Halaal vs Haraam

Assalaamualaikum!

I’ve posted the following queries on a site dealing with halaal/haraam foods but I didn’t get an answer. I would appreciate feedback from you all here.

What difference is there between animal rennet and microbial rennet?

Are cheese and whey made from microbial rennet haraam or halaal?

I live in a non-muslim country with a Hindu (therefore vegetarian) majority. Products like butter have labels saying 100% vegetarian but they contain ingredients like E471 and whey. What should i do? Eat or abstain?

I've never seen anything like "cheese suitable for vegetarians" in my country. But we do have processed cheddar cheese. Are these halaal?


Can all food (both local and imported) that is sold in Saudi Arabia considered to be halaal?

things named as haraam r haraam , other than Nothing is religiously prohibited, But if something is known to be hazardous medically then that should be avoided.

what is rennet???

check this thread about cheese...

http://www.islamicboard.com/general/33369-cheese-halal.html

itsme said:

Assalaamualaikum!

I’ve posted the following queries on a site dealing with halaal/haraam foods but I didn’t get an answer. I would appreciate feedback from you all here.

What difference is there between animal rennet and microbial rennet?

Are cheese and whey made from microbial rennet haraam or halaal?

I live in a non-muslim country with a Hindu (therefore vegetarian) majority. Products like butter have labels saying 100% vegetarian but they contain ingredients like E471 and whey. What should i do? Eat or abstain?

I've never seen anything like "cheese suitable for vegetarians" in my country. But we do have processed cheddar cheese. Are these halaal?


Can all food (both local and imported) that is sold in Saudi Arabia considered to be halaal?

Click to expand...

,

Microbial rennet

Some molds, such as Rhizomucor miehei are able to produce proteolytic enzymes. These molds are produced in a fermenter and then especially concentrated and purified to avoid contamination with unpleasant side products of the mold growth. At the present state of scientific research, governmental food safety organizations such as the EFSA deny QPS (Qualified Presumption of Safety) status to enzymes produced especially by these molds.

The flavor and taste of cheeses produced with microbial rennets tend towards some bitterness, especially after longer maturation periods.[1] These so-called "microbial rennets" are suitable for vegetarians, provided no animal-based alimentation was used during the production.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rennet#Microbial_rennet

Looks like microbial rennet is halal, though maybe not the best thing for your health. So cheese made from it would be halal.

Whey could be derived from plants, but it's best avoided I guess, unless you take the view that animal rennet is halal - though it is best to abstain due to the difference of opinion on it. What's E471?

Here's a fatwa for animal rennet:

---

Don't know about the rest, Allah knows best.

Wassalam.

Jazaakallah khair for all the replies.

Brother Z-Blade:

E471 is an E-code ingredient originally classified as haraam on the E-code list. However it can also be obtained from soya bean oil so its status has been changed from haraam to "depends".

You can easily make your own cheese at home and use microbial rennet. It's really easy and also delicious

I'm not 100% sure on this, but I think you can eat bulgarian cheese (if someone can confirm this plz do). Italian cheese is also fine, because most Italian slaughter houses follow the Islamic rules.

Also, you might want to look out for the soap you use. Soap also has animal fat in it.

itsme said:

Jazaakallah khair for all the replies.

Brother Z-Blade:

E471 is an E-code ingredient originally classified as haraam on the E-code list. However it can also be obtained from soya bean oil so its status has been changed from haraam to "depends".

Click to expand...

Barakallahu feeki ukht. I see, Jazakallahu khayran for your explanation. You seemed to have answered your own question .

By the way, does anyone know why "sunnipath" (sunni-path together) is blanked out in the post?

mohsen1985 said:

You can easily make your own cheese at home and use microbial rennet. It's really easy and also delicious

I'm not 100% sure on this, but I think you can eat bulgarian cheese (if someone can confirm this plz do). Italian cheese is also fine, because most Italian slaughter houses follow the Islamic rules.

Also, you might want to look out for the soap you use. Soap also has animal fat in it.

Click to expand...

MashaAllah bro, that's a good idea. How about some links to demonstrate how to do this?

I hear soaps that have animal fat used go through th eprocess of istihalaa (or however you say it) which basically changes it to a form that makes it pure and usable, even if it is from a haram source, as this process makes it something completely different. And I am not exactly sure if I am remembering that correctly, so correct me if I am wrong brothers and sisters. And Allah knows best!

Wassalam.

itsme said:

Jazaakallah khair for all the replies.

Brother Z-Blade:

E471 is an E-code ingredient originally classified as haraam on the E-code list. However it can also be obtained from soya bean oil so its status has been changed from haraam to "depends".

Click to expand...

I can't edit my post (silly rule :/), so yeah if it does say 100% vegetarian than you can take it to be halal even if it contains E471 and whey powder, unless you have reliable information to make you think otherwise.

You can still abstain if you wish, but there would be no blame on you if you ate that with this knowledge. It is always best to abstain from any doubtful matters if it doesn't cause too much hardship and if at all possible.

And Allah knows best.

Wassalam.

Originally Posted by itsme
Assalaamualaikum!

I’ve posted the following queries on a site dealing with halaal/haraam foods but I didn’t get an answer. I would appreciate feedback from you all here.

What difference is there between animal rennet and microbial rennet?

Are cheese and whey made from microbial rennet haraam or halaal?

I live in a non-muslim country with a Hindu (therefore vegetarian) majority. Products like butter have labels saying 100% vegetarian but they contain ingredients like E471 and whey. What should i do? Eat or abstain?

I've never seen anything like "cheese suitable for vegetarians" in my country. But we do have processed cheddar cheese. Are these halaal?

Click to expand...

When I was in Australia 1985-1990, our seniors at uni made inquiries on several produccts to ascertain whether we can consider them halal or not.
I remember reading the answer from Kraft cheese that they use rennet supplied by the Australian Islamic Federation which was halal. So I only eat Australian Kraft cheese and hope that they still use halal rennet.

Can all food (both local and imported) that is sold in Saudi Arabia considered to be halaal?

Click to expand...

Not all, because if you look at their ingredients, you can even find product sold that contain gelatine and food additive / emulsifier from animal origin mainly imported from other countries.
Having said this, I used to eat a lot of Almarai Cheese when in Mecca. Oops I wonder if they are halal. Oh no.mg:

Here's a link that has recipes for all kinds of cheese

http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/cheeserecipes.htm

Z-Blade said:

I hear soaps that have animal fat used go through th eprocess of istihalaa (or however you say it) which basically changes it to a form that makes it pure and usable, even if it is from a haram source, as this process makes it something completely different. And I am not exactly sure if I am remembering that correctly, so correct me if I am wrong brothers and sisters. And Allah knows best!

Click to expand...

This is what i've read about soap:
Status: depends
Soap is derived from either oils or fats. Sodium tallowate, a common ingredient in many soaps, is in fact derived from rendered beef fat which makes it haraam. However, soap can also be made of vegetable oils, such as olive oil.

Source: Halal food guide from www.guidedways.com.

While we are at it, the Halal food guide is an application for Java-enabled phones, Smartphones, Pocket PCs, Blackberry devices and Symbian OS. With this application on your phone you can verify all ingredients/E-codes on products you want to buy on the spot.

There are lots of other islamic applications on this site.

Z-Blade said:

I can't edit my post (silly rule :/), so yeah if it does say 100% vegetarian than you can take it to be halal even if it contains E471 and whey powder, unless you have reliable information to make you think otherwise.

You can still abstain if you wish, but there would be no blame on you if you ate that with this knowledge. It is always best to abstain from any doubtful matters if it doesn't cause too much hardship and if at all possible.

Click to expand...

Alhamdulillah you've re-inforced me in my fight to abstain from haraam. May Allah reward you for that.

ashley66 said:

Having said this, I used to eat a lot of Almarai Cheese when in Mecca. Oops I wonder if they are halal. Oh no.mg:

Click to expand...

I suppose no harm done because when you are in an Islamic country you get the tendency to believe that everything is halal. My brother just came from Saudi Arabia and has brought lots of chocolates which contain whey powder. When i informed him that whey is haraam he told me that he bought them in Saudi so they cant possibly be haraam.

Anyway we are better informed now. Insha allah we be more careful next time and May Allah forgive us our past mistakes.

itsme said:

This is what i've read about soap:
Status: depends
Soap is derived from either oils or fats. Sodium tallowate, a common ingredient in many soaps, is in fact derived from rendered beef fat which makes it haraam. However, soap can also be made of vegetable oils, such as olive oil.

Source: Halal food guide from www.guidedways.com.

While we are at it, the Halal food guide is an application for Java-enabled phones, Smartphones, Pocket PCs, Blackberry devices and Symbian OS. With this application on your phone you can verify all ingredients/E-codes on products you want to buy on the spot.

There are lots of other islamic applications on this site.

Click to expand...

,

I see, Jazakallahu khayran for the info ukhti.

Alhamdulillah you've re-inforced me in my fight to abstain from haraam. May Allah reward you for that.

Click to expand...

Ameen! Though I mentioned doubtful matters and not haram , since we have to stay away from haram no matter what :').

I suppose no harm done because when you are in an Islamic country you get the tendency to believe that everything is halal. My brother just came from Saudi Arabia and has brought lots of chocolates which contain whey powder. When i informed him that whey is haraam he told me that he bought them in Saudi so they cant possibly be haraam.

Anyway we are better informed now. Insha allah we be more careful next time and May Allah forgive us our past mistakes.

Click to expand...

Actually ukhti, whey can be derived from a halal source - halal animal and vegetables. So your brother may have been right in this case.

Alhamdulillah, Ameen to your dua.

Wassalam.