Are Candy Definitely Halal? This is the critical point

In general, candy contains basic ingredients in the form of sugar, flavoring, and coloring. All three have their respective illegitimate critical points.

How to make sugar whiter, usually sugar must go through a purification process, the process requires a decolorization material that uses activated charcoal. This material can be made of bone, wood, or bamboo. You need to be careful when using activated charcoal from bones, because it could come from the bones of pigs or animals slaughtered not according to the syar’i.

Flavors may contain ingredients derived from synthetic chemical compounds, plants, and animals. If the flavoring contains ingredients of animal origin, it must be ensured that this flavor comes from halal animals slaughtered according to sharia. In addition, flavorings containing ethanol also need to be checked, lest the ethanol comes from substances that include khamr.

Likewise, food colorings (colorings) can also be derived from synthetic and natural materials. Synthetic dyes are preferred by food manufacturers because they have a fairly good level of color stability and relatively cheap prices. Although it does not contain haram ingredients, excessive use can have an adverse impact on the health of humans who consume it.

“Some natural dyes use gelatin as a stabilizer. In this case, the source of gelatin must be ensured to come from halal animals slaughtered according to syar’i, “said Ir. Muti Arintawati, M.Sc., Deputy Director of the Indonesian Ulema Council (LPPOM MUI) Research Institute for Food, Drugs and Cosmetics. (Halal MUI)

Detecting Halal and Haram Candy

How to detect halal or haram a product, we can see the label on the packaging that lists the product ingredients. One of the popular terms that are often listed in candy is whey and lactose. Both are milk based. The critical point of the haram is the process, because it can be a by-product of the cheese industry that uses certain enzymes during the manufacturing process. These enzymes can be sourced from animals or microbes. (Halal MUI)

Prof. Ir. Khaswar Syamsu, MSc. PhD, Head of IPB’s Halal Science Center and LPPOM MUI Expert Coordinator explained that in the context of halal certification, production facilities are also important things to observe. “It could be that candy made from halal is produced with the same facilities as candy made from haram or candy which is not clearly halal. That way, candy made from halal can be mixed with or contaminated with haram and/or unclean ingredients,” he explained.

The easiest way to identify the halal and haram of a product is to look at the halal label or logo. Products that have the MUI logo or halal label, God willing, can be confirmed as halal, both in terms of materials and production facilities.

Read Also: Here is the list of Halal Certification logos in Asian Countries