{"id":9922,"date":"2019-10-04T08:00:54","date_gmt":"2019-10-04T14:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ulprospector.com\/knowledge\/?p=9922"},"modified":"2019-11-11T08:43:47","modified_gmt":"2019-11-11T14:43:47","slug":"fb-keys-to-successful-halal-food-beverage-manufacturing-ingredient-and-processing-concerns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/9922\/fb-keys-to-successful-halal-food-beverage-manufacturing-ingredient-and-processing-concerns\/","title":{"rendered":"Keys to Successful Halal Food & Beverage Manufacturing – Ingredient and Processing Concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Traditional middle eastern dishes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In this article, we will be discussing ingredients and how they impact Halal production of non-meat foods and beverages. In the context of this article, the word \u201cingredient\u201d is used very broadly to include ingredients, additives, processing aids (used in the production process but not present in the final product), filters, enzymes, spices, flavorings, preservatives, microbial products and byproducts, and even primary packaging materials.<\/p>\n

When most people think of Halal, images of steaks, burgers, gyros, and shawarma might come to mind. People often confine their thoughts on the topic strictly to meat, and to the harvesting activities of slaughterhouses (abattoirs). Meat contributes significantly to the Halal economy, with a global spend on Halal food and beverages growing at 6.1% per year and forecast to reach $1.9 trillion by 2023 (Thomson Reuters). However, a lesser known segment of the Halal food industry involves the production of Halal non-meat foods<\/em> and Halal beverages<\/em>. While this segment of the US and Canadian food and beverage industry has flown under the radar for years, over the last two decades it has been growing rapidly due to a number of factors.<\/p>\n

One such factor is an increasing awareness among Muslim consumers as to the complexities of the ingredients in the foods they eat. While nutrition labels can clearly inform the consumer what is in their food, they can often create more questions than answers. Processed foods contain lists of very complex ingredients with origins and production methods that are not always clear. For the average Halal consumer, this creates confusion as to whether or not the product is Halal and therefore fit for them to consume.<\/p>\n

For producers, lacking Halal certification for such products is a deterrent to the sizeable and rapidly growing Muslim consumer demographic, both within and outside of North America. Producers should look at Halal certification of their non-meat food and beverage products as an opportunity to grow their brand among Muslim consumers, and some already are. The Halal ingredient industry was valued at $40.17 billion in 2017 and is projected to nearly double by 2026, reaching $77.47 billion per year. This is just a portion of the total global Halal economy which encompasses food and beverages, cosmetics, personal care products, pharmaceuticals, ingredients, nutritional products, feed, fertilizers, chemical products, packaging, and other sectors.<\/p>\n

Halal concerns do not stop at the shipping dock of a slaughterhouse. They do not even need a slaughterhouse to be present in the production chain. Whether people know it or not, a lot of the non-meat foods we eat and many of the beverages we drink either contain ingredients of animal origin or they contain ingredients that were processed using enzymes or processing aids of animal origin. Any random beverage or highly processed non-meat food product presents as much of a risk to Halal-minded consumers as a package of non-certified meat.<\/p>\n

Generally, a beverage product or a non-meat food product (either raw or cooked) should be certified Halal, with Halal certification being necessary for certain high-risk products such as cheese. Not all ingredients need to be Halal certified, but they must all be checked by an internationally accredited Halal certification body in order to determine if they are Halal compliant. Certain ingredients are of particular concern. This includes ingredients of potential animal origin, those that could have been produced utilizing processing aids of possible animal origin, and ingredients that make use of ethanol in some way.<\/p>\n

Ingredients that potentially contain or make use of ethanol in their production process and those that are either of animal origin or that can potentially be of animal origin must be Halal certified. This can be particularly sensitive with cooked (or highly processed raw)\u00a0products, containing ingredients that have been produced with the assistance of enzymes.\u00a0Enzymes are of special concern and always require Halal certification before the finished product can be certified. Similar in commonality, generic terms such as \u201cnatural flavors\u201d, \u201cartificial flavors\u201d, \u201cspices\u201d, \u201cspice extractive\u201d, and \u201cspice blend\u201d can be found on ingredients labels. These are typically proprietary ingredients and trade secrets that the producer does not want to make public due to valid competitive concerns. However, for the purposes of Halal certification, it is vital for such ingredients to be checked by the Halal certification body. The sensitive nature of proprietary ingredients is well understood by Halal certification bodies, and legitimate internationally accredited bodies are required to maintain strict confidentiality protections on all client data. Even if the consumer cannot know what the proprietary ingredient consists of, they must at least have the confidence and comfort in knowing that the trusted Halal certification body has properly checked and cleared the ingredient in question.<\/p>\n

Most people would understandably overlook certain products like bread, baked goods, candies, juices, and dairy products as being risky for Halal consumers, but they are. From a Halal standpoint, examples of ingredients to warrant concern include:<\/p>\n