Is 'E471 - Mono & di glycerides of fatty acids' Halal or Haram?
 

Salam Alaikum,

Is 'E471 - Mono & di glycerides of fatty acids' Halal or Haram?

Some say: mono and diglycerides are fats made from veggie oil like: soybean oil, cottonseed oil, sunflower oil, or palm oil.

What is the Islamic View about this, is it Halal or Haram?

Thanks

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It all depends on where they are sourced from. Sometimes, they are from plants. Other times, they may be from animals. It has to be approached on a case-by-case basis.

Walaikum Salam,

JazakAllah Khair. But how do you know whether it is from animals or plants?

Sometimes they specify "vegetal", or one could contact the company and ask them.

When it's not specified, it has to be avoided, as it could be from animal origins, thus haram (I'm not aware of any factory producing such mono&diglycerids from Halal meat).

e471 is everywhere, even in bread so avoiding all of this because of mere doubt might not be very realistic.

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We don't have E-numbers in North America. You have to call the company to figure out if they are halal or not.

@Brother Ansari:

The best way is to know reliable companies. For example, in North America, Sarah Lee breads use mono- and diglycerides but refuse to tell us whether they source it from plants or animals. On the other hand, Dempster's bread sources it from plants.

But the best way is to avoid it altogether - Wonder bread doesn't use mono or diglycerides.

It's not mere doubt, it's regarding the presence of haram animal substances.
It's classified as haram by GMWA:

http://www.gmwa.org.uk/foodguide2/in...question&id=44

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It isn't really as clear cut as that:

We are publishing a list of numbers, some of which are haraam and some of which are doubtful, because of its doubtful nature Muslims have to find out the source. So, some are haraam whereas some are doubtful. Mono- and diglycerides can be from plants, fish, or animals. If they're from the latter, they're haraam. Similarly, beta carotene can be from carrots or human hair. If from the latter, it is haraam. But there should be a separate list where the only the doubtful ingredients are listed. For example, cochineal is completely haraam but is listed in the same list as the doubtful.

(by the way, people should check any drink or food item that is reddish coloured because usually, the added colouring is cochineal)

E471s (Mono & di glycerides of fatty acids) are always Halal [for Hanafis]

because it undertakes istihalah (change of nature and quality) as is the case of vinegar, which is halal for hanafis regardless of the origin (alcohol).

edit : I recall something published by the jami'at ul muftiyeen of SA which had Mufti Husain (hafidhahullah)'s name in it, but can't find it right now. If I'm wrong please tell me so that I stop searching http://discussworldissues.com/forums.../icon_razz.gif

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Kosher mono and diglycerides are derived from plant sources.

Yes, that's what I meant, http://discussworldissues.com/forums...lies/jazak.gif for precising. Still, if they are of animal origins, they're haram. The doubtfullness is related to not knowing (unless clearly specified) if the origin is animal or vegetal, but if it's animal. It's haram..

While...

Wow that's the first time I read this; please post the link if you manage to find it..
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So far I found this post by Mufti Husain Sahab, in which actually, E471s are implicitly confirmed to be not permissible if they come from animal sources:

http://www.sunniforum.com/forum/show...l=1#post287568

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Nonetheless I have confirmed from brothers that Hanafi 'Ulama of Reunion declared it HALAL.
Their reasoning is :
Mono & diglycerides do not exist in natural forms rather they derive from triglycerides.
The process undergoes a molecular transformation (esterification) which is more intense than the molecular transformation that occurs when alcohol is transformed into vinegar.
Moreover mono & diglycerides develop characteristics of emulsion and stabiliser, unlike triglycerides.

They based their view on a 2004 research of Mufti Ebrahim Desai (Hafizahullah) on gelatine wherein istihalah is defined by a change in the element in the molecular structure (a change, not a mere rearrangement) along with qualities & characteristics (that are its own) are also transformed.

Mufti Desai speaking on the meeting of muftis : http://www.askimam.org/fatwa/fatwa.p...2b749f7d145ef2
Would be good if some SA brothers or 'ulama comment on this.

اللهم اكـفِـنا بحلالك عن حرامك واغـننا بفضلـِك عـمن سِواك