In an Islamic country, muslims generally feel safer consuming any product as rules and regulations are in place to ensure that non-halal items are not being sold.
However, it’s not always as black and white as this. Apart from brands that illegally sell non-halal food and beverages, you may even see food items with non-halal ingredients being sold in grocery markets. How is that possible?
There are often some ingredients that may or may not be present in all flavours of a food item and some that only leave traces; thus, they are openly sold in markets.
Fortunately for you, if you are a muslim that strictly adheres to halal consumption of food and beverages, the following is a list of food items that are completely safe to consume in Pakistan:
- Mayfair creamers
You’ll be surprised to find out that many of the products you consumed as a child were not halaal. An example of this is Fruitella, as the candy includes gelatin sourced from non-halal means. Similarly, brands often use additives for enhancing flavours and color pigments that may be sourced from non-halal means.
If you are looking for a 100% certified halaal snack for your children, Mayfair creamers candy is a safe option. It is certified as halaal by the South African National Halaal Authority in Pakistan as well as authorities abroad (such as the FDA) because it uses the Red Dye 40 which is halaal. Fruit Gala is also another safe and affordable option.
- Lays Chips
Lays Potato Chips uses a flavor enhancer known as ‘E-631’. This ingredient can either be extracted from both halaal and non-haalal sources i.e. pig fat, plants and fish.
Fortunately for muslim consumers, Lays extracts its E-631 from plant sources. This was certified by SANHA as well, which clearly states on its website that Lays Chips are safe to consume for muslims. Other brands have also been scrutinised for using E-631, and many were found to be sourcing it from non-halaal means, such as the popular Maggi noodles.
