Halal is an Arabic word referring to what is permissible under Islamic Sharia law. The word halal is mostly used to refer to food, drinks and medicine that is deemed acceptable for Muslim consumption. To be considered Halal, the ingredients and method of production have to be comprehensively checked to guarantee they adhere to the Islamic dietary laws. Products and ingredients that are forbidden to consume include pork and pork by-products, lard, blood and items containing alcoholic elements.

Here in the United Kingdom, many different organisations in several different industries are proudly certified as Halal, however, there are companies around the UK, which bypass the certification and claim to be Halal. Below are recognised and authorised Halal certification organisations here in the UK.

• The Muslim Food Board (UK) PO Box 1786, Leicester LE5 5ZE, United Kingdom
• Halal Authority Board Hijaz Manor, Watling Street, Nuneaton, Warwickshire, CV11 6BE
• Halal Food Authority 109 Fulham Palace Road, London W6 8JA, United Kingdom
• Halal Monitoring Committee PO Box 10141, Leicester, LE1 8DX, England UK
• Universal Halal Agency C/O Care Link (UK) Trust, 111 Myddleton Road, London N22 8NE, United Kingdom

It is our mission to educate the masses and identify ways for you to make sure that what you are eating, drinking or that you are using in terms of medicine or cosmetics, are officially recognised and certified as Halal. We are most concerned as after hours of extensive research; there are, hundreds of “approved” Halal certification organisations, many without even contact details and some simply with a price on the cost of receiving a Halal certificate, who are we to say that they even go and check and confirm that the entire process is Halal or not.

Next time you go into that store to get food, drink, medicine or cosmetics, ask for yourself and see if the product you are being given or buying, actually has an approved Halal certification, I think you would be surprised with many. There are too many people out there jumping on the ‘Halal’ bandwagon without evidence to support their claims of their product and/or processes actually being accepted as Halal.

Disclaimer: The aim of this article is to increase awareness of the term ‘Halal’ in relation to medication and to direct towards further sources of information. It is acknowledged that some of the religious concepts are subjective to individuals’ religious belief systems, which are known to vary considerably. Whilst this article may support in providing information, individuals remain responsible for verifying that their treatment is compliant with their own religious belief systems.