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Welcome to Canadian Halal Food

The Muslim Consumer Group for Food Products is a non-profit and non-political organization, incorporated in 1993 as Halal foods educational and Halal certification organization for Muslims consumers and food industry. Muslim consumers in Canada are in great need to know the Halal status of food products in Canadian supermarkets. Alhumdulillah MCG is grateful to Allah Subhanahu Wa Taala for providing this service to Muslims in Canada. This web site will educate them about requirements for Halal foods. We are the only Halal certifying organization whose Halal certification is acceptable to every Muslim consumer because it is based on strict Islamic dietary requirements.

Our Halal symbol H in triangle appears on many food products, and ingredients. We follow the Islamic dietary requirement of no added ethyl alcohol to food products such as in natural and artificial flavors, vanilla extract and alcohol containing products such as naturally brewed soy sauce. We bring complex food processing knowledge to Muslims and its impact on Islamic dietary requirements. Our main purpose is to help Canadian Muslims to bring only Halal food products to their homes and Masajid.

What we do

We educate Muslims consumers and food industry about Halal food products and Halal food ingredients through our two web sites. We answer question from Muslims regarding food products through e-mails and we have a toll free Halal Food Hot Line to answer question about Halal food products in supermarkets, food ingredients, Halal personal care products and Halal on the counter medicines.

We go to Masajid or Islamic center for Questions & Answers sessions. We participate questions/answers session on radio program.

We Halal certify non-meat food products and food ingredients for different food companies. We Recently Halal Certified various vegetable oils for Y & Y Distribution company of Montreal, QC Canada. Inshallah  these oils with our Halal symbol will be available in Montreal and Toronto supermarkets

Recent Research on Food Products in 7 supermarkets of Toronto, Ontario area:

In April 2009 Muslim Consumer Group has completed the research and collected the data of food products in 7 supermarkets of Toronto, Ontario area. The total products researched were 2234 in 7 different supermarkets excluding the meat and meat-by products and assign the following status: Halal, Halal if no alcohol is used in flavor, Not Halal

The above status were assigned on the basis of Muslim Consumer Group's criteria as reported on this website. The 8 supermarkets researched in Toronto area are:

• Costco Warehouse
• Food Basic Supermarket
• Fresh Co (Old Price Chopper)
• Loblaws Supermarket
• Metro Supermarket (Old Dominion)
• No Frill Supermarkets
• Real Canadian Superstore
• Wal-Mart Super Center

Inshallah the data on food products in seven supermarkets will be updated whenever it is necessary.

IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT HALAL FOODS

Food Products having Kosher symbols like OU, Circle K, KD, Kuf K, CRC and V are not always Halal    

The Kosher Certified food products are not considered Halal if they contain one of the following ingredient (based on MCG Halal criteria):

}  (1) Gelatin (2) Kosher Gelatin (3) L-Cysteine made from human hair or chicken or duck feathers (4) Wine (5) Liquor (6) Beer batter (7) Rum flavor (8) Ethyl Alcohol or ethanol as a main ingredient (9) Cochineal or Carmine (10) Naturally Brewed Soy Sauce (11) Brewer’s Yeast Extract from byproduct of beer making  (12) Nucleotides (13) Vanilla Extract (14) Wine Vinegar (15) If ethyl alcohol is used as a solvent in natural and artificial flavors (16) Confectionary Glaze or Resinous Glaze (17) Torula Yeast grown on alcohol.

 HOW TO PHRASE YOUR QUESTION ABOUT ALCOHOL IN FLAVOR OF A FOOD PRODUCT

The question about alcohol in flavor is a tricky one because it is a hidden ingredient of the flavor. If you ask alcohol question to non technical consumer department person of a food company, first they look at the ingredients list of the food product and will find no alcohol is mentioned. Then they will say we do not use alcohol in our products because they do not know the alcohol is a hidden ingredient of the flavor. We request Muslim consumers to use the following phrase when asking or writing the question to consumer department of any food company regarding the presence or absence of alcohol in the flavor of a food product.

" is alcohol used as a solvent in flavor; alcohol is a hidden ingredient or processing aid ingredient of a flavor, it will not appear in the ingredients statement. The knowledge of presence or absence of alcohol in flavor is only known to your QA or Technical service department because they have access to the specification of flavors. In the specification of flavor, your flavor supplier has written  the name of solvent or carrier used in that particular flavor. So please request your QA or Technical service department to find out whether alcohol was used or not in the flavor as a solvent. The consumer department can not answer this question because they do not have access to specification of ingredients".

Fried Beer Battered Fish and Potato Products Contaminate Halal Fried Fish and Halal Fried Potato Products on Production Lines

MCG want to bring the knowledge of contamination of Halal fried fish and potato products with fried Beer Batter fish and potato products.

All fried fish and potato used the same fryer and same vegetable oil. Then the left over oil is recycled and when it contaminated with beer then there is no way of separating beer from oil.

McCain Foods:

Although McCain Canada do not market fried Beer Batter frozen potato at retail level but they manufacture fried Beer Batter frozen Potato on same lines for their food service accounts.

McCain has Halal certified frozen potato products from a Halal certifying organization.  But those Halal certified potato products are contaminated with Beer in Beer Batter Potato products. Here is the e-mail from McCain Foods:

" Dear Rasheed,

Thank you for contacting the Consumer Affairs Group at McCain Foods USA, Inc.

We are pleased to learn of your interest in our McCain frozen potatoes.  It is always nice to hear from consumers like you who take the time to contact our company when you have a comment or question regarding our product.

The oil used to manufacture the Beer Battered Fries is re-circulated and could be used on multiple production lines for multiple products.

Thank you for your interest; please feel free to contact us at any time in the future.

Cordially,

McCain Consumer Response Group"

Batter and Breaded Fish Products:

All Batter and Breaded frozen fish products are fried in freyer but Broiled, Grilled and baked fish are not fried products.

MCG advises Muslim consumers to avoid consuming those brands who make Beer Batter fried fish and potato products. Also go to their websites of those brands who do not sell the fried Beer Batter fish and potato products to make sure they do not markets the fried Beer Batter fish and potato products in some other part of the country.

Ore-Ida Brand:

Ore-Ida brand do not make fried Beer Batter potato products according to the list of products on their website.

Gorton Brand:

Gorton brand makes both fried Beer Batter Fish and non Beer Batter fried fish on the same line . But they also marketed Grilled Fish Products and Baked Fish products which are not contaminated with fried Beer Batter Fish products.

High Liner Brand:

High Liner food company in Canada makes fried Beer Batter frozen fish for both retail and food service on the same line where other non Beer Batter fried fish products are made. So the non Beer Batter fried fish contaminates other Halal batter fish.

Van De Kamp's Brand:

Van De Kamp's brand is marketing fried Beer Batter Fish and other fries fish products. They also have baked and grilled fish which do not contaminated with fried Beer Batter fish.

Blue Water Brand:

Blue Water brand is also make the fried Beer Batter frozen fish on the same line with other non Beer batter fried fish.

Red Lobster Restaurants:

MCG is educating Muslims not to eat fried fish at Red Lobster because they also provide Fried Beer Batter Fish. The broiled and grilled fish are Halal only if they use butter, black pepper, salt on broiled or grilled fish. The Sauces used on broiled or grilled fish are not Halal.

Grilled and Baked Fish Products:

These products are not contaminated with fried Beer Batter Fish products.

HALAL STATUS SYMBOLS

 Halal    Not Halal    Mushbooh or Unknown    Halal if no alcohol is used in flavor    MCG Certified Halal

MCG'S HALAL CERTIFICATION PROCEDURE:

Please fill out the application form from site or obtained through e-mail or fax.

Please click here for Certification Procedure

If your products pass the Halal requirements then signing the contract including number of inspection per year, record keeping, number of products to be Halal certified and service fees for Halal certification.

MCG'S HALAL REQUIREMENTS:

Raw material, processing aid ingredients, processing, sanitation chemicals and packaging should meet the Islamic dietary requirements.

MCG will not consider a natural or artificial flavor as Halal if ethyl alcohol is used as a solvent or carrier and if the flavoring ingredients are not from Halal source.