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.