Cake emulsifier is a food additive used for stabilizing and softening cookie dough. Sometimes it is also used to susbtitute the use of eggs. In the market this material is known by trade names such as ovalet, SP, Spontan88, TBM (the type of cake emulsifier in Germany), and many more names. The Halal status of emulsifiers is generally doubtful due to they may be made from plant materials or animal. And if they are from plant substances in many cases the emulsifiers are often mixed with solid fats. In which, unfortunately, many times it is not clear what type of fats used (animal or plant based fats). We should pay careful attention to this and the “halalness” of the product because fats that solidify at room temperature originate from either animal fats OR vegetable fats processes using hydrogenation. This process allows fats to “keep their shape”.
Here are some examples of what emulsifiers are used for cakes, breads, creamy fillings, mayonaise, etc.
In regards to Dough conditioner, it has many functions. Dough conditioner is a great tool for any home baker or commercial baker because this ingredient is so versatile. It’s many use would be to soften the bread dough, developing and preparing the dough, preserving food, etc. This is due to the composition of the conditioner which usually contains a variety of ingredients one of which usually includes L-cysteine, soy flour, ascorbic acid, fat, sugar, preservatives, emulsifiers, and gypsum. The ingredients L-cysteine, fats and emulsifiers, is what make the Dough Conditioner halal status to be doubtful.
Source: Potency of non-halal food products, and issues on genetically modified food, By Anton Apriyantono