In general, margarine is a semisolid material that contains fat for at least 80% and a maximum of 90%. Ingredients for making margarine basically are oil and fat, whether from vegetable (plant), animal, or fish. Based on the definition determined by the competent authority in Europe, margarine is a product derived from solid or liquid
fats that derived from vegetable and/or animal origin meaning can be entirely derived from oils/fats, all animal fat, or mixture of oils/fats and animal fats. In America, margarine can be made from the fat meal and/or edible oil or a mixture of oils and fats which are derived from vegetable, animal carcasses and sea animals (fish oil). In Canada, margarine can be made from any oils and fats rather than milk fat. From the definition of margarine and its raw ingredients, we can see that margarine includes material that its halal status is doubtful, or even vulnerable because it can contain animal fats which can originated from kind of lard or beef fat or the cows that are not slaughtered in Islamic way because in the most non-Muslim countries most cows are not Islamic slaughtered.
To reduce the risk of various diseases including heart disease and obesity, currently there is a similar product of margarine that its fat content below 80% (between 10-79%), it is called spread. In addition, there is also a margarine containing milk fat or butter spread that is butter with content of less than 80% fat. To make the filling material spread requires fat and /or thickeners such as gelatine, sodium alginate, pectin and carrageenan. Whey is often added in small amounts to improve its flavour. Gelatine and whey are the two ingredients that their halal status are doubtful. To make butter spread is often used sodium caseinates and the status is doubtful because of its production may involve enzymes of animal origin.
Margarine and spreads are products of water emulsion in oil, a mixture of water and oil in which the amount of the oil is more than water. Oil is expected to be evenly distributed in water and not separate from the oil, therefore it requires an emulsifier, material that capable in maintaining stability of emulsion, no separation between oil phase and water phase. Most emulsifiers use fatty acids or glycerides in which the two materials can be derived from plants or animals. Therefore emulsifier halal status is doubtful.
Of additional materials in margarines and spreads that we should be aware are emulsifier, lecithin, beta-carotene, flavouring, whey and gelatine. Lecithin itself is commercially derived from soybeans, but there are so many types of lecithin. One type of lecithin uses enzyme phospholipase A, obtained from pig pancreas. Unfortunately, all these kinds of lecithin in the market named with lecithin alone, cannot be distinguished what material they use so that the status of lecithin is doubtful. Flavouring of dairy products is composed from many kinds and many components. We should be aware of its halal status because it may contain fatty acids (could be from plant or animal) and the hydrolysis (breakdown) of milk fat with lipase enzyme (can be from plants, animals and microorganisms, many of which come from animals). Thus, the status of flavouring for dairy products is doubtful.
In conclusion, after knowing how margarine is made, we must be careful with the product because of its doubtful status. Choose margarine that has been inspected and certified halal.
