Chocolate is made from cocoa beans produced from the cacao plant (Theobroma cacao, L.). Cacao plant first was recognized by the Mayans in the Yucatan area of southern South America. Cacao plants have been planted by the Aztecs in Mexico and the Incas in Peru when the Europeans first came to Central America. Cocoa beans were used as a money currency, and it was also made into a drink by name Chocolate. From the name of the drink that is apparently a term of chocolate then appeared.
Originally, the ingredients for making chocolate insha Allah is halal. However, with the development of technology that is always looking for cheaper alternative materials makes us should be aware to the possibility of using doubtful halal ingredients.
Materials Substituent and Substitute of Chocolate
Vegetable fats other than cocoa butter have long been used in the manufacture of chocolate and chocolate coatings. Vegetable fats are made so that it has a composition similar to the composition of the so-called cocoa butter substitute (CBE). If the CBE process involves physical processes (fractionation using heat) or chemical (solvent extraction) only, the resulting product is not problematic in terms of halal status. However, if it involves the enzymatic process which involves the enzyme, then halal status is questionable. Some enzymes are used to perform this reaction comes from animals, especially pigs, and partly derived from microorganisms. Thus CBE halal status is doubtful.
Milk and its derivatives
Milk and its derivatives such as whey products are widely used in the manufacture of chocolate products, even one of the favorite types of chocolate products is chocolate milk. The type of milk that is sometimes used is called recombination milk. Recombined milk is milk made by mixing milk with fat skim milk. However sometimes recombined milk is made by mixing not only skim milk and milk fat but also whey. Whey is doubtful (shubhat), because whey is usually obtained from the cheese-making process in which the process is largely based on the enzyme and one type of enzyme that is used can be derived from pigs or cows that are not slaughtered according to Islam. Whey is also one of the materials commonly used in manufacture of chocolate products.
Sugar (Sweeteners)
Type of sugar or other sweetener that is often used and is doubtful of its halal status is glucose syrup. This is because in the manufacture of glucose syrup mostly involving enzyme where enzyme used is enzyme alpha-amylase. According to literatures, one source of alpha-amylase enzyme is animals, especially pig. That is why glucose syrup is questionable, except glucose syrup that has been halal certified.
Other type of sweeteners is called non-caloric sweetener. The type of sweetener is used for chocolate products that is intended for people who are doing calorie diet, those who should avoid high-calorie foods. Examples of non-calorie sweetener that is commonly used in chocolate products and the halal status is questionable is sorbitol. It is due sorbitol originated from glucose, in which glucose itself is questionable.
