Is seaweed extract and Red40 halal?
Question:
I have just been given a small jelly sweet which contains “seaweed extract” and “Red#40”. Could you tell me if these are each permissible for consumption.
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
We are in receipt of your email. The email refers:
Seaweed Extract :
Seaweed is a loose colloquial term encompassing macroscopic, multicellular, benthic marine algae. The term includes some members of the red, brown and green algae. Seaweeds can also be classified by use (as food, medicine, fertilizer, industrial, etc.). [1]
Seaweeds are also harvested or cultivated for the extraction of alginate, agar and carrageenan, gelatinous substances collectively known as hydrocolloids or phycocolloids. Hydrocolloids have attained commercial significance as food additives. The food industry exploits their gelling, water-retention, emulsifying and other physical properties.[2]
Since seaweed extract is plant based and there is no reason for its prohibition, it is permissible and halal to consume.
Red#40
Red 40 also goes by the names Allura Red, Food Red 17, C.I. 16035 and also E129.
Red AC was originally manufactured from coal tar, but is now mostly made from petroleum. Despite the popular misconception, Allura Red AC is not derived from any insect, unlike the food colouring carmine, which is derived from the female cochineal insect. [3]
SANHA (South African National Halal Association) has classified Red 40 as halal and permissible for consumption.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Mufti Faisal bin Abdul Hameed al-Mahmudi
www.fatwa.ca
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seaweed
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seaweed#Food
