading the labels and searching through halal listings of foods is showing your intent is to be halal. If you turn things into a witch hunt, you will soon find possible reason to think every food has the possibility of being haram. Trust in the labeling and if in doubt Check an online listing of haram brands and see if the product is named there.

A good Reference to download as a PDF file The PDF download will automatically begin when you click the link=HERE
 

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