Food Ingredients/Additives |
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Generally, the Halalness of a food product is determined by its ingredients (internal factor) and the process at which it is prepared, manufactured, stored and distributed (external factors). In order for a product to be truly Halal, it must be free from any non-Halal ingredients. The food product should not, by any chance, come into contact (cross contamination) with any non-Halal items during the preparation, production, storage and distribution stages. This is the same for rennet that is commonly used in the making of cheeses. Cheeses made with rennet enzyme is Halal if the calf is slaughtered according to Islamic rites. Likewise, it is deemed as non-halal if it is made with rennet enzyme that comes from a non-halal source.
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An ingredient is rendered as doubtful if one is unsure of its Halal status and origin.
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Generally, products bearing a Halal certification mark is suitable for Muslim consumption. Although it contains a 'doubtful' ingredient, do be rest assured that the Islamic body which certifies the product has verified the status of the ingredient. For further assurance, you may contact the Halal certifying body or the product manufacturer.
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Enzymes are substances that are commonly used as processing aids in the making of various food products, e.g. cheese, fruit juices, edible oils and food ingredients. Enzymes can be extracted from plants, animals and microorganisms. For more information on emulsifiers, you may wish to visit our food additive listing at http://halal.sg/documents/FOOD%20ADDITIVE%20LISTING%204.pdf
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Rice wine refers to a sweet, golden wine derived from fermenting freshly steamed glutinous rice. The most well-known Japanese rice wines are sake and mirin. Though most rice wines are low in alcohol, they are categorised alongside alcoholic beverages, hence unsuitable for Muslim consumption (non-Halal).
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Many perceive this as a type of alcoholic drink. However, chocolate liquor, also known as cocoa liquor, is actually the liquid component obtained by the grinding of cocoa nibs from the cocoa bean. It converts cocoa powder and cocoa butter as end products. It is a primary ingredient in chocolate manufacture. This is different from chocolate liqueur, which is an alcoholic beverage with chocolate flavour. Chocolate liquor is generally halal, chocolate liqueur is not.
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General Information |
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Halal Certification in Singapore is voluntary. Businesses decide whether they want to go for halal certification. Should they proceed to apply, there will be a series of desktop and site audits to determine if the company is capable in maintaining and complying with MUIS halal conditions and requirements. Inspections and checks will continuously take place post-certification. As a basic guideline, generally there are 3 types of requirements in the Halal application process:
- Halal Requirements - All raw materials used must be Halal and substantiated with supporting documents;
- Staffing Requirements - There must be a minimum of 2 or 3 Muslim staff employed in each premises applied for Halal certification;
- System Requirements - The applicant must comply with the 10 principles of the Singapore Muis Halal Quality Management System.
Aside from that, MUIS also adopts a tripartite Halal family approach, comprising of; MUIS as the regulator; halal-certified companies as the bearer of Halal System Integrity; and the Public as our eyes and ears.
MUIS view the above seriously, and certified companies are required to comply in order to maintain halal assurance to our Muslim community.
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It is a MUIS halal requirement for any certified eating establishments to display their valid, original halal certificate prominently at the certified location. The name reflected on the certificate must also tally with the name of the foodstall/company name. Should you patronise a stall and find that something is amiss, please report it to our office. We will follow up accordingly.
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It is a MUIS halal requirement for any certified eating establishments to display their valid, original halal certificate prominently at the certified location. We also have this information provided at our website http://halal.sg/Consumer/general.html. You may wish to view the listings under "List of MUIS Halal Certified Eating Establishments" or "List of MUIS Halal Certified Food Preparation Area".
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It is a MUIS halal requirement for any certified eating establishments to display their valid, original halal certificate prominently at the certified location. It is an offence for non-Muslim owned companies which are not halal-certified to be making any halal claims.
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According to the Muis Halal Terms & Conditions, management of restaurant ABCE must obtain Halal certification for its outlet in Clementi. There is a possibility that their Halal application is being processed and yet to be approved by Muis. For greater assurance, consumers are advised to patronise the new outlet only after the Halal certificate has been issued.
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You may request to see the Muis Halal certificate from the owner/worker of the establishment. Should they fail to produce the Halal certificate, you may report the situation to Muis.
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We have this information provided at our website http://halal.sg/Consumer/general.html. You may wish to view the listings under "List of MUIS Halal Certified Eating Establishments" or "List of MUIS Halal Certified Food Preparation Area".
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Muis Fatwa Committee states that;1)
Even though the products contain low alcohol
content (less than 0.5%) and/or have zero alcohol content and/or have its alcohol
removed, the process of manufacturing the products is similar to the manufacturing
of alcohol (khamr1). Thus,
it is Haram even though the small amount of alcohol in the products does not
cause an
individual to be intoxicated. 2)
The
products are being marketed in a manner that is similar to alcoholic beverages.
Islam forbids an event that has resemblance or events that can lead to Haram
activities, even though, in its’ natural state, is permissible. This is aligned
with a principle in the Sharia’ known as sad
al-zari’ah2. Thus, products that
meet the first or second criteria or meet both criteria are considered
non-halal for Muslims consumption. 1 kahmr – An intoxicating drink containing ethanol &
other components such as methanol, acetaldehyde and ethyl acetate which is
produced by fermentation of carbohydrates or drinks containing ethanol and/or
methanol as ingredient. 2 Sadd al-dhara’i‘means,
literally, "blocking the means", i.e. to undesirable ends, in other
words, forbidding what is likely to lead to the haram. The basis of this
principle is contained in the Qur'an where Allah says: "Do not swear at
those who call on other gods than Allah, so that they will then swear at Allah
in enmity, without any knowledge. …." (Q.6:108). Allah has thus made it haram to swear at the gods of others, to
avoid them cursing back at Allah. Another example usually highlighted by our
past scholars like Imam An-Nawawi, is the issue of accepting and giving gifts
for officials. Even though the act of giving a gift itself in essence is
virtuous, hence permissible, scholars clearly discouraged those holding on to
official posts to accept gifts from the public, as it could be perceived as a
bribe. Please refer to: al-Asyqar,Sulayman ‘Abdullah, al-Wadih fi Usul
al-Fiqh, (Amman: Dar al-Salam, 2001) 159.
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Muslim owned
establishments which do not have Muis Halal Certification are not bound by Muis
Halal certification requirements. As Muis Halal certified
establishments are bound by Muis Halal Certification Conditions they are
required to display a valid Muis Halal certificate within their premises. You
may refer to the list of Muis Halal certified establishments at http://www.halal.sg/Consumer/general.html1. 1Please
note that the information provided in the website is subjected to changes as
establishments might not apply for Muis Halal certification renewal and/or its’
inability to meet Muis Halal Certification Conditions. Muis updates the website
periodically based on the listing of certificate holders at the time of update. In addition, Muis strongly advises the public to look out for the valid Halal
certificate on display within its premises
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Generally, Muslim
consumers are advised to exercise discretion before consuming any products. It
is best to avoid a product when one feels “was-was” or doubtful.
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Most of these products
have been de-alcoholised or have the alcohol content removed. The Muis Fatwa
Committee rules that these beverages are not permitted for consumption by Muslims.
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The “Halal Non-Alcoholic Beverages (wine, beer, spirits)” are Halal certified by a certifying
body in other countries. These certifying bodies are guided by their own interpretations
of the Islamic law or halal committees in their own countries.
Muis Halal
certification standards are guided by the Muis Fatwa Committee which comprises the
Mufti of Singapore, local asatizahs and scholars. Muis Halal certification does not certify as
halal any product that contains any amount of alcohol derived from the
alcoholic industry and/or products marketed as alcohol-removed beverages and/or
any related products of similar nature or branding.
In addition, all Muis
Halal certified establishments are not allowed to serve any non-alcoholic beverages
or any related products of similar nature within their Halal certified premises.
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On 02 October 2018, Muis received a message relating to a picture circulating on social media; picture of Pig Liver mislabeled as "Halal" was spotted at Li Li Cheng Supermarket, located at 273C Punggol Place. Immediately, Muis rushed to the supermarket, but did not find any "Pig Liver" labelled as "Halal". Our investigations reveal that the product is Halal-certified chicken fillet from Lee Say Poultry. However, the staff who did the price labels, printed "Pig Liver" instead of "Halal Chicken Fillet". The concerned staff has been counselled and warned to be more diligent in future. For any feedbacks relating to Halal, please email us at info@muis.gov.sg or call us at 6359 1199.
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Yes, you may as long as the take-away container is empty and clean. Muis Halal Certification Conditions do not prevent certificate holders from acceding to customers' request for using own containers for take-aways as long as the containers are empty and clean.
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