Is whey powder is prohibited for Muslims?

Answer 1

This is the fatwa he was given onwww.askimam.org " According to our understanding of whey powder, it is the liquid after milk forms into curd. Accordingly, there is no reason for whey powder to be Haraam. If the powder has any other Haraam ingredients, then our ruling will be different. and Allah Ta'ala Knows Best Mufti Ebrahim Desai."

Whey powder is a 100% whey. No other ingredients are present in whey powder except hidden ingredients are added to milk before whey is produced.

The matter of fact that whey is only Halal if it is Halal or kosher certified or made as suitable for vegetarian. Because a common Muslim does not know what Haram hidden ingredients are used in milk before whey is manufactured.

Mufti Saheb cannot put the responsibility on a common Muslim to find out what Haram hidden ingredients are present in the whey . Because whey powder do not contain any ingredient. A common Muslim do not know what hidden ingredients are added to milk before whey is produced.

His fatwa should have said " According to our understanding of whey powder, it is the liquid after milk forms into curd. Accordingly, if whey is Halal certified or kosher certified which meet the Halal requirements or it is declared suitable for vegetarian then there is no reason for whey powder to be Haraam".

Whey is two type, one is sweet whey which is made from when starter culture bacteria are added to milk after they grown on media. Then rennet is added to milk to curd the milk. The water remaining after curding of the milk is called Whey. Then whey is dried on dryers to make whey powder. Dryers should not use for Haram products. So it is a by-product of rennet cheese. Most of food products are made with sweet whey.

The second type of whey is acid whey which is made from similar method above except acid is used to curd the milk. It is a by-product of cottage cheese.

There are three hidden ingredients used to make whey powder. Under ingredients list whey is listed as 100% whey or whey powder without mention of hidden ingredients.

1.Starter culture bacteria: It has to be obtained from milk source to be Halal if it obtained from meat source then it is not Halal.

2. Starter culture media: The starter culture media upon which starter culture bacteria are grown and multiply is made of Milk, Non Fat Milk Powder, Whey, Lactose, Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Dextrin, Dextrose, Pancreatin(from pork in old days but not anymore may be in Europe), Phosphate Salts, combination one or more of above ingredients. Whatever used those ingredients has to be Halal.

3. Rennet: Only microbial rennet is Halal not animal based such as pork or non zabiha beef. Italian cheeses are usually made with animal rennet.

When whey is Halal or kosher certified or use as a suitable for vegetarian then Muslims are protected against use of Haram hidden ingredients. Without these certifications, the manufacturer are not bounded to use only Halal hidden ingredients. It is possible pork rennet can be used as a hidden ingredients.

The person or persons who provided the scientific information to Mufti saheb are not qualified food experts which resulted in the wrong fatwa..

In USA/Canada if a Halal or Kosher symbol appears(It must meet the Halal requirements)on a food product containing whey, it means the whey is Halal and the product is Halal if all ingredients are Halal or in case of kosher certification, it should meet the Halal requirements.

In Europe if the "Suitable for Vegetarian" appeared on a food package containing whey, it means the whey is Halal and the product is Halal if no alcohol is used in the products(Suitable for Vegetarian label products may contain liquor or alcohol).

MCG requests Mufti Ebrahim Desai saheb to modified his fatwa so that Muslims stop eating Haram food products containing Haram whey because of his wrong fatwa and get the help from qualified food experts.