Is carmine (E120) halal?
Carmine (E120, also 'carminic acid' or 'cochineal') is a red colouring extracted from an insect. It turns up in sweets, fruit yoghurts, drinks and processed meats. Its status depends on the school you follow.
Below are the app's encyclopedia entries exactly as Tayib shows them: the four schools' reading, the explanation, the texts and the sources. Tayib informs, it does not certify — for your personal situation, ask a qualified scholar.
Is carmine (E120) halal?
Carmine (E120): the schools differ in Tayib (Hanafi — haram, Maliki — doubtful, Shafi‘i — haram, Hanbali — haram). A colouring extracted from cochineal. The Hanafi, Shafi‘i and Hanbali readings adopted here prohibit it. The Maliki choice still needs checking: the name E120 does not establish the conditions of the process or the opinion followed. Contemporary permissions are presented separately in the institutions’ opinions.
- 01.
In the shop, when "Carmine E120" appears on the ingredient list.
- 02.
When the label leaves out an ingredient's origin and you want to know what is missing.
- 03.
When someone says "it's halal" or "it's haram" with no source, and you want the argument.
1 entries · carmine e120
Main entry firstCarmine (E120)
colouring derived from an insect
A colouring extracted from cochineal. The Hanafi, Shafi‘i and Hanbali readings adopted here prohibit it. The Maliki choice still needs checking: the name E120 does not establish the conditions of the process or the opinion followed. Contemporary permissions are presented separately in the institutions’ opinions.
What the texts say
Qur'an and hadith cited by the appQur’an 7:157
Verse
ٱلَّذِينَ يَتَّبِعُونَ ٱلرَّسُولَ ٱلنَّبِىَّ ٱلْأُمِّىَّ ٱلَّذِى يَجِدُونَهُۥ مَكْتُوبًا عِندَهُمْ فِى ٱلتَّوْرَىٰةِ وَٱلْإِنجِيلِ يَأْمُرُهُم بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَىٰهُمْ عَنِ ٱلْمُنكَرِ وَيُحِلُّ لَهُمُ ٱلطَّيِّبَـٰتِ وَيُحَرِّمُ عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلْخَبَـٰٓئِثَ وَيَضَعُ عَنْهُمْ إِصْرَهُمْ وَٱلْأَغْلَـٰلَ ٱلَّتِى كَانَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ ۚ فَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ بِهِۦ وَعَزَّرُوهُ وَنَصَرُوهُ وَٱتَّبَعُوا۟ ٱلنُّورَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أُنزِلَ مَعَهُۥٓ ۙ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُفْلِحُونَ
« Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered prophet, whom they find written [i.e., described] in what they have of the Torah and the Gospel, who enjoins upon them what is right and prohibits them from what is wrong and makes lawful for them what is good and forbids them from what is evil and relieves them of their burden and the shackles which were upon them. So they who have believed in him, honored him, supported him and followed the light which was sent down with him - it is those who will be the successful. »
Sahih International
3 institutional opinions
Shown apart from the schoolsCarmine permitted under conditions
Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI) – Komisi Fatwa
Food colouring derived from cochineal (carmine) is lawful as long as it is useful and not harmful, the insect being likened to the locust (non-flowing blood).
« Pewarna makanan dan minuman yang berasal dari serangga Cochineal hukumnya halal, sepanjang bermanfaat dan tidak membahayakan. »
Fatwa MUI No. 33 Tahun 2011, 10 August 2011
Carmine haram and impure
Lembaga Bahtsul Masail PWNU Jawa Timur (Nahdlatul Ulama), reported by NU Online
The LBM of East Java’s NU declared carmine forbidden and impure, insects being considered repugnant (khaba’ith) by the majority of schools.
« Lembaga Bahtsul Masail Nahdlatul Ulama (LBMNU) Jawa Timur mengeluarkan fatwa yang menyatakan bahwa karmin hukumnya haram dan najis. »
LBM PWNU Jatim decision of 29 August 2023
Carmine forbidden for ingestion
Darul Iftaa, Jaamia Madinatul Uloom (Trinidad & Tobago)
Consuming products containing carmine (E120) is forbidden because the majority of scholars prohibit insects; external use (shampoos) remains permitted.
« Therefore it is impermissible to consume any products containing carmine. »
December 11, 2017
Additives and emulsifiers
E471, E120, E441… what you need to know
The same E number can refer to a plant, animal or synthetic product: the code alone does not indicate origin. This is why many additives are classified as ‘doubtful’ when the label gives no further information.
A plant origin explicitly attached to the additive may resolve the question of its origin. Tayib also uses certain vegetarian or vegan declarations in the product record for ingredients to which they are relevant. These are declared details: they prove neither the absence of alcohol nor compliance with all religious conditions, and do not permit an explicitly forbidden ingredient.
Carmine
Carmine (E120) is a red colouring extracted from cochineal, an insect. The Maliki permission regarding insects includes conditions whose application to the industrial production of carmine must be checked. Some contemporary institutions permit carmine under their conditions, while others reject it; Tayib presents these opinions separately. Rules concerning insects also include exceptions, notably locusts.
ٱلَّذِينَ يَتَّبِعُونَ ٱلرَّسُولَ ٱلنَّبِىَّ ٱلْأُمِّىَّ ٱلَّذِى يَجِدُونَهُۥ مَكْتُوبًا عِندَهُمْ فِى ٱلتَّوْرَىٰةِ وَٱلْإِنجِيلِ يَأْمُرُهُم بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَىٰهُمْ عَنِ ٱلْمُنكَرِ وَيُحِلُّ لَهُمُ ٱلطَّيِّبَـٰتِ وَيُحَرِّمُ عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلْخَبَـٰٓئِثَ وَيَضَعُ عَنْهُمْ إِصْرَهُمْ وَٱلْأَغْلَـٰلَ ٱلَّتِى كَانَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ ۚ فَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ بِهِۦ وَعَزَّرُوهُ وَنَصَرُوهُ وَٱتَّبَعُوا۟ ٱلنُّورَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أُنزِلَ مَعَهُۥٓ ۙ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُفْلِحُونَ
“Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered prophet, whom they find written [i.e., described] in what they have of the Torah and the Gospel, who enjoins upon them what is right and prohibits them from what is wrong and makes lawful for them what is good and forbids them from what is evil and relieves them of their burden and the shackles which were upon them. So they who have believed in him, honored him, supported him and followed the light which was sent down with him - it is those who will be the successful.”
- Mono- and diglycerides (E471)possible animal origin4 schools · Doubtful
- Esters of mono- and diglycerides (E472)possible animal origin4 schools · Doubtful
- Glycerine (E422)possible animal origin4 schools · Doubtful
- Carmine (E120)colouring derived from an insectHanafi · HaramMaliki · DoubtfulShafi‘i · HaramHanbali · Haram
- L-cysteine / cystine (E920, E921)feathers, hair or fermentation4 schools · Doubtful
- Inosinate / guanylate (E626–E635)sometimes extracted from meat or fish4 schools · Doubtful
What people often ask
The Maliki permission regarding insects includes conditions concerning how they are killed; its application to the industrial production of carmine is debated. Dar al-Ifta and MUI permit this colouring under their conditions, while other authorities reject it. These contemporary opinions cannot be reduced to a uniform permission across an entire school.
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