Convenience stores and supermarkets in Japan offer a wide variety of products, but isn't it difficult to tell which ones are halal and which ones are haram?
Today, we would like to introduce a simple way to distinguish which products are Halal and which are Haram.
However, the information provided is for reference only, and we ask that you use your own judgment when making final purchases and eating/drinking.
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By the way, you can use the HaloDish app here to immediately check if a product is halal or not by simply taking a picture of its ingredients! Try it Now! |
How to recognize haram products
First, let us introduce the indicators of haram products.
Mainly, here are the indications for alcoholic beverages and for ingredients containing pork and pork-derived ingredients.
How to identify alcoholic beverages
To start with, let's look at the alcoholic beverage labeling.
Alcoholic labeling
Alcoholic beverages are labeled “お酒” on the front of the label as shown in the illustration.
There is also the notation “ALC.〇%” at the bottom. This indicates the percentage of alcohol contained.
If there is a large “zero” on the label, it often indicates “zero calories,” so be sure to check to see if it has “zero ALC” properly.
Non-alcoholic labeling
For non-alcoholic beverages, it is indicated as “ALC. 0.00%”.
It may also be labeled “ノンアルコール” so please check the surface!
How to identify haram ingredients
Next, we will show you how to identify the haram ingredients.
We will mainly explain the indications for ingredients that contain pork and alcohol.
Ingredients containing pork
- 豚 / 豚肉：Pork
- ゼラチン：Gelatine
- 豚脂 / 豚脂肪 / ラード：Lard
- 豚エキス / ポークエキス：Pork extract
Ingredients containing alcohol
- 酒：Sake
- アルコール：Alcohol
- エタノール：Ethanol
- みりん：Mirin (Sweet cooking sake)
- 洋酒：Western liquor
- 料理酒：Cooking liquor
- リカー：liquor
- リキュール：liqueur
- 酒精：alcohol
- ワイン：Wine
- ビール：Beer
- ラム：Rum
- ブランデー：Brandy
- キルシュ：Kirsch
- キュラソー：Curacao
Ingredients that may be haram
Finally, here are some of the ingredients that may be haram.
Not all of them are listed here, so if you find ingredients that are not listed, we encourage you to use the HaloDish app to verify it!
Ingredients containing beef or chicken
The following items are acceptable as long as the product carries Halal certification on the package.
- 肉：Meat
- 鶏 / 鶏肉：Chicken
- 鶏エキス / チキンエキス：Chicken extract
- 鶏ガラ：Chicken carcass
- 牛 / 牛肉：Beef
- 牛エキス / ビーフエキス：Beef extract
- ブイヨン：Bouillon
- コンソメ：Consomme
Ingredients often found in common foods
- マーガリン：Margarine
- 醤油：Soy Sauce
- 味噌：Miso
- 生クリーム：Fresh cream
- 酢：Vinegar
- チーズ：Cheese
- だし：Broth (It is OK if it is made from bonito flakes and kelp.)
- 発酵バター：Fermented butter
- 発酵調味料：Fermented seasonings
- 乳化剤：Emulsifiers (It is OK if it is labeled “大豆由来 (derived from soybeans)”.)
- ショートニング：Shortening
- 酸化防止剤：Antioxidant
- 香料：Flavoring (It is OK if it is not wine, mirin, etc.)
Summary
Some Japanese supermarkets have created halal sections, but these are still few and far between.
It is very difficult to find halal products among a variety of products.
Check this article or use the HaloDish app's ingredient check function to see if the food is halal!