Halal food

"Halal" is an Arabic word and can be translated to mean "permissible" and "tolerable". It refers to all things and deeds, which are allowed according to the Islamic rules. The converse is "haram" and means "forbidden". Between halal and haram there is a grey area which is called "makruh". Makruh (frowned upon/ objectionable) refers to all things which are not explicitly forbidden, but tend to move in the direction of haram. For Muslims, even these grey areas are to be avoided with caution.

Generally, all types of food are allowed, with the exception of those which are explicitly and likewise clearly forbidden. A Muslim is prohibited from eating swine meat and its by-products, consuming intoxicating beverages (alcohol) and blood.

The term "halal" is, in the meantime, in terms of commercial law, defined in the "Codex Alimentarius". The Codex Alimentarius is a collection of standards for the food security and product quality which is released by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) of the UN.

We would be happy to support and assist you in examining your products for e.g. swine DNA. With analyses using PCR, we can help you to guarantee that the purification processes and designs are sufficient and that you reliably avoid cross-contamination. Also, we would be happy to analyse any of your fish products using species-specific DNA sequencing in order to exclude any fish types that are forbidden by Islamic rules.

Our awareness and respect for religious requirements will be proven by our analyses and our responsibility.

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