What Makes Food Halal? A Complete Educational Guide
The word halal is an Arabic term meaning permissible or lawful. When applied to food, it describes everything that Muslims are permitted to eat under Islamic dietary law (Shariah). Understanding what makes food halal and what makes it haram (forbidden) is essential for Muslim consumers, food manufacturers, and anyone catering to Muslim communities.
The Core Principles: What Islam Permits and Prohibits
Islamic dietary law is derived primarily from the Quran and the Sunnah. The default ruling in Islam is that all foods are permissible unless specifically prohibited.
Prohibited (Haram) Foods
- Pork and pork derivatives — pig flesh, lard, gelatin from pork, and any ingredient derived from swine
- Blood and blood products — including blood sausage and any food made with flowing blood
- Alcohol and intoxicants — ethanol above trace amounts, alcoholic beverages, and foods prepared with wine, beer, or spirits
- Animals not slaughtered correctly — any animal that died before slaughter, was strangled, beaten, or fell to death
- Carnivorous animals and birds of prey
- Reptiles and most insects (with regional scholarly variation)
Permitted (Halal) Foods
- All fruits and vegetables (in their natural state)
- Grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds
- Dairy products (provided no haram additives are used)
- Eggs from halal birds
- Seafood — fish and most sea creatures (with some scholarly disagreement on shellfish)
- Properly slaughtered livestock: cattle, sheep, goats, camels, poultry
- Honey
The Halal Slaughter Requirement (Dhabiha)
For meat to be halal, the animal must be slaughtered according to dhabiha. Key requirements:
- The animal must be alive and healthy at the time of slaughter
- A Muslim must perform the slaughter (or, under most scholarly opinions, a Christian or Jewish person following their own dietary law)
- The name of Allah must be invoked
- A swift, deep cut must be made to the throat, severing the windpipe, oesophagus, and jugular veins
- Blood must be fully drained from the carcass
The question of stunning before slaughter is a point of scholarly debate. Many halal certification bodies accept reversible pre-slaughter stunning while others require unstunned slaughter. You can find approved certifiers in our Halal Certifier Directory.
What About Processed and Packaged Foods?
Modern food manufacturing introduces several potential halal concerns:
- Hidden pork derivatives — gelatin (from pig bones or skin) is used in marshmallows, gummy sweets, yoghurt, and pharmaceutical capsules
- Alcohol in flavourings — many artificial and natural flavourings use ethanol as a carrier solvent
- Animal-derived emulsifiers — E numbers such as E471 (mono and diglycerides) can be derived from animal fat
- Cross-contamination — shared production lines with pork products may contaminate otherwise halal ingredients
- Rennet in cheese — animal rennet used to produce hard cheeses may come from non-halal-slaughtered animals
Use our free Halal Ingredient Checker to verify the status of common food additives and E numbers.
The Role of Halal Certification
Halal certification provides an independent guarantee. A halal certificate means an accredited body has audited the ingredient supply chain, verified slaughter methods, inspected the production facility, and confirmed no haram substances are present. In Malaysia, JAKIM is the national authority. In Indonesia, MUI is the recognised body. Browse our complete list of halal certification bodies by country.
How to Verify Halal Status When Shopping
- Look for a halal logo from an accredited body
- Read the ingredients list for gelatin, lard, carmine/cochineal, alcohol, and animal rennet
- Check E numbers using a verified checker
- Look up the manufacturer in our Halal Business Directory
- Contact the manufacturer if in doubt
Explore more in our Complete Guide to Halal Certification or browse certified suppliers in our Halal Business Directory.