Syed Rasheeduddin Ahmed, founder & President of Muslim Consumer Group For Food Products USA/Canada presented a paper on Processing Aid or Hidden Ingredients in Food Products & ingredients and their Halal status from US food industry point of view at First International Conference on Halal Food Control at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
In his presentation he explained which processing aid or Hidden ingredients are used in fresh apple, apple juice, fortified milk in USA & Canada, Bakery products, Pasta, Potato Products, Mayonnaise, Tartar Sauce, seasoning, dry mixes, Beta Carotene, Soft Drinks, Fruit Drinks, Cheese, Whey, Infant Baby Formulas, Cereals, Turmeric Powder, Butter, Margarine, Vanilla Extract in Cookies, Malt Flavoring and Malt Extract in Cereals based on his 30 years of US food industry experience, and his recent experience with Kraft Foods USA until December 2011, which led him to also include the Hidden ingredients used in Kraft BBQ Sauce.
He also mentioned that not all Kosher certified food products are consider Halal unless they meet the Halal requirements. He provided a list of 17 ingredients, if any single ingredient of those 17 ingredients present in a Kosher certified food product then that kosher certified is not consider Halal based on MCG criteria for Halal status.
He provided a solution to Muslim consumers of USA/Canada for not consuming Haram Hidden ingredients in a food product if the food product has a Halal or Kosher symbol(if kosher certification meets the Halal requirements)on the food package because many Muslim consumers in USA and Canada have little knowledge of hidden ingredients in food products and their Halal status.
MCG also had a booth at the exhibition to show how they are serving the Muslim Ummah through the Halal Food Book “A Comprehensive List of Halal Food Products in USA”, and through their website www.muslimconsumergroup.com which is logged in 135 countries with 1100 visits per day and their www.canadianhalalfoods.com website for Canadian Muslims.
Muslim Consumer Group do not Halal certify any food product or ingredients if alcohol is used in food flavors or during processing.
