LESSON 4: Dietary Laws

Introduction

Dietary laws are special laws followed by a community or a group of people that permit or prohibit
certain foods. Dietary laws cover food origin, slaughtering, preparation, processing, packaging,
transportation, storage, and labeling. Studying dietary laws are valuable in serving export markets. In
this lesson, we will discuss three dietary laws that are widely followed in the food processing industry.

1. TOPIC 1: Halal Guidelines in Food Processing

This guideline is followed by Muslims or believers of the Islamic religion. Islamic Law has a concept of
lawful food. The following are the food sources they do not consider sourcing their food from:

SOURCES EXAMPLES

ANIMAL A) Pigs and boars.

B) Dogs, snakes and monkeys

C) Carnivorous animals with claws and fangs such

as lions, tigers, bears and other similar animals.

D) Birds of prey with claws such as eagles,

vultures, and other similar birds.

E) Pests such as rats, centipedes, scorpions, and

other similar animals

F) Animals that are forbidden to be killed in Islam

i.e., ants, bees and woodpecker birds.

G) Animals which are considered repulsive

generally like lice, flies, maggots and other similar
animals.

H) Animals that live both on land and in water

such as frogs, crocodiles, and other similar
animals.

I) Mules and domestic donkeys.

 J) All poisonous and hazardous aquatic animals.

K) Any other animals not slaughtered according to

Islamic Law.

L) Blood

PLANT Intoxicating and hazardous plants except where

the toxin or hazard can be eliminated during
processing

DRINK (a) Alcoholic drinks.

(b) All forms of intoxicating and hazardous drinks.

Food Additives All food additives derived from prohibited animals,

plants, and drinks.

To be considered Halal Food, the following conditions must be met:

 Condition #1: does not consist of unlawful food;

 Condition #2: has not been prepared, processed, transported or stored using any appliance or
facility that has made contact with unlawful food

 Condition #3: has not been in direct contact with any food that fails to satisfy the 1st two
conditions
However, halal food can be processed in different sections within the same premises where non-halal
foods are processed provided that necessary measures are taken to prevent any contact between
halal and non-halal foods

Halal food can also be prepared, processed, transported or stored using facilities that have been
previously used for non-halal foods provided that proper cleaning procedures, according to Islamic
requirements, have been observed.

Additionally, certain preparations may only be done by a Muslim.

Halal certification is required before food can be marketed as halal food.

TOPIC 2: Kashrut Guidelines in Food Processing

This guideline is followed by Jews or believers of Judaism. Kashrut has a concept of permitted and
forbidden animals. Permitted animals and those that conform to the laws of Kashrut are called Kosher
foods. The following are the permitted and forbidden food sources;

PERMITTED FORBIDDEN

meat from animals that “have cloven hooves” meat from animals that only fulfill one condition such
and “chew the cud” as:

(a) Pigs (have cloven hooves but does not chew cud)

(b) Camel (chews the cud but does not have cloven
hooves)

milk derived from kosher animals (have cloven dairy products that are derived from non-kosher
hooves and chew the cud) sources

goose, duck, chicken, turkey birds of prey such as eagle, owl, vulture, stork

eggs of kosher birds eggs of non-kosher birds and eggs that contain blood
inside the shell
fish with fins and scales such as tuna, salmon, shellfish such as shrimps, crabs, mussels, and lobsters
and herring

all products that grow in the soil – plants,

insects and infested plants
bushes, trees

wine produced in a kosher winery (a) hybrid fruits

(b) fruits from trees planted within the last three years

Kosher Food

B’lios or the concept of absorbed flavors prohibits Kosher foods from:

 Being cooked with an equipment that was used to cook a non-Kosher food at a temperature
above yad soledes bo (120°F)

 Being cooked in the same space where non-Kosher foods are cooked

 Sharing a common wall with another product

Additionally, Kosher food does not allow dairy to be mixed with meat. Therefore, the equipment used
to cook dairy must not be used to cook meat.

Kosher certification is also required before food can be marketed as Kosher food.

3. TOPIC 3: Organic Food Processing

Organic food processing is different from Kosher and Halal as it is not guided by religion but of a
lifestyle choice. Organic food is minimally processed and boils down to the following restrictions: