What is halal candy?
Halal candy is candy that complies with Islamic law. Halal stands for everything considered good and pure according to the Quran. That means there are also certain restrictions when it comes to candy. Candy may be eaten and it may even contain animal ingredients, as long as the meat used is halal. In other words, it must be properly bled meat slaughtered in accordance with Islamic rules. Some animals are always forbidden, such as pigs, predators, rats, and frogs. According to the Quran, vegetables, fruit, seafood, and drinks are also halal. Alcohol, however, is forbidden. Candy with gelatin is often made from pig and cattle skins and bones and is not halal.
Pitfalls when looking for halal candy
If you want to snack halal, it’s best to choose gelatin-free candy. You also need to watch out for certain colorings, although there’s sometimes debate about whether these are halal or not. Carmine (E120), derived from an aphid, is one example. According to some schools of thought, it’s allowed, because the Quran doesn’t explicitly forbid eating insects (mainly locusts). Other schools of thought call it haram, because the insects generally have to be killed to make it suitable for human consumption. With carmine, however, the insect is killed to make a coloring that can be used in various products, not to make it suitable for human consumption. Nowadays, it’s increasingly assumed that carmine is haram. If you want to be on the safe side, it’s better to avoid candy with E120. A similar pitfall is shellac (E904). It’s basically a product derived from lice secretions, but sometimes there are (parts of) the lice in the resin. This, too, is increasingly considered haram.
Why halal candy?
Gelatin is a binding agent derived from meat, often from pigs or cattle. Because Muslims do not eat pork, this means that for many candies it is ‘haram’ and therefore may not be eaten. Beef gelatin is not automatically halal either. In that case, the animal must also be slaughtered in a halal way. E numbers are EU-approved additives (additions) for food products. These ingredients are often not clearly explained on the labels of candy and other treats.