Gelatin is used in many food products, including jellies, ice cream, confectionery, cookies, and cakes. It is also used in nutritional supplements and pharmaceutical products. Gelatin can be from halal or haram sources. Common sources of gelatin are pigskin, cattle hides, cattle bones, and less frequently, fish skins and poultry bones and skins. In general, a product label does not indicate the source of the gelatin, so halal consumers normally avoid products containing gelatin unless they are certified halal. Muslim countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, and several others now require that imported as well as domestic products containing gelatin be produced with halal gelatin. Several gelatin manufacturers in Pakistan, China, India, Japan, and Brazil produce halal gelatin.
Islamic scholars agree that gelatin from pigs is haram. Gelatin from cattle hides and bones, or other permitted animals, is considered halal, only if the animals are slaughtered according to halal procedure. IFANCA frequently receives inquiries about gelatin. Sometimes gelatin is listed on the product labels but oftentimes there is no mention of it on the labels. IFANCA only approves gelatin made from fish and halal animals slaughtered by Muslims according to Islamic law.
IFANCA certified gelatin production involves halal supervision right from the halal slaughtering all the way to gelatin production. Each step is supervised and documented and batch or lot certificate is issued at the end of each step of the production. IFANCA halal certified gelatin is now available from the following sources:
- Sterling Gelatin India
- Nitta Gelatin India
- Raymon Patel Gelatin India
- Nitta Gelatin Japan
- Rousselot Da’an Gelatin China
- Gelita Gelatin Brazil.
