Are Foods with Trace Impurities or Flavors from Alcohol Sources Permissible If Labeled Halal?


Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Question

Are foods containing trace impurities like rat hair or insect parts, natural or artificial flavors with potential alcohol sources, or grape-derived flavors permissible to consume if labeled halal and the primary ingredients are otherwise lawful?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

It would be permitted to consume food that contains an incidental amount of the above as long as it does not remain in the final product, like with rat hair or insect parts, or as long as the potential alcohol sources are found but:

– It is not being used to intoxicate,
– Not being used as intoxicants are used,
– Not being used in an amount that intoxicates, and
– Not being used for vain purposes.

This is based on the position of Imam Abu Hanifa (Allah be pleased with him) and has been adopted by leading scholars of our time due to the widespread use of non-wine alcohol in food items and external products, such as soaps or lotions.

Wine, namely, alcohol derived from the fermentation of grapes and dates, is impermissible to consume in any amount, as established by clear primary texts.

I would like you to go through the valuable answers and links below. You will receive guidance and direction in sha Allah.

fermentation Archives – SeekersGuidance
Eating Bread With Trace Amounts of Alcohol in the Maliki School

I pray this helps with your question.

[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Mawlana Ilyas Patel has received traditional education in various countries. He started his schooling in the UK and completed his hifz of the Quran in India. After that, he joined an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied secular and Aalimiyya sciences. Later, he traveled to Karachi, Pakistan, and other Middle Eastern countries to further his education. Mawlana has served as an Imam in the Republic of Ireland for several years and taught the Quran and other Islamic sciences to both children and adults. He also worked as a teacher and librarian at a local Islamic seminary in the UK for 12 years. Presently, he lives in the UK with his wife and is interested in books and gardening.