What is Halal?

Halal is an Arabic word meaning lawful or permitted. The opposite of halal is haram, which means unlawful or prohibited. Halal and haram are universal terms that apply to all facets of life but we focus on Halal in terms of food products, meat products, cosmetics, personal care products, pharmaceuticals, food ingredients, and food contact materials. Whether something is Haram or Halal is not always clear, therefore further information is needed to categorize them. Such items are often referred to as mashbooh, which means doubtful or questionable.

All foods are considered halal except the following sources :

i.Swine/Pork and its by-products
ii.Animals NOT properly slaughtered according to Islamic method or dead before slaughtering
iii.Alcoholic drinks and intoxicants
iv.Carnivorous animals and birds of prey
v.Blood and blood by-products
vi.Foods contaminated with any materials from above categories

Foods containing ingredients such as gelatin, enzymes, emulsifiers, and flavors are questionable (mashbooh), because the origin of these ingredients or components thereof, may be haram.