UNRAVELING THE ISSUE OF ALCOHOL
FOR THE HALAL INDUSTRY
DZULKIFLY MAT HASHIM
HALAL PRODUCTS RESEARCH INSTITUTE
UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA
43400 SERDANG SELANGOR MALAYSIA
NOT HALAL
The following food products are included in this category:
 The Haram food products that are made with pork-by-product
ingredients and wine.
 The products that are made from natural and artificial flavors which
are not Halal or Kosher certified with or with out alcohol as a
solvent.
 The products that are made with alcoholic fermentation and may
contain 2-3 % alcohol such as naturally brewed soy sauce.
PRODUCTION OF ALCOHOLIC
BEVERAGE AND INDUSTRIAL
ETHANOL
BEER PRODUCTION PROCESS
Source : www.emt-india.net/process/distillery/Brewery
(Courtesy of Fermpro Sdn Bhd.)
INDUSTRIAL ALCOHOL (ETHANOL)
 Synthetic Alcohol
– Chemically synthesized from Ethylene
– Process:
1.
Indirect hydration through addition of sulfuric acid
2.
Direct catalytic hydration of ethylene
 Agricultural Alcohol
– Derived from Biological Fermentation Process of Carbohydrate
Source
• Fermentation of Sugar
• Fermentation of Starch
LOCAL FERMENTED PRODUCTS
• Vinegar – Nipah vinegar
• Fermented palm sap
• Tapai
• Rice wine (tuak)
• Soy sauce
• Budu
• Cincalok
• Tempoyak
• Belacan
• Fermented milk products
ISSUE # 1
If ethanol is produced using the same process as an intoxicating
alcoholic beverage (i.e. fermentation), does it make it non-halal?
 Fermentation is a common preservation process subjected on wheat flour
(sour dough), anchovies (budu), durian (tempoyak), shrimps (belacan and
cincalok), soya beans (soy sauce)
 Fermentation will not necessarily produce an intoxicating product
 The permissibility from a religious perspective and hence its halal
compliance of such a product will depend on the intention ( Is it to produce
an intoxicant?) and utilisation of the product
JABIR IBN HAYYAN
Ibn Hayyan was
the first person to
discover alcohol
from distillation
of wine
Kitab Ikhraj Ma Fi AlQuwwa Ila Al-fi`l
0721 – 0815 A.D.
MUHAMMAD IBN
ZAKARIYA AR-RAZI
Ar-Razi was the
first person to
introduce the use
of alcohol (Al-
Kuhl) for medical
purposes
0850 – 0932 A.D.
ISSUE # 2
Is ethanol (alcohol) the same as an intoxicating alcoholic
beverage (khamr)?
 The misunderstanding was due to the incorrect translation of term khamr
(Arabic) to alcohol (English)
 The term alcohol from the chemistry perspective is more than just ethanol
 The permissibility from a religious perspective and hence its halal
compliance of such product will depend on the intention and utilisation of
the product
 Ethanol is not necessarily khamr although the intoxicating substance in
khamr is ethanol
ALCOHOL IN FOODS AND FOOD
PREPARATIONS
Malaysia National Islamic Fatwa Committee
(JAKIM)
Cordials which contain any flavouring substances with a certain amount of
alcohol added as a stabiliser for the purpose as a drink, is allowed on the
condition that :
 The alcohol is not derived from ‘khamr (intoxicating alcoholic
beverage = liquor) production
 The quantity of alcohol in the flavour is small (insignificant) such that
it will not intoxicate
Decision of the 22nd National Fatwa Committee Meeting, 24 November 1988
% ALCOHOL PERMITTED IN FOODS
COUNTRY
% ALCOHOL
Malaysia (JAKIM)
0.01
Indonesia (MUI)
1.0
Thailand (AOI)
1.0
Singapore (MUIS)
0.5
Brunei (BIRC)
0.0
Europe
< 0.5
UK
Not allowed
Canada
Not allowed
AOI = ADMINISTRATION OF ORGANIZATIONS OF THE ISLAMIC ACT
JAKIM = DEPARTMENT OF ISLAMIC DEVELOPMENT MALAYSIA
MUI = MAJELIS ULAMA INDONESIA
MUIS = MAJLIS UGAMA ISLAM SINGAPURA
BIRC = BRUNEI ISLAMIC RELIGIOUS COUNCIL
No
ALCOHOL
CONTENT IN
FOODS
(JAKIM, 2006)
* Not food
Name of Samples
Alcohol Content (% v/v)
1
Curry Sauce
0.07
2.
Sweet ‘n’ Sour Sauce
0.07
3.
Barbeque Sauce
0.09
4.
Dark Soy Sauce
0.1
5.
Lea & Perrins
0.1
6.
Rice Vinegar
0.1
7.
Sauce (Brand A1)
0.1
8.
Asian Sesame Dressing
0.22
9.
Burgess Mint Jelly
0.26
10.
Melon Flavour
0.3
11.
Wine Vinegar
0.3
12.
Tabasco Pepper Sauce
0.4
13.
Yee Tonic (Ten Shae Theng)
0.5
14.
Vinegar
0.5
15.
Dyna Tonic
0.6
16.
Dyna Tonic (Ten Shae Theng)
0.7
17.
Teriyaki W.J.S
1.5
18.
Carbonated Drink
2.0
19.
Soy sauce (Kikkoman)
3.1
20.
Clear Soy Sauce (Ajinomoto)
3.9
21.
Kikkoman Teriyaki Marinade & Sauce
4.1
22.
*Cough Syrup (medicine)
4.8
23.
Gourmet Cooking (Shao Hsing Hua Tiao
Chiew)
17.6
24.
*Mouth Wash A (Personal Care Product)
18
25.
*Mouth Wash B (Personal Care Product)
35
ALCOHOL CONTENT IN FOODS
Lau S.V. et al (2010), Unpublished Data)
ISSUE # 3
What should be the level of alcohol allowed to be present in food
and beverage (for halal certification)?
 Setting the permissible level at 0.01% to 0.05% is not practical as most
foods and beverage have alcohol contents in excess of 0.01%.
 There are foods that have relatively higher alcohol contents (up to 0.1%)
such as energy drinks, fermented or cultured drink and vinegar but the
inherent nature of products such as vinegar or sauces and the manner it is
used would not lead to any possibility of intoxication.
 Intermediate products (flavour and colouring) have higher ethanol contents
but they are not for direct consumption. Hence, higher a ethanol content may
be allowed in such intermediate products
KHAMR IN FOOD, DRINK AND FOOD
PREPARATION
Berita Minggu 17 Feb 2008
ISSUE
COOKING WINE
Royal Chef
Shao Xing
ALCOHOL BURN-OFF CHART
Preparation Method
Percent Retained
Alcohol added to boiling liquid & removed
from heat
85%
Alcohol flamed
75%
No heat, stored overnight
70%
Baked, 25 minutes, alcohol not stirred into
mixture
45%
Baked/simmered dishes with alcohol stirred into mixture:
15 minutes cooking time
40%
30 minutes cooking time
35%
1 hour cooking time
25%
1.5 hours cooking time
20%
2 hours cooking time
10%
2.5 hours cooking time
5%
DRINKS WITH KHAMR
Shandy = Beer + Lemon Juice
Alcohol content = 0.5% v/v
Alcoholic Energy Drink = Beer Added
Alcohol content = 6 -10 % v/v
ISSUE # 3
Is it permissible for alcohol (khamr) to be added in food, drink or
food preparation drink? Will the alcohol be totally evaporated off
during cooking?
 It is not permissible to add khamr to any food, drink or food
preparation as this will be seen as contaminating the food with a
prohibited substance
 Some khamr will remain in food even after it has been subjected
to the most severe heating or cooking
ALCOHOL INTOXICATION
INTOXICATION EFFECTS
MODEL FOR ETHANOL INTOXICATION AND
METABOLISM
• Introduced by Erik Matteo Prochet Widmark
(1889 – 1945), a physiology expert from
Sweden
• He wrote a book, Principles and
Applications of Medico-legal Alcohol
Determination (1932)
WIDMARK’S FORMULA
Wr( C t +  t)
N=
0.82(fl.oz. EtOH/drink)
Where:
N = Number of drinks
W = Body weight in ounces
r = Widmark rho (L/kg)
Ct = BAC at time t (kg/L)
β = Elimination rate (Kg/L/hr)
t = Time in hours from first drink
0.82 = Density of ethanol (oz./fl.oz.)
INTOXICATION CHART
Source : Dimeff, L.A., Baer, J.S., Kivlahan, D.R. and
Marlatt, G.A. (2005). A Harm Reduction Approach.
Washington State University.
Source : faculty.washington.edu/chudler/alco.html
APPLICATION OF WIDMARK’s FORMULA
•
•
BAC depends on the rate of food intake.
BAC is 2 times higher in an empty stomach
VOLUME (ml) CONSUMED IN 1 HOUR BEFORE
INTOXICATION LIMIT (BAC = 0.05 % w/v) *
100000
ASSUMPTIONS
 Gender = Female
 Weight = 55kg
10000
Volume
(ml)
1000
 Time = 1 hr
100
10
0.01
0.05
0.1
0.5
Alcohol Content (%)
* Based on Widmark’s Formula
1
CONSUMPTION BEFORE LIMIT OF INTOXICATION (BAC = 0.05% w/v)
ALCOHOL
CONTENT (%)
(ML)
NO. OF GLASSES
COMMENT
0.01
243,000
900
Not Possible (X)
0.05
54,000
200
Not Possible (X)
0.1
24,300
90
Not Possible (X)
0.5
5,130
19
Not Possible (X)
1.0
2430
9
Possible (/)/Not
possible (/)
2.0
1350
5
Possible (/)
Volume of one glass (mug) = 270 ml
POTENCY FOR INTOXICATION OF VARIOUS ALIPHATIC ALCOHOLS
Source : Akinshola, B.E. (2001). British Journal
of Pharmacology,133(5): 651–658.
Source : Liang, T. and Jiang, H.Y. (2002).
British Journal of Pharmacology, 136: 629-635
ISSUE # 4
Can medico-legal principles of intoxication be used to set the
benchmark for a permissible alcohol content in drinks and foods?
 Arbitrarily setting benchmarks of permissible alcohol contents
of foods and drinks does not appear to be a prudent approach
 Principles of intoxication adopted in the medico-legal field can
possibly be used to assist in setting benchmarks on permissible
alcohol content in food and drinks
SETTING BENCHMARKS OF ETHANOL
CONTENT FOR HALAL APPLICATION
HADITH
Ibn Abbas reported that nabidh was prepared for Allah's
Messenger (May Peace Be Upon Him) in the beginning of the
night and he would drink it in the morning and the following
night and the following day and the night after that up to the
afternoon. If anything was left out of that he gave it to his
servant, or gave orders for it to be poured out.
From: Sahih Muslim, Book 23 (4971- 4974)
HADITH
(SAYING OF THE PROPHET)
Jabir b. Abdullah al-Ansari reported that Allah's
Messenger (May Peace Be Upon Him) prohibited the
preparation of Nabidh by mixing grapes and fresh
dates and he forbade the preparation of Nabidh by
mixing unripe dates with fresh dates.
FERMENTATION OF DATES (NABIDH)
Nabidh from Fresh Dates
Nabidh from Dried dates
GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY MASS SPECTROMETER
HEADSPACE ANALYSER (GC-MS-HS)
ALCOHOL CONTENT IN FERMENTED DATES
DAY
(DRIED DATES)
Amount of
Ethanol (%)
Amount of
Methanol (%)
Total
Alcohol
(%)
DAY
(FRESH DATES)
Amount of
Ethanol (%)
Amount of Methanol
(%)
Total Alcohol
(%)
0
0.000
0.000
0.000
0
0.000
0.000
0.000
1
0.009
0.000
0.009
1
0.006
0.000
0.006
2
0.010
0.003
0.013
2
0.033
0.001
0.034
3
0.016
0.002
0.018
3
0.061
0.003
0.064
4
0.036
0.004
0.040
4
0.086
0.004
0.090
5
0.048
0.004
0.051
5
0.131
0.003
0.134
0.16
0.14
Fresh Dates sample
0.12
0.10
% Alcohol
Dry Dates Sample
0.08
0.06
0.04
0.02
0.00
0
1
2
Days
3
4
5
S. Munira. A.R. et al
(2010), Unpublished
Data
ALCOHOL CONTENT OF LAB AND COMMERCIAL TAPAI
(FERMENTED GLUTINOUS RICE)
Fermentation
(hr)
Alcohol content
(% v/v)
24
0.1
48
0.3
72*
0.8
*Tapai pulut is ready to be consumed after 72 hours fermentation
Commercial
Samples
Alcohol content (% v/v)
1
0.8
2
1.0
3
0.8
4
1.6
Nurul Hayati, A.H. et al
(2010), Unpublished
Data
COMPOUNDS DETECTED IN FERMENTED GLUTINOUS RICE (TAPAI)
Compounds
24 hours
48 hours
72 hours
96 hours
Acetaldehyde
/
/
/
/
Propanal
/
2-methyl-propanal
/
3-methyl-butanal
/
/
Ethanol
/
/
/
/
1-propanol
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
/
2-methyl-1-propanol
3-methyl-1-butanol
Ethyl acetate
/
Nurul Hayati, A.H. et al
(2010), Unpublished
Data
ETHANOL CONTENT IN FERMENTED NIPAH (PALM) SAP
ETHANOL
CONTENT
(%)
0
0.03
1
0.77
2
5.29
3
6.03
4
5.72
5
6.04
7
6
Ethanol Content (%)
DAYS OF
FERMENTATION
5
4
3
Ethanol…
2
1
6
5.40
7
5.87
8
5.70
14
6.12
0
0
5
10
Days of Fermentation
Nur Aimi, R. et al (2010), Unpublished Data
15
COMPOUNDS IN FERMENTED NIPAH SAP
DAYS
COMPOUNDS
Formic
acid,
ethyl
ester
Ethyl
acetate
Ethanol
1-propanol
2-methyl1propanol
3-methyl1-butanol
Propanoic
acid
Acetic
acid
0
+
+
7
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
14
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
21
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
28
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
35
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
42
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
50
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
Nur Aimi, R. et al (2010), Unpublished Data
ISSUE # 5
What should be the alcohol contents in fermented foods?
 The maximum alcohol content in nabidh (fermented dates) at 3 days is around
0.06 %.
 Tapai has registered values higher than 1% but no record of intoxication
exists.
 The effect of the density of the food matrix or substrate will need to be
investigated further.
 The alcohol content of nipah (palm) sap is considerably higher
EA-IRMS ANALYSIS OF ETHANOL
RESULTS 13C OF ETHANOL SAMPLES
13C
OF ETHANOL STANDARDS
SUCROSE
CELLULOSE
C OF RED AND WHITE WINES
13
CELLULOSE
13C
OF INDUSTRIAL ETHANOL
SUCROSE
IRMS ON ETHANOL - SUMMARY
 Samples are referenced vs. two international standards C3
(cellulose) and CH-6 (sucrose)
 Overall standard deviation is well below 0.1 permil
 Industrial ethanol is apparently derived from C4-plant
products
 Cooking wine may be mixed with C4-plant derived ethanol
 Fermented glutinous rice ethanol does not show C4-plant
isotopic signature
GC-GC TOF MASS SPECTROMETER
GC GC CHROMATOGRAMS OF ETHANOL
PCA PLOT OF ETHANOLS FROM DIFFERENT BOTANICAL SOURCE
Nipah ethanol
ne
ne
ne
pe3
pe3
pe3
pe2
pe2
Pineapple ethanol
pe1
pe1
pe1
pe2
se2se2
se3
se1
se1
se2
Sugarcane ethanol
ce
ce
ce
Cassava ethanol
GC X GC- TOF- MS ON ETHANOL :
SUMMARY
 Ethanols from various plant sources can be clearly
distinguished based on the congeners that present
 Treatment such as heating will alter the PCA regions but
will still lie in the same latitude in the PCA plot
 Nipah, cassava, sugar cane and pineapple ethanols were
analysed
 Fermented rice ethanol (?)
USE OF ETHANOL VS. PROPYLENE
GLYCOL IN FLAVOURS
HALAL IF NO ALCOHOL IS USED IN FLAVORS

The criteria for food products under this category is the same as the Halal
category except the food products here are made with natural or artificial
flavors. The natural and artificial flavors used in these food products may
or may not contain alcohol as a solvent but these flavors are not made with
animal derived ingredients and they are Halal or genuine kosher certified

We may even find the industry to respond to our Islamic dietary needs by
using alternate solvents such as Propylene Glycol. Some Islamic scholars
would not consider a food product Halal if alcohol or if flavor in which
alcohol was used as a solvent even if it was completely evaporated during
processing.

If alcohol is converted to another chemical then it would be Halal but
other Islamic scholars recommend to consume product under this category
because they said that the large or small quantity of this product do not
intoxicate a person.
Source : Muslim Consumer Group
FLAVOUR COMPONENT
A flavor compound is basically is composed
of two parts, a flavor portion and a diluent
portion.
61
FLAVOUR COMPONENT
USE OF ALCOHOL IN FLAVOUR
1.
As solvent/ Carrier
In diluent portion facilitates the inclusion of several
colouring, flavoring and/or aromatic compound
2.
As flavouring agent
In flavour portion to enhance the flavor impression and it's
acceptability particularly the expression of top note
3.
In extraction particularly of citrus/ essential oil
Alter the miscibility property from oil to aqueous phase
Source : Ms Maizatulanizah,, Matrix Flavours
62
FLAVOUR COMPONENT
Circle represents flavour
as a whole
Green triangle represents
the flavour portion which
Diluent Portion
is further divided into Top
Flavour
Portion
Note, Middle/ Spine/
Frame Note and Base/
Foundation note
Blue area represents
diluents
Source : Ms Maizatulanizah,, Matrix Flavours
63
FLAVOUR COMPONENT
Top note
Volatile component
Middle /Spine/Frame note
Body component
Base/Foundation note
Solid component
E.g.
Acetaldehyde
Ethyl Alcohol
Ethyl Formate
E.g.
Diacetyl
Ethyl propionate
E.g.
Vanillin
Maltol
Diluent
Source : Ms Maizatulanizah,, Matrix Flavours
64
ISSUE # 6
Is propylene glycol a suitable alternative to ethanol in flavour
applications?
 Propylene glycol can be a suitable alternative to ethanol as a
solvent and carrier for flavour compounds
 In the extraction of essential oils, ethanol can result in a wider
selection of flavour notes. This is the area that will matter most
if ethanol is selected as a solvent in the extraction process
CONCLUSION
 It is proposed that a scientific approach is adopted assisting
scholars to obtain a benchmark for permissible alcohol contents in
food and drinks
 Explore medico-legal principles as possibility in setting benchmark
for alcohol content
 Scientific methods can be further developed to be a robust method
for traceability of the source of alcohol in foods and drinks
 To resolve and harmonise the alcohol issue is imperative to enable
the industry to expand further