Critical Point of Haramness for Flavor / Taste
Assalamu’alaikum Sobat Halal-Mu
Sobat, have you often heard the word flavor or flavor?
What is flavor? According to IOFI (International Organization Flavor Industry, 1990) Flavor is a food additive in the form of a concentrated preparation with or without a flavoring adjunct that is used to provide flavor with the exception of salty, sweet and sour flavors. This definition is also the same used by BPOM to establish regulations related to the Flavor group of food additives. Another understanding of flavor is a combination of material characteristics in the form of taste and aroma sensations. Concentrated preparation itself is a dosage form consisting of one or more types of flavor. A flavor aide is an additional material needed to make, dissolve, dilute, store and to use flavor.
Where is the critical point of halalness for flavor?
Quoted from the Reference List of Halal Critical Point Ingredients and Non-Halal Substitutes by Prof. Dr. Irwandi Jaswir, MSc, Ir. Elvina A. Rahayu, MP, Dr. Nancy Dewi Yuliana, MSc and Dr. Anna Priangani Roswiem, MS, there are four critical points of uncleanliness of Flavor / Flavor, as follows:
- Source Material
What is referred to as ingredients here is the main, additional or auxiliary ingredients in the preparation process of flavor ingredients. From the information quoted from the AFFI report, 2019, it is stated that there are more than 3000 raw materials used in the flavor industry. Animals and their parts can be used either as flavor ingredients or as additives or auxiliary materials in the preparation of flavors. Animal halalness is no longer an option. If halal animals are used, then the procedure for obtaining these animals must fulfill the rules of Islamic law, namely in the slaughter process.
2. Processes in the preparation of flavor ingredients
Extraction, distillation, isolation, fermentation, enzymatic and maillard reactions are processes involved in the preparation of flavor ingredients. It must be ensured that the media used in the preparation of flavor ingredients do not use any prohibited ingredients.
3. Flavor preparation facilities and flavor blending facilities in the Flavor Industry
Talking about the preparation facilities of flavor ingredients is talking about the upstream facilities within the scope of the flavor industry. If the upstream industry already uses non-halal ingredients such as fat, amino acids or gelatin derived from pork, then the same facilities cannot be used for the preparation of flavor ingredients even if the flavor ingredients do not use ingredients derived from pork. If the ingredients used in the preparation of flavors are halal but not prepared according to Islamic procedures, then the flavors cannot be used for halal-certified products. To produce ingredients that meet halal regulations, the facilities used must be washed before being used for the production process of halal flavor ingredients. In the flavor industry, facilities are also crucial to determine the flavor sold to the user industry. The halalness is also determined by how the industry regulates that in addition to the flavor ingredients used must be halal, it also does not use the same facilities for the blending process between products containing haram and halal ingredients.
4. Other ingredients added in the flavor.
Whether it is natural flavor (WONF=with other natural flavors), natural & artificial (N&A) or artificial flavor, the components of the mixture may be unstable or have other factors that make it possible to add other ingredients such as stabilizers, emulsifiers, colorants, clouds and antioxidants. Flavor can also be presented in solution or emulsion form using solvents such as ethanol, propylene glycol and water as well as emulsifiers. For example, emulsifiers used in smoke flavors such as Polysorbate 20, Polysorbate 40 and Polysorbate 80 are compounds containing fatty acids. Fatty acid sources can be derived from animals or plants, which of course have the potential to be non-halal in terms of their fatty acid sources. Ingredients that are. The ingredients used in the presentation of these flavors/flavors are critical in terms of their halalness. Therefore, when conducting a flavor audit in the Flavor Industry, to meet the halal requirements, all formulas used in a flavor must be examined to the smallest unit, whether it is a component of flavor ingredients and other ingredients used to present the flavor to their consumers.
Reference List of Halal Critical Point Ingredients and Non-Halal Substitutes by Prof. Dr. Irwandi Jaswir, MSc, Ir. Elvina A. Rahayu, MP, Dr. Nancy Dewi Yuliana, MSc and Dr. Anna Priangani Roswiem, MS,
