Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,
1,All types of essences,aromas haraam in foods or just the vanilla essence?as I am living in a non-muslim country 90 percentage of the products’ ingredients have essences,aromas but it isn’t stated what type of esences these are and the manufacturers don’t answer to my questions in this topic.Should I avoid these products?some of them stated to be natural essences/aromas?are these also haraam?in one of your answers you stated that the soft drink Pepsi is halaal,it also contains aroma.
2,Is the energy drink Red Bull haraam or makrooh?it contains vitamins and caffeine and also aroma.
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Assalaamu `alaykum waRahmatullahi Wabarakatoh
1. The “aromas” that you are referring to is understood to be those additives that are added to food to improve the color and flavor of the product, generally referred to as colorants and flavorants. Majority of refined foods contain these additives, however the additives differ from product to product and likewise from manufacturer to manufacturer.
2. Those additives derived from halaal sources will be permissible and likewise those additives of a haraam source will not be permissible to consume.
3. These additives are mainly derived from the following sources:-
a. Plants- these will be completely permissible to consume.
b. Insects- some manufacturers use derivatives from insects as colorants in their products. These products will not be permissible.
الحشرات كلها من الخبائث فحينئذ يتم الاستدلال بكراهة الضب على كراهة الحشرات كلها كما ذهب اليه(قوله ثم قيل الكراهة عنه كراهة تحريم و قيل كراهة تنزيه و الاول اصح)
(Fathul Qadeer Vol. 9 Pg. 502 Darulfikr)
Animals- if derivatives of animals are used then it is necessary that the animals are slaughtered according to muslim rite i.e. the animals must be halaal, for the derivatives to be halaal.
(الذكاة شرط حلّ الذبيحة) الذبح شرط حلّ اكل ما يؤكل لحمه من الحيوان.
(Fathul Qadeer Vol. 9 Pg. 476 Darulfikr)
N.B.- Those animals which are not permissible to eat, their derivatives will not be permissible to eat e.g. pig.
4. Due to the minority status that Muslims hold amongst the communities in Europe, it is possible that manufacturers do not understand the concept of “halaal” and what it entails thus resulting in no reply from them. Rather it would be better if you ask them if any of the abovementioned derivatives are found in their product. For example you could ask if there is any insect and animal derivatives found in their product, and if it is from animal then which animal and if the animal has been slaughtered by muslim rites.
5. Natural essences and those derived from plant sources to cater for the growing vegetarian culture in the world today. It is permissible to consume.
6. The worldwide brands like pepsi and red bull generally have the same formula which is used all around the world. The South African Halaal Authority(SANHA), upon personal enquiry has given the ruling that pepsi and red bull do not have any haram ingredients, thus making them halaal.
And Allah knows best
Wassalam
Ml. Abdul Hameed,
Student Darul Iftaa
Checked and Approved by:
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
Darul Iftaa, Madrassah In’aamiyyah