FAQ Page

Halal is a Quranic term which means allowed, lawful or permitted. Halal foods and drinks are permitted for consumption and obligatory on every Muslim.

Yes, most airlines or Muslim carriers do serves Halal certified meals onboard.

There are over 1,000 caterers (In-flight Catering) worldwide, only about 60 caterers are certified Halal.

No. Only airlines with "Halal Policy" will send their internal audit team, or appointed private audit company to conduct a series of audits (Hygiene, Safety, Quality including Halal) at their respective appointed caterers annually. The objectives of the team’s visit are generally to gauge or evaluate caterers’ awareness and compliance with regard to the Halal and Hygiene best practices.

Because of Company or National Policy and to ensure the safety, hygiene and quality of their inflight meals. In essence, the Halal, Hygiene, Quality and Safety of the food are the utmost importance and it is consistent with HACCP, ISO and other food safety standards which are compatible to the teaching of Islam.

Yes, if the caterer declared and claimed the kitchen unit has been certified Halal. It will be continuously monitored by the competent authority or certifying body at the kitchen production facilities, procedures, storage, transportation and product ingredients and processed food especially meat/ poultry items and its derivatives.

Shoobhah is an Arabic word meaning doubtful or questionable.

The Malaysian Standard entitled ‘Halal Food: Production, Preparation, Handling and Storage – General Guidelines’ (MS 1500:2019 - 3rd revision) was developed under the Malaysian Standard Development System under the responsibility of Department of Standards Malaysia (DSM), Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.

Halal Certification is a process of having a qualified recognised third party organization (with authority and credibility), to supervise the production of consumables, attesting that they were produced in conformity with the preparation and ingredient standards of the Halal lifestyle. After successful adoption and performance of Halal productivity procedures, the supervisory third party then issues Halal Certification to the producer attesting to Halal conformity on a per product basis. Halal requires foods to be good, hygienic, wholesome, quality and pure.

Halal Certification is required to produce acceptable food and consumable products for halal consumers. That includes over 2.0 billion Muslims in the world and the many millions of others who choose to eat Halal and Quality products because of the positive health benefits associated with the cleanliness and purity of food and drug preparation within the halal guidelines.

Halal Certified ingredients can be found in many places. When producing Halal Certified products, it is best to use halal ingredients. We at MHCT can help you find sources of acceptable Halal Certified ingredients.

The market for Halal Certified products is huge and growing rapidly with over 2.0 billion Muslims worldwide and many millions of health conscious non-Muslims who chose to eat Halal certified products because these products are clean and manufactured in a compassionate manner with respect to the treatment of slaughtered animals. There are over 50 million Muslims in Europe, UK and USA about 350 million in Africa, nearly 250 million in the Middle East and over 850 million in Asia.

Foods containing ingredients such as gelatin, enzymes, emulsifiers, etc. are to be considered questionable (shoobhah), unless the origin of these ingredients is from Halal source or have been certified Halal. Lecithin is an emulsifier. If the lecithin is derived from plants, egg yolks or Halal slaughtered animals, it is Halal. Otherwise it is not.

Animal fat or shortening can be from Beef Tallow or Lard. If from Lard, then it is Haram. If from Beef Tallow, then the animal must have been Halal slaughtered (zabiha), otherwise it is Haram.

No, it is not Halal. Pepsin is a milk coagulating enzyme usually found in pig's stomach.

Portion of milk remaining after coagulation by acid or Rennet (Swine, Bovine, or Microbial) and removal of curd. Whey is used as a source of lactose, milk solid & whey protein. Whey solids are the solid fraction of whey.

Whey is Halal, only if the Halal starter culture bacteria, Halal medium on which these starter culture grown.

Rennet is a milk coagulant that is the concentrated extract of Rennin enzyme obtained either from calves stomach (Calf Rennet) or adult bovine stomach (Bovine Rennet) or from swine (pepsin).

Rennet is one of the enzymes used to make cheese. The active ingredient in rennet is chymosin. Chymosin can also be produced by other means, including biotechnology. Chymosin produced using biotechnology is Halal.

Every Muslim traveler should request Halal meal. If unavailable, the traveler should make sure the request is recorded so it can be considered by the airline in the future. You may have to opt for the vegetarian meal.

The only way to know whether the cheese is Halal or not, is to check the Halal status. It is not possible to make a blanket claim about each an every cheese manufacturer’s product Halal, as each manufacturer has their own process and recipe.

No. Chocolate liquor or chocolate mass is sweet syrup containing chocolate, sugar and other ingredients. It is used in making candy, drinks and other chocolate-flavored products. It does not contain any alcohol, so it is not Haram.

If the word gelatin appears on a label without Halal reference to its source, it is generally derived from pig skins and cattle bones, so it must be avoided.

There are some differences between Halal and Kosher that make some kosher products haram or questionable with respect to Muslim consumption.

Mono and di-glycerides can be derived from animal or vegetable sources. When derived from vegetable sources, they are halal. When derived from animal sources, they are questionable.

There are four basic considerations - 1) The meat or poultry itself must be Halal. - 2) The method of preparation must comply to Islamic requirements. - 3) Proper segregation of Halal in the common preparation area. - 4) Finally, the other items that combine to make up the meal must be Halal.

It signifies respect to all Muslim consumers who has been ordained to consume only Halal foods in accordance with the teachings of the al-Quran.

No, the Halal dedicated production area and facilities used must only be for the purposes of Halal foods production.

Halal certification awarded by an established Islamic authority means it is an authoritative, reliable and testimony to support food manufacturers' claim that their products have met strict Halal requirement by the Syariah Law.

Today, Halal trademark is an important marketing tool in the international arena particularly if the product is aimed at penetrating Muslim countries.

Import barrier in some counties, limited market segment and lack of consumers by the Muslim community in purchasing the goods.

There is approximately 1.6 billion fellow Muslims around the world. This constitutes a very focus and specific market segment across the world.

Generally all plants are Halal as long as it is not poisonous, intoxicating or detrimental to health. Most food producers, especially those from non-Muslim countries, assumed that vegetable-based products are safe for Muslim consumption. Thus Halal certification is not required by an established Islamic Council.

Halal certification is not only limited to food produce. Other products such as non-alcoholic beverage, raw materials needed in food processing, pharmaceutical and health care products, traditional herbal products, cosmetics and personal care products, cleaning products, daily consumable products and leather-made products (e.g. shoes, furniture and hand-bag) are examples of things that have to be Halal for Muslim consumption / usage.

FD&C yellow #5 or FD&C red #40 are chemical dyes and they are Halal if use as pure granular or powder form but if they use in liquid form then the solvent has to be Halal.

L-Cysteine is manufactured from human hair (Haram source), non zabiha or dead chicken/duck feathers and from petroleum source. MCG considered it Halal if it is made from petroleum source. A non essential amino acid is used as dough conditioner in bagels, pizza, bread, hard rolls.

E471 (Emulsifier) can be derived from animal or vegetable sources. When derived from vegetable sources (soya lecithin), they are halal. When derived from animal sources, they are questionable and need investigation.

No. In order for a natural or artificial flavor to be Halal, it has to be made from Halal flavoring material and no ethyl alcohol is used as a solvent.

If the yeast extract or autolyzed yeast is made from baker's yeast then it is a Halal ingredient. But if it is made from brewer's yeast as a by-product of beer making then it is not considered Halal because beer can penetrate in the yeast cells and never convert to any other things.

Distilled white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, malt vinegar, corn (Maize) sugar vinegar are considered Halal.

FDA will allow up to 2% of processing aid ingredients or hidden ingredients in a food product or in a food ingredient without reporting in the ingredients statement. Only Halal or Kosher certified food products (which meet the Islamic dietary requirements) protect Muslim consumers from Haram processing aid ingredients or hidden ingredients.

All purpose soy sauce or non brewed soy sauce is a Halal soy sauce made from water, salt, hydrolyzed soy protein, corn syrup and sodium benzoate.

While cider or alcoholic beverage is haram due to above alcohol level permitted which is above of the 1%. Besides, cider vinegar or vinegar is halal by the interpretation of hadith of permissible conversion from alcoholic to vinegar itself.