E-codes? A matter of concern?!!

[Al-bint]

Salaam Alaikum,
Hope everyone finds this in the best state of health and imaan.

Its becum a bit difficult foe me to trust the food stuff that is available in the market these days...

sometime back in my state products of Amul, cadbury and many other brands were banned for sometime because of the suspicion that they contain animal/pig fat.. Later it was clarified that they dont...

i came across many articles that state that products conaning certain E-codes like E471, 640 etc refer to the presence of animal fat in the product. now nearly all the eatables that I com across contain these codes. so i m confused what to eat n what not to....
Please help me with this.
And I also wanted to clarify do emulsifiers(471, 640...) in the ingredients mean the same as E-codes?

 

[JenGiove]

:salam2:

A simple search brought this information up. It also contains a FULL list of what each one means. Beyond that, you will have to research where each additive is derived from on your own. I'd say "good luck" but I'm not sure if that is islamicly correct but please understand my intentions..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E_number

 

[Al-bint]

Walaikum Salaam sister,

Thanks a lot for sharing but I have already cheaked that link out...
for E471 it says that it may be either from veg sources or non-veg sources... so my confusion still remains

wasalaam

 

[JenGiove]

Sister,

I can understand your confusion and I respect your concerns and intentions to follow the straight path as dictated by Allah. May Allah grant you blessing in the here and here-after for your efforts, Ammen.

For the most part, E471 is made from vegetable oils but unless you know for sure that it is <such as foods that say "kosher" or "E-code free">, it is best for *you* to avoid them. Its just safer that way.

You had a question about emulsifiers. An emulsifier is a chemical or substance that sits on the surface of two other products so that it makes two incompatable things mix together, like oil and water....or in the political sense, Israel and Palistine. hehe. It makes a "peace treaty" of sorts so that they can be mixed together without separating.

I hope that helps.

 

[Al-bint]

salaam!

thnx sister for xplaining emulsifiers (I myself am a biology student ) what I was asking is that in the ingrediends of certain produsts these codes are written as: Emulsifiers (471, ....)
so are these emulsifiers same as the E-codes? i read sumwhere that E in E-codes refers to European.... that's y I asked..
thanx for ur help sis

jazakallah khairn

 

[Al-bint]

salaam!

thnx sister for xplaining emulsifiers (I myself am a biology student ) what I was asking is that in the ingrediends of certain produsts these codes are written as: Emulsifiers (471, ....)
so are these emulsifiers same as the E-codes? i read sumwhere that E in E-codes refers to European.... that's y I asked..
thanx for ur help sis

jazakallah khairn

 

[Tabassum07]

:salam2:

Sigh.. as disappointed as I am with TTI, and I thought I would be away from here, I can't when I know an answer and am able to help....

So..

Additives which are ALWAYS of animal origin, such as (HARAAM):

E120 Cochineal : a red colour obtained from female insects

E441 Gelatine : derived from the bones and/ or hides of cattle and/ or pigs

E542 Edible Bone Phosphate : an extract from animal bones

E904 Shellac : a resin from the lac insect

Whilst some additives with a common code such as E47, can be either of animal or plant origin and this latter type needs to be investigated on a case-by-case basis per product/ manufacturer.
The main additives you need to be aware of are:

Glycerol / Glycerin / Glycerine (E422) - haraam if obtained from pork or non-halal meat sources.
Emulsifiers (E470 to E483) - haraam if obtained from pork or non-halal sources.
Edible Bone Phosphate (E542) - haraam if obtained from pork or non-halal meat sources.

As taken from http://special.worldofislam.info/Food/numbers.html

There is also a large amount of data in the table on this site. You might want to look at it for reference, however, the best method is always to contact a company on a product-by-product basis.

 

[Al-bint]

:salam2:

Sigh.. as disappointed as I am with TTI, and I thought I would be away from here, I can't when I know an answer and am able to help....

So..



As taken from http://special.worldofislam.info/Food/numbers.html

There is also a large amount of data in the table on this site. You might want to look at it for reference, however, the best method is always to contact a company on a product-by-product basis.

salaam alaikum,

that did help a lot! thnks...

sorry to ask again but do the products that hav the green dot (for 100% veg) containing E471 can hav it from animal origin?

P.S y r u thinking of eaving TTI?

 

[Tabassum07]

salaam alaikum,

that did help a lot! thnks...

sorry to ask again but do the products that hav the green dot (for 100% veg) containing E471 can hav it from animal origin?

Exactly what product is this? Sister, I'm sorry but I can't say at all just by speculation - We can hope that the green dot is a safe sign, but the best would be to contact the company and ask them.

Please tell me what the product/brand/company is, and I'll see if I can contact them, okay?

 

[Al-bint]

Exactly what product is this? Sister, I'm sorry but I can't say at all just by speculation - We can hope that the green dot is a safe sign, but the best would be to contact the company and ask them.

Please tell me what the product/brand/company is, and I'll see if I can contact them, okay?

salaam!

I m talking about general biscuits... and other snacks...
the companies include britannia, cadbury, Parle... it would be really of great help if this confusion of mine would get cleared..

thanks a lot for ur help so far

jakallah khairn

 

[Tabassum07]

salaam!

I m talking about general biscuits... and other snacks...
the companies include britannia, cadbury, Parle... it would be really of great help if this confusion of mine would get cleared..

thanks a lot for ur help so far

jakallah khairn

As taken from Muslim Consumer Group:

INDIAN BISCUIT PRODUCTS
Monday, 28 August 2006 23:18
MCG bought Britannia's Marie Gold 50-50, Good Day, Parle's Parle G, Krack Jack and Monaco from local Indian store to investigate their Halal staus but found out they do not have any e-mail address. Britannia's Marie Gold: Artificial flavor may or may not contain alcohol as a solvent, Antioxidant TBHQ is not added as 100% but it has carrier which is usally vegetable oil. If there is no alcohol is used in artificial flavor then it will be a Halal biscuit, it has to be confirmed with manufacturer. It has a green dot. Britannia's50-50: It has Yeast extract if it is from brewer's yeast then it is not Halal but if it is from baker's yeast then it is Halal if no alcohol is used in artificial flavors. It has the green dot. Britannia's Good Day: It contains artificail flavor with vanilla, most of the vanilla is extracted from alcohol. They could have used vanilla beans which is Halal ingredient. Inquiry with manufacturer is needed to confirm its Halal status. It has a green dot. Parle-G Biscuit: It has green dot but it also contains artificial flavor which may or may not contain alcohol as a solvent. Inquiry with manufacturer is needed. Pare Krack Jack: It has green dot but also contains artificial flavor which may or may not contains alcohol. Manufacturer has to be contacted. Parle's Monaco Biscuit: It has green dot but also contains artificial flavor which may or may not contains alcohol. Manufacturer has to be contacted. Majority of biscuit contains artificial flavor and artificial color as a HIDDEN ingredients.

Typically, and this is my opinion, and what I have heard from the local community is that Indian products, if they have a green dot, will not contain animal-byproducts, as the Hindu community, who are mostly vegetarians will create a riot. Which is good for us as well.

Sister, look at the packaging of the product in question - there should be a phone number on there. They don't have an email address, but please call the phone number and ask them.

 

[Tabassum07]

:salam2:

I also found this:

There are many food products like biscuits, chocolate are marked with green dot which mean suitable for vegetarian. Are these green dotted products Halal for muslim to consume? or what are the things in the ingredientsof these products we should check to make sure that they are halal to eat

Answer: All Suitable for Vegetarian products with green dot are Halal only if no alcohol was used in the flavor. Alcohol is a hidden ingredient of flavor which do not appears under the ingredients statement.

Britania India has informed MCG that they do not use alcohol in their biscuits. This information is appeared on "NEWS" section of our website.

 

[Mahzala]

If you can get a hold of this documentary (E Numbers: An edible adventure), and haven't yet seen it, it will clear many misconceptions.