HALAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY MODULE
(Techniques & instruments implemented for Halal Analysis of Products)
Reviewed by: MUDASHIRU OLANREWAJU
Written by: Musa Ahmad, Bambang Kuswandi, Salina Mat Radzi, Farah Wahida Harun, Mohd. Sukri Hassan, Syamsul Kamar Muhamad @Wahab
USIM Library.
ISBN 978-967-440-423-9
Halal science and technology module is written to address Halal issues as Muslims populations escalates in recent time. It is estimated that by the year 2030, the Muslim population would be 26% of the world’s total population.The rapid growth of Islam could be connected to deep affiliation of non-Muslims with Muslims or prior understanding of the Islamic teachings and principles. In other reasoning, it may be connected to the assumed beautiful values taught in Islam and obeyed by the Muslims. One of such values is the concept “Halal”. Halal as one of the conceptual value of Muslims and Islam is developing and emerging out its due relevance as a result of public awareness about what it really represents.
The module practically explains in six topics to check the adulteration of food or non-food products with non-halal ingredients which has become a common issue in many countries including Malaysia. Halal is value proposition that exists within core elements of the supply chain of the diverse industries. Halal- certified products are gaining popularity among non-Muslims seeking high quality, safe and ethical products ranging from production process to labelling and packaging, this is why values promoted by halal goes beyond religious compliance.
Considering the sustainability of the halal industry, ‘Halal Science and technology’ disseminates knowledge and educate halal- trained professionals through theoretical explanation and practical aspects to cover its intents. The module covers Shariah regulatory, technical marketplace, monitoring, auditing and implementation of the halal industry.
To give further explanation on this, ‘adulteration of food’ is broken down, least to give a deep and better understanding into the main issue. Adulteration is an act of intentionally taking the form of substitution of one species to another. In other words, it is done to get cheap products for a particular production whereby the expensive ingredients are exchanged for cheaper ones, this amounts to one of the reasons for halal verification and authentication. The module used practical analysis to check the intent of halal on food adulteration.
Topic one and the first practical analysis is the “UV- Visible Molecular Spectroscopy: principle and its application in the Halal industry.
Spectroscopy is a study of molecular structure through the absorption, emission and scattering of light or electromagnetic radiation (EMR). It involves the study of interaction between radiation and matter as a function of wavelength.
The application of UV-vis spectroscopy in identifying and quantifying the impurities or adulteration in various types of samples is widespread. This method is considered as being a reliable, fast, simple and cheap technique to detect the undesirable compounds.
UV-vis spectroscopy is also used in identifying halal status of gelatin-based food products. Since gelatin is normally derived from animals; most of it consists of porcine and bovine based.
Thus, it’s application has been regarded as an issue for some religions, such as Islam and Jews.
Another reliable state-of-the-art scientific method used for analysis in Halal compliance is Fluorescence spectroscopy. It is considered to be primarily a research tool in chemistry, biochemistry and biophysics. Fluorescence spectroscopy involves conducting a study to discriminate between different edible oils. However, adulteration is a major issue in the olive oil market. One of such is the authenticity of products labelled as virgin olive oil and highly regarded as a great importance from commercial and health aspect, various methods have been developed to determine the authenticity of extra virgin olive oils. In this case, Virgin oil is adulterated with corn oil, sunflower oil, rapeseed oil, soya bean oil, walnut oil and other low-quality olive oil, such as olive-pomace, was quantitatively detected with detection limit as low as 2.6% (w/w).
Florescence spectroscopy have successfully been used in identifying the pork adulteration in beef and chicken meatballs. It is claimed that this method is reliable and simple as it relies on colour change of the gold nanoparticles as DNA was extracted from the cooked meatballs.
The method ‘Chromatography technique’ has been extensively used over the past few years in determining the Halal status of a product. This is because, the chromatographic based techniques offers rapid and reliable tool for the separation and quantitative analysis of non-halal items by determining the major and minor components presents in food/cosmetic products. Moreover, due to their advantageous separation characteristics, numerous chromatographic techniques have been tested, accepted and employed in the analysis of non-halal items in food products.
Mass spectrometry is another powerful technique for analyst to analyze and identify unknown molecular structures and probing the fundamental principle of chemistry. Testing of food products for the purpose of labelling and authentication is necessary to avoid unfair competition and to assure consumer protection against fraudulent practices in the food industry. The majot issues concerning authenticity in meat are halal authenticity and also high value of raw materials that are instead substituted with cheaper materials. Hence, identification of the species of origin in meat samples is relevant to consumers for several reasons, some of which fraudulent substitution or adulteration may lead to economic loss, jeopardize the health of consumers who may have specific food allergies and emotional disturbance due to religious reasons.
Fourier Transforms Infra-Red Spectroscopy is a frequently used analytical tool to assess the purity of a compound in the attempt to provide some information regarding the structure of a compound. Infra-Red Spectroscopy in this module focuses on the interaction of molecules with electromagnetic spectrum specifically infrared radiation. The method is used in compound identification of alcoholic drink
Analysis of skin and Hair products originated from pig is another way to check for Halal compliance in usable items such as shoes, belt, bag, belt, glove, brush etc. which are available in the market without halal logo and might have been produced from skin or pig hair which is non-halal, thus it is very important to verify the products were made from pig or not through this analysis. The analysis involves the use of FTIR spectroscopy, solubility test, burning test scanning electron microscope (SEM).
The book, ‘Halal science and technology’ provides a deep and comprehensive knowledge and scientific required skills for all that is needed to identify Halal compliant foods, items and cosmetics. Halal as a virtue of Islam and the Muslims is now being generally accepted by people of other religions and it is in line with this that there should be more detailed understanding of its practical analysis, practice and applications.
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