APPLICATION OF HALAL FOOD IN THE KITCHEN

By: Abdulatif "Chef Tato"Sangcupan

The Islamic requirements of Halal are based upon the teachings of the Quran and the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad SAW . The Quran is the holy book of Islam, which was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. The Sunnah (Practice) is a supplement to the Quran that includes information about the life of the Prophet Muhammad SAW, as well as his sayings and deeds. It is considered the second source of Islamic law.

Muslims are permitted to consume only Halal food. Food is considered Halal if it does not comprise of Haram (prohibited) items, or does not get contaminated with Haram items or if it is not prepared as prescribed.

"Halal" is an Arabic word meaning

· Lawful

· Permissible

· Legal

· Allowable

· Good

· Healthy

· Consumable

The term not only covers food and drink, but also to all matters of Muslim’s daily life such as

1. Governance,

2. Clothing, or Non food Products/etc

3. Marriage in Islam,

4. Economy or Business.

We sometime select our leaders; leaders that are good are being elected in democratic nations. A leader is being chosen to lead his people. In the Philippines “ when Filipinos elect their leaders, they call it Halal na Pinuno” or Elected leader. Halal is used as translation of election because we knew the fact that Filipino language has so many influences from other languages. We adopt a lot of words from Chinese, Spanish, English, Malay and Indian and of course the Arabic which we adopt as part of our dialect and eventually until now we used most of these terms as our common Filipino dialect. It came out to be the term Halal is when we translate this into original tagalog is pagpipili such as pagpipili ng mga pinuno. (Selection of leaders)

When it comes to food “ pagpipili ng pagkain” choosing a food that is consumable. Most people think of meat foods only. However, Muslims must ensure that all foods, particularly processed foods, pharmaceuticals, and non-food items like cosmetics, are also halal. Frequently, these products contain animal by-products or other ingredients that are not permissible for Muslims to eat or use on their bodies.

We cannot allow our sisters or our wives go out of streets or attend a party or any occasion wearing very revealing clothes. We always portray Mary, mother of Jesus (AS) as role model of every Muslim woman.

Islam obliged every Muslims to select their partners legally; live in partners is not allowable and is considered haram marriage in Islam.

Under Islamic law, there are three main sources of food on earth; those are the Animal, Plants and Drinks. Seven categories of food have been designated “haram”, i.e., prohibited for Muslims:

1. Meat of dead animals (carrion); 
2. Pork and all products derived from pigs;
3. Blood;
4. Food dedicated to false gods;
5. Intoxicants
6. Carnivorous animals with fangs and birds of prey. 
7. Contaminated food with haram item

Eating these in any form is not permitted for Muslims, unless one is afraid of starvation and feels it is a necessity in order to survive. The parents of Muslim children take the responsibility of choosing Halal foods.

Halal products contaminated during production, processing, preparation and/or serving food, with any of the Haram items also become Haram, when one is aware of such contamination. Additionally, there are strict requirements for making the meat of permitted animals Halal. The animals have to be slaughtered by a Muslim in a prescribed Islamic manner.

PROCEDURE FOR MAKING PARTIALLY HALAL KITCHEN

When Halal foods are prepared in the same kitchen as non-Halal foods, either at the same time or on a batch basis, certain precautions must be taken. All food preparers, stockers, and handlers must be instructed in these precautions. If at any time, the integrity of the Halal food is compromised, it will be rendered non-Halal and must not be served as Halal. The following are key elements for a Halal kitchen:

FOOD SUPPLIES

All supplies for Halal meals must be Halal, certified by an authentic Islamic Halal certifying organization, wherever practical. Meat and poultry products must be slaughtered in the Islamic way, often referred to as Zabiha. Zabiha means slaughtered by Muslims according to Islamic requirements. It is preferred that all supplies be certified Halal. Most of the common food products contain either doubtful or haram ingredients. The procurement office must look for the ones which do not contain any such food products which contain doubtful ingredients.

STORAGE

1. Halal items must be isolated from non-Halal ingredients and products. Halal supplies should be stored in separate cabinets, bins, and storage vessels to prevent contamination with non-Halal food.
2. Items that are dry should be stored in sealed containers.
3. Liquids or wet items should be stored in leak proof containers, which prevent other liquids from accidentally mixing with them. They should be clearly labeled as Halal to prevent confusion or contamination.
4. It is preferable to have the items marked “Halal”. For refrigerated items, it is preferred they are stored in Halal designated refrigerators with no non-Halal products.
5. If stored in mixed refrigerators with non-Halal products, Halal items must be stored in sealed containers on the top shelves, with no non-Halal items stored in shelves above them.

PREPARATION

Food should be prepared in a way to prevent cross contamination from non-Halal items. To maintain the Halal integrity of the food, Halal meals must be prepared in clean equipment. The equipment should be designated for Halal preparation and no other meals should be prepared on this equipment. If this is not possible, Halal meals should be prepared first, on equipment and with utensils that have been recently cleaned, or cleaned and stored in sanitary storage, away from any non-Halal items. They should not have been used for any other preparation after being cleaned. It is preferred that Halal foods are cooked on/in designated Halal ovens. If cooked on/in common ovens, Halal foods must be cooked first, on just cleaned ovens, and then isolated from any non-Halal items. Warmers for Halal foods should not be used for non-Halal foods, especially pork products.

Food preparers can contaminate food in a number of ways, including

1. By using the same food steamers to prepare pork products and non-pork products, such as rice, simultaneously;
2. By handling pork products and then preparing food which would otherwise be Halal, without washing their hands with hot water and soap;
3. By storing pork products and Halal products in food warmers, stacked in such a way that pork drippings leak from one pan and drip onto the Halal dish,
4. By cooking food in kettles or pots that had previously been used to cook non-Halal food and had not been scrubbed with hot water and soap between uses; and
5. By cooking food in ovens in which pork drippings had spilled and not been cleaned properly.

• Food handlers/preparers should be sure not to work on both Halal and non-Halal items at the same time. Hands and utensils must be thoroughly washed before working or touching Halal food items or ingredients. If during the preparation of Halal foods, one touches non-Halal items, intentionally or by accident, they must wash their hands and utensils thoroughly before returning to work on the Halal food items.
• Preparers should avoid allowing clothing, aprons, etc. to come in contact with Halal foods and ingredients. It is recommended that certain aprons be designated as Halal use aprons and used exclusively when preparing and serving Halal food items.

UTENSILS

Halal designated utensils should be used wherever practical, and isolated from non-Halal foods to prevent contamination. Cooking and serving utensils for Halal foods should be thoroughly cleaned before use and no non-Halal items should be cooked in or come in contact with the utensils throughout the preparation process. It is preferred that all food items be Halal when Halal meals are served. If not, serving utensils used for Halal meals should not be used for non-Halal meals and vice versa. It is better if Muslims are allowed to prepare the Halal meals.

Contamination may also occur on food distribution lines, in various ways, including

1. When utensils used to serve the pork dish are also used to serve food which would otherwise be Halal;
2. When pork and Halal dishes are placed next to each other on the serving line and pork drippings spill into the Halal dish;
3. When food is served on dishes that contain residue from earlier pork meals because the dishes were not properly washed; and
4. Using common dish waters for Halal and non-Halal serving dishes. Paper and plastic disposable utensils may serve the purpose better to avoid any problems.

HALAL SUPERVISION

A Halal kitchen must be supervised by an Islamic organization or Muslim Chaplains/or Halal Assurance Officer recognized by National Commission on Muslim Filipino formerly Office on Muslim Affairs under the Office of the President of the Republic of the Philippines.. Halal food preparation is a matter of commitment to one’s faith. It is imperative that Halal food be prepared under the supervision of individuals knowledgeable in Halal food regulations and food preparation techniques. The department may acquire the services of the Halal Development Institute of the Philippines to approve the kitchen, help in purchasing the Halal supplies as well as supervise the preparation of Halal meals. It may also assign the responsibility to Muslim chaplaincy with the department.

CONCLUSION

It is prohibited for Muslims to eat food that contaminated, if they are aware of the contamination. The parents of young Muslim children take the responsibility of choosing Halal foods and avoiding contamination.

Foodservice kitchens that produce non-Halal food are capable of producing Halal food. In order to do so, the kitchen should maintain certain pots and utensils that are not used to cook or store non-Halal food. In addition, where non-Halal food in prepared in the Kitchen, the Halal food should be prepared first, while the kitchen is clean.

The kitchen may also supplement Halal meals with many items commonly found in any grocery store, such as bread, cereals, fruits and vegetables which require no preparation. Finally, the kitchen may serve Muslims their meals on disposable plates with disposable utensils to avoid cross contamination where dishes and utensils may not have been completely cleaned.

Lutong Halal