Is Xanthan Gum Halal?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
Xantham gum is an ingredient in many prepared foods. It is made by fermenting sugars by certain bacteria. The fermentation produces a broth-like consistency. Alcohol which can be ethanol, is added to the broth to solidify it. The solidified substance is then crushed into a powder called Xanthan gum.
I would like to know if Xanthan gum is halal to eat since alcohol is added in the process of making it.
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.
I pray you are in good faith and health.
Xanthan gum is halal and permissible.
Xanthan Gum E415 is a polysaccharide manufactured through fermentation from corn, wheat, and various other crops. As a plant-derived ingredient, Xanthan Gum E415 is generally recognized as halal. Sometimes, the addition of isopropyl alcohol – which eventually evaporates – and the precipitate is dried and milled to give a powder readily soluble in water or brine. This is non-wine alcohol and is used as a chemical tool to extract flavors or scents, as is the case with vanilla extract.
Xanthan gum (E-number: 415) is classified as permissible and halal by SANHA. Its alternative names are Corn sugar gum; Polysaccharide B-1459.
Related:
South African National Halaal Authority – E415 (Xanthan gum)
Re-evaluation of xanthan gum (E 415) as a food additive
Xanthan Gum
Halal Certified Xanthan Gum
Is Xanthan Gum Vegan?
Xanthan Gum — Is This Food Additive Healthy or Harmful?
Is Tamari That Has Alcohol Added as a Preservative Allowed?
Is It Permissible to Consume Food to Which Alcohol Has Been Added for Flavor?
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I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening.
