A couple of weeks back Ice Breaker gum got banned for containing non-halal ingredients and now a bunch of protein bars were also banned for containing non-halal ingredients:
Public Authority for Food and Nutrition (PAFN) has called to ban all imports of several protein bars as it contained non-halal ingredients. Secretary General Adel Al-Suwait said that it was found that products like Snickers, Mars, Bounty and Milky Way protein bars contained non-halal ingredients. Source
The odd thing is I looked through the ingredients and can’t figure out what the non-halal item can be. For example, this is the ingredients list for the Mars protein bar:
Protein Blend (27%) (Soya Protein Isolate, Milk Protein Isolate, Skimmed Milk Powder, Whey Protein Concentrate (from Milk), Egg, Albumen, Emulsifier (Soya Lecithin)), Caramel (16%) (Sweetened Condensed Skimmed Milk, Glucose Syrup, Invert Sugar Syrup, Palm Oil, Butter (from Milk), Sugar, Emulsifier (E471), Stabiliser (Pectin), Salt, Natural Flavouring), Milk Chocolate (15%) (Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Skimmed Milk Powder, Cocoa Mass, Lactose and Protein from Whey (from Milk), Palm Fat, Whey Powder (from Milk), Milk Fat, Emulsifier (Soya Lecithin), Natural Vanilla Extract), Hydrolysed Collagen (12%), Humectant (Glycerol), Fructo-Oligosaccharide, Humectant (Maltitol), Flavourings, Fat-Reduced Cocoa Powder, Barley Malt Extract, Salt.
So bizarre.
via Reddit
27 replies on “Some Protein Bars Banned in Kuwait”
Hydrolyzed collagen is processed from the collagen contained in the bones, skin, and connective tissue of animals. Sounds bad enough, now imagine that stuff from a pig.
I figure it’ the Barley Malt Extract.
All the ingredients are plant-based and the only thing extracted on there that’s from an animal seems to be the hydrolized collagen. But even that cant be assumed to come from a pig, as it says the product is taken from the cow’s hide. Maybe that part could indicate it was done in a non-halal way. Who knows what kind of bizarre theory they came up with and how many more products they’ll take down.
But are these products banned in other Muslim countries where non-halal (Haram) products are banned?
Kuwait is the benchmark
Happy that they are taking these steps now. They should check all the products at once and take down all the ones that are non Halal
Happy that they are taking these steps now. They should check all the products at once and take down all the ones that are non Halal
Completely agree.
+1
Halal isn’t just about Pig or non-pig ingredients, it’s also about how the animal was killed!
and basically its certificate that the manufacturer has to sought out.
“Censorship is when a man can’t eat steak because a baby can’t chew it” – Mark Twain
Also, my biggest issue with these protein bars was how much gas it gave me! 😓
Same, whey does that to me it turns out
Can we sue the company who imported it?
I don’t think it’s bizarre, Mark. The mother company itself responded with how their protein bars aren’t certified Halal. Sure, when reading the ingredients list there’s more to it than meets the eye.
Link to response?
The owner of a local food company called Lazurd has contacted with Mars (I apologize for the uncertain info I brought up by saying “mother company”) inquiring weather Mars protein bars are certified Halal or not and they responded with “Except protein bars they are not certified Halal till now and they are sold through grey markets, not through official distributors” that is part of their statement. You can check this post as it show the company response, albeit unclear but if zoomed in it can be readable, alongside the Public Authority for Food and Nutrition issuing the prohibition of said food products. https://www.instagram.com/p/B2KJkavJFXT/
I followed this story since the time the owner of Lazurd started investigating the matter and pulling out the facts.
This is confusing me.
Is there any regulation in Kuwait that requires products to be halal certified?
Is there any regulation in Kuwait that requires meat products be slaughtered in Halal way?
To my knowledge, it is market demand that pressured importers to certify that their meat products are slaughtered in Halal way. It is not Food Authority requirement. In fact, banning meats simply because they are not certified halal might be ‘haram’ (you are not allowed to ban something that was permitted in the quran).
Also to my knowledge, the consumers in Kuwait never went as far as being obsessed in having products containing meat derivatives to be “halal” or halal certified.
Yes there exist regulations about pork products and its derivatives… which is the direct definition of halal and haram. However the “halal” symbol you see on food products that originated from abroad in non arab muslim countries goes beyond the meat being pork or not.
Since it is not a practice here and perhaps the whole region to certify non-meat products as halal, I wonder what was the objective of ‘lazurd’ owner question… “whether the protein bar was halal certified or not”?!
We take halal products for granted in a sense that we assume all imported food specially when it comes from Muslim/Arab countries, say, Egypt or Emirates where the halal criteria is an obvious quality to have in mind.
And bro, how did you reach to the conclusion that we’re not allowed to ban meat that’s not certificated halal? The Qura’an explicitly states that a meat can only be halal if it meets the conditions of slaughtering with mercy, a sharp knife and to start slaughtering it right on the scrag end. So yes.. That’s why electrocuted/suffocated cattle is also considered Haram although it’s not pork.
I prefer that there’s some kind of initiative on this regard and I hope the food and nutrition authority makes it a routinely procedure to double check what kind of food being imported to us. So that’s the objective man.. To spread awareness and not take our food for granted.
I think it’s the Natural Vanilla Extract, vodka is added as a preservative.
Thank god, hopefully all non-halal products are off the shelves ASAP!
Do people actually believe all the products in supermarkets are halal? I mean companies like Americana slaughter probably hundreds of thousands of meat and poultry everyday…do they slit their throats one by one ensuring its halal slaughtered? I believe its just a label to convince muslims and they probably slaughter them like in any other slaughterhouse with modern methods.
If this is to be true. Like if these protein bars actually contain these animal extracts, I would be an really really angry, because I’m a vegetarian.
Why use animals collagen in a protein bar? like really? No other sources of protein?? Ergg
I suppose you need a ‘don’t ask don’t tell’ approach.
If you don’t know what you’re eating is non halal, no foul. You’re good.
Collagen guys! Collagen doesn’t just come from fish and beef. Collagen can come from a variety of sources, including chicken, pig, and egg. Google it!
It’s the collagen. Kuwait tests for pig derived products using insanely expensive lab methods.
It’s because of the presence of a Hydrolysed Collagen that has been derived from a bovine source that has not been slaughtered according to halal-law (has nothing to do with porcine source). Their official website along with their official social media accounts have stated that it is NOT SUITABLE for HALAL, KOSHER or VEGETARIAN DIETS.
Yet, the Distributor in Kuwait has managed to obtain a fraudulent Halal certificate from a non-recognized unofficial “Islamic” organization based in Glasgow UK, which has been confirmed through official investigations in the UK, and started to market/promote his product as a Halal one. He generated massive amount of revenues for many years because of this, which is very unethical.
Halal ingredients or NOT, its 100% your personal choice. But it is absolutely not right to lie to and con muslim consumers in an islamic culture into buying an officially-stated non-halal product with a fraudulent evidence just to make money.