HALAL: Certification

Products that have been certified as halal are labeled with halal symbols. Halal symbols are registered trademarks of their respective halal certification organizations, and cannot be placed on a food label without that organization's permission.

HALAL, Kosher and American Law
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion."

In the U.S., there can be no legal definition of kosher or halal, therefore, no legal mechanisms to regulate the standards used by food manufacturers. Legally, manufacturers can use either word on product labeling. They can call their products 'halal' or 'kosher' simply if they believe that their food meets these standards. This practice of labeling a food or ingredient like gelatin as 'kosher' is effective in attracting a significant portion of the "kosher consumer" most of whom are Muslims. 

As the food industry's awareness of the market size for halal foods increases, we can expect to see more tactics by the food industry aimed at garnering the halal consumer. Therefore, moving forward, it is increasingly important to build awareness of and to support halal certification to ensure a product's compliance with Islamic dietary standards.

-- Read more about U.S. Laws concerning halal and kosher foods here. --

Guide to Halal Food Symbols
This guide identifies the halal certifying agencies behind the most commonly used halal symbols in the United States. Different halal certifying agencies can follow different halal certification standards, some more strict and others more lenient. More information about each agency, and the halal standards it maintains, can be found on each agency's web site.

Major Halal Certification Agencies in North America
SYMBOL		AUTHORITY	DENOMINATION	CITY, COUNTRY
		Muslim Consumer Group	Sunni	Huntley, IL, U.S.
	The Muslim Consumer Group for Food Products is a non-profit and non-political organization, incorporated in 1993 as a Halal foods educational and Halal certification organization for Muslims consumers and food industry. http://www.muslimconsumergroup.com/
		Islamic Food and Nutritional Council of America (IFANCA)	Sunni	Chicago, IL, U.S.
	The Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America (IFANCA) is a non-profit Islamic organization dedicated to promote halal food and the institution of halal. http://www.ifanca.org/

Related Topics:
Kosher Certification Symbols
Halal, Kosher: A comparison
Market for Halal Products & the Muslim Consumer

KOSHER: Muslim Consumers & the Marketplace

Can Muslims use kosher certification symbols to tell if a food is halal?

YES: Muslims can use kosher symbols to determine if a food contains pork, pig-derived products, meat from improperly slaughtered but jointly permissible (halal, kosher) animals, blood or hawwam creatures (vermin) such as insects, rodents, frogs, snails and reptiles. These are all prohibited by both kashruth and shari'a.

NO: Muslims cannot use kosher symbols to determine if a product contains alcohol. Some non-kosher foods, like those containing shrimp or cheese, can be made in a halal manner.

Kosher: Under-serving Muslim Consumers
Muslims make up 30% of the "kosher consumer," outnumbering Jews who keep kosher[1] in this consumer group by 3:1. Despite our economic weight in the kosher foods market, Muslim Consumers are nonetheless under-served by kosher food standards.

Foods which contain alcohol and alcohol-derived products like (most) wine vinegar can be kosher, but are forbidden (haram) for Muslims to eat. On the other hand, kosher dietary laws impose restrictions on Muslims that are unnecessary for that food to meet halal criteria. These are:

• Banning foods containing seafood such as shrimp, crustaceans or shellfish;
• Banning the mixing of meat and dairy;
• Banning foods containing non-Jewish cheese, and;
• Seasonal dietary restrictions.

When a food contains a non-kosher but Islamically permissible substance, such as shrimp, Muslims often have no way of knowing if that food also contains an ingredient derived from a haram substance such as pork. This is true even if he or she reads the label. 

Two such products are Doritos® brand Nacho Cheese Tortilla Chips, made with pork enzymes[2, 3], and Gorton's brand Shrimp Scampi which contains both gelatin and wine.[4] Each of these food products, though containing non-kosher ingredients, can be made according to halal standards with slight modifications to the recipes.

Producing Halal is Cost Effective
Producing foods in accordance with halal dietary standards is actually less complicated, less costly and provides a bigger return than only producing foods according to kosher standards. Here are several reasons why.

Muslims are a bigger Market

• The United States is home to 8 – 11 million Muslims of diverse backgrounds, with one thing in common: they eat halal food.[5]
• 80% of Muslims regularly observe halal dietary standards, only slightly more than 20% of Jews regularly observe kosher standards.
• Within the kosher consumer group, Muslims outnumber Jews 3:1.6 
• The U.S. market for halal foods is $12 billion per year.[7] This, despite the lack of widespread availability for halal products outside of major metro areas.

More Food Products become Marketable

• Muslims are not restricted from eating meat taken from the back half of a slaughtered animal, keeping costs associated with Islamic slaughter low.
• Muslims are consumers of foods containing cheese and cheese products, expanding the number of food products marketable to Muslim consumers beyond the traditional "kosher consumer" boundaries.
• Muslims are consumers of foods containing crustaceans, shellfish and mollusks, expanding the number of food products marketable to Muslim consumers beyond the traditional "kosher consumer" boundaries.

Low Learning Curve for the Manufacturer
Current awareness of kosher food production protocols concerning the banning of products derived from pork, insects and blood lowers the manufacturer's learning curve to making non-kosher food products like shrimp or clam dishes in a halal manner.

Related Topics:
Kosher v. Halal: What are the differences and similarities of kosher and halal?
A comparison of kosher and halal animals
ALCOHOL: In Islam, it's Haram

References:
[1] Bushkin, Gary. "Kosher & Halal certification: natural products with a pedigree; How dietary preferences have changed the formulation of products in the nutraceuticals market now and for the future." Reprinted on Entrepreneur.com from: "Kosher Halal Overview," Nutraceuticals World. March 2007. Retrieved April 10, 2009. https://www.entrepreneur.com/tradejournals/article/161207428.html
[2] "Seasoned Products Made Without Porcine Enzymes," Frito-Lay web site. (Retrieved April 7, 2009). 
http://www.fritolay.com/your-health/seasoned-products-made-without-porcine-enzymes.html
[3] Brand Overview: Doritos, Frito-Lay web site, (Retrieved April 7, 2009). http://www.fritolay.com/our-snacks/doritos.html
[4] Our Products: Shrimp Scampi, Gorton's web site, (Retrieved April 10, 2009). http://www.gortons.com/product_detail.php?cid=22&pid=25
[5] Chaudry, Muhammed, PhD. "Halal in Confectionery," Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America (IFANCA). Presented at the 2007 National Technical Seminar of the American Association of Candy Technologists.
[6] Bushkin, Gary. (ibid)
[7] Bushkin, Gary. (ibid)

KOSHER: Overview

This section of SPOTLIGHT HALAL is dedicated to informing Muslim consumers about Jewish dietary law: When is it relevant to our needs? When is it not?

Muslims are a powerful consumer group—not just a sub-set of the "kosher consumer." Understanding when kosher helps us and when it hinders us from keeping halal is key to raising awareness with manufacturers, distinguishing ourselves as a market of our own, and driving the demand for halal food products.


KOSHER (kashrut, kashruth, kashrus, כַּשְרוּת) - simply means food which conforms to Jewish law (halakha, הלכה) and therefore is fit for eating by Jews. Jews who keep kashrut may not consume non-kosher food (treif).

Orthodox Judaism and Conservative Judaism hold that Jews should follow the laws of kashrut as a matter of religious obligation. Reform Judaism and Reconstructionist Judaism hold that these laws are no longer binding.

Who is The Kosher Consumer?
In 2006, over eleven million Americans spent $195 billion1 on kosher food - up from six million in 1990 - according to LUBICOM, a marketing and consulting group for kosher interests. Of this figure, one million Jews and three million Muslims consume kosher for religious reasons.2 That's three-times as many Muslims than Jews. No surprise when more than 80% of the estimated 8 - 11 million U.S. Muslims observe Islamic dietary standards, compared to a much smaller percentage of Jews who do. In fact, though still in its nascent stages, the U.S. market for halal foods is valued at $12 billion.

Kosher certification is not a perfect-fit solution for the large and growing Muslim consumer population. Generally, Muslims use kosher certification symbols as a tool to know if a product contains a substance prohibited by BOTH Jewish and Islamic dietary law, such as: blood, insects/vermin, pork or even a permissible animal that has not been slaughtered according to ritual slaughter. (Kosher-slaughtered meat is acceptable for Muslims to eat.)

Kosher: Under-serving Muslim Consumers
Despite the fact that Muslims outnumber observant Jews 3:1, within the "kosher consumer" group, the needs of Muslim consumers are under-served by kosher standards.

Related Topics:
Kosher v. Halal: What are the differences and similarities of kosher and halal?
What are the advantages to producing halal foods for companies already producing kosher foods?
A comparison of kosher and halal animals
Kosher: Meats

REFERENCES:
[1] Bushkin, Gary. "Kosher & Halal certification: natural products with a pedigree; How dietary preferences have changed the formulation of products in the nutraceuticals market now and for the future." Reprinted on Entrepreneur.com from: "Kosher Halal Overview," Nutraceuticals World. March 2007. Retrieved April 10, 2009. https://www.entrepreneur.com/tradejournals/article/161207428.html

[2] Shinefield, M. Chabad Lubavich Global Network. "Jewish and Muslim Communities Cooperate to Pass US's First Kosher-Halal Law." October, 2006. 
http://lubavitch.com/news/article/2016002/Jewish-and-Muslim-Communities-Cooperate-to-Pass-USs-First-Kosher-Halal-Law.html
(Retrieved April 8, 2009)