What’s a halal bakery?

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Halal is a term that refers to a dietary lifestyle with central principles that are mainly based on the religion of Islam. Those who follow the religion of Islam are known as Muslims and can live their lives according to Islamic teachings that guide their daily activities, such as eating. There are two main categories of foods in Islamic dietary laws: haraam, which refers to forbidden foods, and halal, which refers to foods that are considered good. A halal bakery is an establishment that sells sweets and other baked goods, all prepared according to the Islamic halal dietary laws set forth in the Quran, the holy book of teachings for Muslims.

One of the main principles of a halal diet is just the consumption of foods that are not prohibited in the teachings of Islam. A food is generally considered halal if it does not contain pork, alcohol, insects, meat from a carnivorous animal, such as a dog or tiger, or bird of prey, such as an eagle, or insects. Other meats and poultry are generally permitted if they are slaughtered according to Islamic law, which requires the animal to be alive and blessed in the name of the Islamic God, Allah, before being slaughtered. The law of Islam also dictates that the animal must be slaughtered in order to remove all of its blood.

Followers of Islam are also not allowed to consume processed foods that contain by-products of prohibited foods. Some food additives, such as those intended to preserve texture, add color or increase the shelf life of an item, are often derived from prohibited items, even though they may not necessarily be obvious to a consumer. A halal bakery prepares and sells baked goods that do not contain any additives which are by-products of prohibited items. Common examples of additives with prohibited byproducts include flavored extracts, which contain a small percentage of alcohol, and some insect-derived food colors.

Typically, a bakery must go through a certification process before it can be officially promoted as a halal bakery. Certification can be awarded by Islamic-based agencies, which are generally found in most areas with high Islamic populations. To be considered halal, a bakery will usually have its products analyzed by halal investigators to ensure that the baked goods contain only permitted foods. If a bakery uses an ingredient of unknown origin, such as an animal by-product where it cannot be determined whether the slaughter was done properly, investigators may choose not to allow the bakery to be certified halal.

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