Food in Tin Cans - Yes, the product is halal but is the packaging halal too?

Continuing where I left off, we're still on the topic of "The food is labeled halal but what about the packaging?" (in a more detailed form; "Are the ingredients/products used in the packaging material (that comes into contact with the food item) deemed halal?").

We're back to highlighting one of the oleochemicals I was involved in; Oleic Acid, which is an item used in the making of cling film/food wrap. To recap, Oleic Acid can be derived from vegetable oils or animal oils and I was informed it is used as one of the ingredients in making an epoxy or lacquer coating inside tin cans, especially for food products. Not convinced? Next time you buy a can of soup, try scraping off the inside of the can. You will see it is coated with a wax-like surface. Once you have scraped some of this surface off, you'll then be able to see the shiny tin/metal inside. This epoxy coating is to prevent food items coming into contact or reacting with the tin/steel can. It also helps to slow down corrosion of the tin can.

As you can see, yes, the manufacturer of the food item vehemently states their product is "Halal" but when I asked two different large multinational companies if their packaging is halal, they simply replied, "Our product is certified halal" without even replying directly to my question as to whether their packaging, specifically the ingredients used in making the packaging material comes from halal sources. In fact one of them replied nonchalantly, "We cannot be too extremist in this case, we cannot go on checking every bit of ingredient used by our packing suppliers! We will get nowhere if we did such an extensive procedure. It is too exhaustive!" The guy is a Malay (my point is he is a Moslem) and he has been working with this very large multinational food company for more than 23 years! (Hint: Their HQ is based in Switzerland, yes, THAT big and famous company! The last time I checked, they're still the largest food company in the world!). For me, if I were a big buyer of packaging products, I'd put the responsibility and onus on the supplier to inform me the ingredient list of the packaging material. If they don't, I'll buy from elsewhere that complies with my request; simple and not exhaustive at all. I don't think the packaging supplier would want to lose an account this large!

I have highlighted this issue to JAKIM's halal section but I guess we need to be more vocal and aggressive in making this matter known and to ensure any procedure, especially Halal ISO Standards need to incorporate extensive checking of all ingredients and items used in the packaging material. This is to ensure that not only the product is halal but the packaging material that comes into contact with it is also halal.

As usual, if you have any questions or comments, do drop me a line. Salam.

Cling film or food wrap

Here's the first item in which I need to highlight to all moslems worldwide. I hope it is the first of many to come.

Yes, that plastic food wrap or cling wrap that looks so simple and innocent. My first encounter with its ingredients was in 1995 when I visited one of my end-buyers (oleochemical user) in Memphis, TN, USA. They were buying ISOtank loads of our Oleic Acid which are kosher certified. As I visited their production plant/office, I remember asking them "What do you use the Oleic Acid for?". He replied, it's an ingredient that needs to be kosher as it is going to be used in a food packaging application. One of the items he spoke of was cling wrap. He says previously they were using animal based oleic acid (ours are made from 100% palm oil) however due to the increasing requests from kosher consumers, they had to convert to buying kosher-certified oleic acid in their production of chemicals used in the cling wrap. Furthermore the cling wrap manufacturer is kosher certified, hence they had to use only approved kosher certified items in their manufacturing process. Likewise, at that time the mad-cow disease scare was prevalent, hence the decision to stay away from any animal based oleic acid for fear of contracting the disease through other means. Still not convinced that the plastic cling wrap can be certified kosher, here are some pictures as proof. As you are probably aware, kosher products have labels with a circle U or a circle K on their packaging. Here are some pictures of products on supermarket shelves with kosher circle U or circle K on them. Yes, some of you might have not noticed it before as they're very small and discreet.

 Now for the pictures of cling wrap that have kosher label on them. I'm not promoting Glad or Diamond's products; just that they're some of the cling wraps available in the market today that have proper kosher labeling for cling wrap products.

In comparison, again not demoting nor degrading First Choice's cling wrap; just that it does not have any kosher or halal labeling on it, hence we are mashbooh (meaning its halal status is doubtful or questionable; in Malay, "was-was") on the oleic acid used in the ingredients that make up the "oily"/clingy part of the plastic wrap.

If you have any questions or comments, do drop me a line or post a comment. Salam.

Basic knowledge about halal issues

Salam everyone,

Just a simple blog on halal issues. Forgive me if the blog is not polished or if it looks not professional enough as this is my first ever blog but my aim is to get all our brothers and sisters in Islam learn more about what is halal and what is haram (especially in terms of food and objects made from products that are haram ie. products derived from pigs/khinzir, etc.). You'll be surprised to know how some simple items may contain ingredients that are in fact haram.

I have been involved in the oleochemical (chemicals made from oil, be it animal and/or vegetable derived oils) industry worldwide since 1992. Since I am from Malaysia, almost all of the oleochemicals that I have exported worldwide (more than 62 countries) are derived from palm oil, the number one export commodity of Malaysia in which we in 2012 contributed to 39% of world palm oil production and 44% of world exports! Since a sizeable amount of oleochemicals exported end up in the United States of America, most of the oleochemical products made in Malaysia must be kosher certified as a huge amount of food products produced in the USA are kosher, the ingredients that go into the production of such food products must also be kosher; hence all major oleochemical manufacturers in Malaysia have kosher certification for their products such as kosher certified glycerine, stearic acid, etc. Two prominent kosher certification authorities in the world include the Orthodox Union (Circle U) and OK Kosher Certification (Circle K); both based in NY. Sorry about writing so long about kosher matters but my experience and interaction with the rabbis who come to Malaysia to conduct the certification of the oleochemical factories and their processes/ingredients has given me a unique opportunity to learn a lot more about kosher and how it can also be applied to halal issues. My experiences with the end-users of our oleochemicals in the USA has also contributed greatly to increasing my knowledge in this matter.

Hence, it is my hope that from today onwards, as I reach out to all moslems in the world thru my virtual connection (ie. blog), God willing (Ins-sya-Allah) I may help to spread knowledge as well as increase their awareness of the variety of products that are out there which may or may not contain haram ingredients.