Useful Information and Product Registration Tips

Halal Certificates

Halal product is a product permissible in accordance with Islamic Sharia.

Halal certificate is a document certifying that the product, service or their respective schemes are Shariah-compliant. This includes Halal slaughtering certificates, Certificates of establishments, farms, slaughterhouses and facilities sorted as ‘Halal’, Certificates of food raw materials, food additives, ingredients with meat derivatives, extracts, as well as animal, gelatin, fats, oils and their derivatives.

Normally, we are used to hearing about halal food, but the concept is much broader. It touches different aspects of human activity in one way or another and can manifest itself in the most unexpected circumstances, including healthcare consumer products.

For example, gelatin which is used to make hard and soft capsule shells, tablets, granules, suppositories, etc. It is easily digested by the body and does not interfere with the action of the active ingredient. Traditionally, gelatin is made from collagen, which is extracted mostly from the bones and skin of cattle and pigs. And this is haram, a prohibition for Muslims.

There is no consensus among interpreters of Islamic law as to whether gelatin is haram. Some argue that gelatin undergoes what is known as istikhalah during the manufacturing process, when a forbidden substance is transformed into a pure and permissible one. This is what happens with wine vinegar, which is made from wine. By analogy, gelatin completely changes its state and in no way resembles the original raw material. Even the Islamic Organization for Medical Sciences has recognized gelatin as a pure substance. But there are also opponents of this position. They believe that only gelatin extracted from fish and plants or halal animals slaughtered according to all the Sharia rules can be called pure.

In addition to gelatin, halal products should not contain ethyl alcohol, blood derivatives and the following additives: E120 (carmine dye, carminic acid), E921 (cysteine, L- and its hydrochloride - sodium and potassium salts), E1000 (bile acid, cholic acid) E1001 (choline), E1100 (amylases of animal origin), E1101 (chymosin, pepsin), E1104 (lipases).

Halal certificates are required for all products that have ingredients of animal origin (cattle). Ingredients derived from pigs are not allowed in healthcare consumer products. Halal certificates can be issued in the product’s country of origin or locally in the UAE or KSA. If you don’t have your certification yet, we would be happy to help.