Getting started
Haram checker: how to tell if a food product is haram
Most haram ingredients in packaged food are not labelled "pork". They are labelled E471, mono- and diglycerides, or simply "emulsifier". A haram checker exists to close that gap.
A food is haram if it contains pork or pork derivatives, meat from an animal not slaughtered according to Islamic requirements, blood, or intoxicating alcohol. A haram checker app scans the barcode or ingredient list and flags any ingredient falling into those categories, including the many additives that hide animal derivatives behind an E-number.
The four categories that make food haram
Working from the Qur’anic prohibitions in al-Baqarah 2:173 and al-Ma’idah 5:3, packaged food becomes haram through four routes:
- Pork and pork derivatives. Lard, pork gelatin, porcine enzymes, bacon fat, and the additives made from them.
- Meat not slaughtered Islamically. Including derivatives such as bovine gelatin and rennet from a non-zabiha animal.
- Blood. Blood plasma and blood-derived proteins used as binders.
- Intoxicants. Ethanol used as a beverage, and by most rulings, alcohol carried into food as a solvent above trace levels. See alcohol in food.
Everything else in the halal debate is a question of which of these four a given additive traces back to.
The names that hide haram ingredients
This is the practical core of the problem. None of the following say "pork" on the label:
| Label name | What it can be | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Gelatine / gelatin | Pork skin, beef hide, or fish | Check source |
| E471, mono- & diglycerides | Plant oil or animal fat | Mushbooh |
| E120, carmine, cochineal | Crushed insects | Usually haram |
| E904, shellac, confectioner’s glaze | Lac insect resin | Disputed / avoid |
| E920, L-cysteine | Hair, feathers, or synthetic | Mushbooh |
| E441 | Gelatine | Check source |
| E542, bone phosphate | Animal bone | Usually haram |
| Rennet, enzymes | Calf stomach or microbial | Check source |
| Lipase, pepsin | Often porcine | Mushbooh |
| Natural flavouring | Anything, including alcohol carriers | Unknown |
| Stearic acid, E570 | Plant or tallow | Mushbooh |
| Glycerol, glycerine, E422 | Plant oil or animal fat | Mushbooh |
Remembering twelve rows is feasible. Remembering the ~350 E-numbers in use, in a language you may not read, while your children are pulling at the trolley, is not. That is the case for a checker.
How to use HalalFoodScan as a haram checker
Fast path: barcode
Scan tab → point at the barcode → read the verdict card. A red Haram Product card means at least one declared ingredient falls into the four categories above. The Found Additives list shows which.
Careful path: read the additive notes
Do not stop at the colour. Open the additive list and read the notes. There is a real difference between a haram verdict driven by declared pork gelatin (unambiguous) and one driven by an additive that is haram only in some sourcing (worth a manufacturer email if you love the product).
Fallback path: ingredient scan
If the barcode is not recognised, use the ingredient scan tab to read the printed list. The app extracts recognised additive codes from the text.
Three habits that catch what any app misses
- Check the country of origin. Shown on the product screen. Turkish, Malaysian and Gulf production of a familiar brand is frequently halal-certified when the European production of the same brand is not.
- Look for a certification logo on the pack. HFA, HMC, IFANCA, JAKIM, MUI and similar marks are a stronger signal than any ingredient analysis, because they audit the supply chain and not just the declaration.
- Re-scan products you buy regularly. Recipes change without fanfare. An annual re-scan of your staples costs a minute.
Haram, makruh and mushbooh are not the same thing
Precision helps here. Haram is prohibited. Makruh is disliked but not prohibited. Mushbooh is not a ruling at all. It is a statement about missing information, meaning the item cannot yet be classified because the source of an ingredient is undeclared. The scholarly guidance on mushbooh items is generally caution, following the hadith about leaving what makes you doubt for what does not. Full explanation: what Mushbooh means.
Frequently asked questions
Is E471 haram?
E471 is Mushbooh, not automatically haram. It is made from fatty acids that can come from plant oils, in which case it is halal, or from animal fat including pork, in which case it is haram. The label almost never states which. See the dedicated E471 guide for how to tell.
What is the most commonly missed haram ingredient?
Gelatin, because it appears in things people do not think of as meat products: marshmallows, gummy sweets, some yoghurts, mousse desserts, vitamin capsules and even the coating of some breakfast cereals where it carries vitamin D.
Does a product with a haram additive become halal if the additive is tiny?
Quantity does not generally change the ruling for a prohibited substance in the majority position. Some scholars apply the principle of istihalah, complete chemical transformation into a different substance, which is why views differ on items such as vinegar produced from wine. Where this affects a decision that matters to you, ask a scholar you trust.
Stop guessing in the supermarket aisle
Scan the barcode, get the verdict, see exactly which additive decided it. Free, no account, 13 languages.
Free · iOS 16.0+ · 19.3 MB · No sign-up required