Are Your Cosmetics is HALAL?

“Beauty is divine”. Millions of people use various types yang brand of cosmetics that are available in markets. They use them on their daily basis in order to face the world confidently. Some cosmetic are consumed by eating and some of them are applying directly to our skin. Since Muslim is the biggest population among Malaysians, most of them are concern either the products are Halal or Haram.

Halal is an Arabic term referring to permissible according to the Islamic Law. Halal product is fit to consume by Muslim people. It can be for food, cosmetics, healthcare and personal care products. Thus, study about the critical ingredients that might be extracted from the haram source, such as pig and its derivatives has developed special attention among researchers.
Generally, cosmetic ingredients are the mixture of oils, chemicals, fragrance, vitamins, proteins, organic plants, herbs which are believed to be more effective. Nevertheless, are all the cosmetic ingredients 100% synthetically produced? In this topic, we will discuss more detail on the ingredients which are probably derived from pig, such as Glycerine, Hyaluronic Acid, Lactic Acid, Stearic Acid and Allantoin.

The most abundant chemical contain in cosmetic is Glycerine also known as glycerol. The non-toxic, sweet-taste, colourless, odourless and viscous liquid is widely used in food and pharmaceuticals industries along with cosmetic industry too. Glycerine may derive from plant or animal fat in throughout saponification process. Glycerine also can be made chemically synthetic but it requires a high cost because it has to get through several of processes.

Hyaluronic Acid, or normally referred as hyaluronan is a favourable ingredient in cosmetic. It is commonly found in cosmetic products as sodium salt of hyaluronic acid, which known as sodium hyaluronate. This substance is naturally produced in human body. It is most abundantly found in fluids of the eyes and joints. In medical use for treatment joined disorder, the hyaluronic acid is usually extracted from rooster combs or made by bacteria in the laboratory. In cosmetic industry, hyaluronic acid is believed to have a function to prevent the effects of aging. In fact, hyaluronic acid has been promoted as a “fountain of youth”. However, there is no evidence to support the claim that taking it by mouth or applying it to the skin can prevent changes associated with aging.

Another liquid gold is Lactic Acid. It is typically derived from natural plant and also can be found in fermented food products made by bacterial fermentation. Lactic acid can be obtained from blood and muscle tissues of animal. The roles of lactic acid are lessening the acne, helpful for those who want to reduce the appearance of sun spots and hyperpigmentation. It also believes to be able to diminish the appearance of wrinkles and other signs of aging.

Other substance infused into cosmetic product is Stearic Acid also known as Octadecanoic Acid. Stearic acid can be derived from animal and vegetable fat. It is applicable as fragrance, surfactant or emulsifier.

Last but not least, normally women would like to apply lotion and cream to get a delicate skin. Skin lotions, day and night cream are common items available in markets nowadays. In those kind of products, Allantoin is the common ingredient used to act as moisturizer. At the same time, it will also improve the skin renewal process.. Allantoin is derived from uric acid that mostly extracted from mammals. Sometimes it can also be collected from plants and bacteria.

In reality, there are more ingredients that probably derived from pig or other animals but not widely use as compared to these five ingredients that usually found in cosmetic. The demand for Halal products is increasing over the years. Better religious knowledge and easy-access information nowadays has become the main factors that raise the awareness among young generation. This has become new challenges in Halal science to integrate halal testing services for cosmetics to strengthen the value of halal compliance products in the global market. HALVEC take this challenges and pioneering the step to further discuss and study about those critical ingredients and its function in cosmetic products. It has become our priorities to come out with reliable testing services in order to relieve people anxieties in this issue.

You may contact us about the consultation on your cosmetic ingredients.

Pig Collagen and Derivatives in Cosmetics and Skin Care Products

Cosmetic products are very popular not only among women but also among men who meticulous about their metrosexual personality. Nowadays, most of the teenager and working adults are dedicated for good appearance, grooming and impression, this has led to growing consumer demand and quality standard in skincare and cosmetic products.

Ironically, consumers often overlook the ingredients or contents in the cosmetic products that may contain harmful chemicals or animal derivatives. As such, Korean Institute of Chemical Engineers conducted a research about skin formulation which includes ingredients with 1% of porcine placenta. The results showed that the formulation was very stable for temperature and storage period. Porcine placenta extract also demonstrated high potential as anti-wrinkle functional cosmetic agent1. Some of the cosmetic products are using Pig collagen as main ingredient in face mask. For example, the famous Holika Holika’s Pig Collagen Jelly Pack which is certified by Korea Food and Drug Administration, well known to erase wrinkles and moisturize skin2. In addition, pig collagen is a cheaper ingredient due to the high accessibility of porcine material in the market which leads to common use of pig derivatives. Typically, bovine collagen is more reactive and patient who are receiving bovine collagen require a skin test to make sure that they do not react negatively. In the contrary, pig collagen is more like human collagen and allergies reaction is less common. Therefore, skin tests prior treatment is not necessary2, 3.

In Malaysia, the market demands for specialized value-added cosmetic products such as Halal, botanical or organic-based and environmentally friendly are continuously rising. Halal concept is known to be a landscape of hygiene, safety, and standards. This is the main reason of Halal emergence in the cosmetics industry and has now become a universal concept and an opportunity to increase sales and acquire competitive advantage 4. As Halal universal standard for cosmetics is still lacking, Malaysia is rising to the challenge by developing a guideline for Halal cosmetics which is similar to a pharmaceutical standard, the MS2424:2012 Halal Pharmaceuticals General Guidelines. JAKIM is planning to adopt the MS2424 criteria for cosmetics application which is in line with government’s strategy to be the world’s Halal hub. In February 2017, the Malaysia External Trade Development Corp (MATRADE) announced a partnership with South Korea’s ASEAN-Korea Centre to develop the first Southeast Asian nation’s cosmetics industry aimed to boost sales abroad, which in 2016 were valued at 1.25 billion ringgit ($0.3 billion) and ranked as a top five sector in the country’s lifestyle exports5.

On 28th June 2017, Halvec Laboratories (Halvec) signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Busan Techno Park to establish a Halal Science Centre for Anti-Ageing Cosmetic. The collaboration and partnership is aimed to drive the perceived consumer needs for new and innovative Halal cosmetic products. Halvec is currently in the R&D stage in developing new analysis of cosmetic product for porcine detection via DNA. Stay tuned to our next updates on our progress of new extension of analytical test scope and project development with Busan Techno Park.

References:

  1. Kim et al (2010) Functional Cosmetic Effect of Porcine Placenta. The Korean Institute of Chemical Engineers, Volume 48, Issue 3, 2010, pp. 327-331. Accessed on 20th June 2017
  2. Mail Online (5 Jan 2015) Would you put PIG collagen on your face? Bizarre new beauty trend promises to banish wrinkles for good. Accessed on 21st  June 2017
  3. Vida Glow. BOVINE, PORCINE, FOWL OR PISCINE COLLAGEN. Accessed on 21st June 2017
  4. Yeo B.L, et al. (2016). A Study of Malaysian Customers Purchase Motivation of Halal Cosmetics Retail Products: Examining Theory of Consumption Value and Customer Satisfaction. Procedia Economics and Finance, Volume 37, 2016, Pages 176-182
  5. Cochrane P. and Standard D. (3 April 2017) Malaysia halal cosmetics: Looking good at home and stepping out abroad. Global Islamic Economic Gateway. Accessed on 21st June 2017

Is Non-Alcoholic Beer Halal?

Low-alcohol beer is beer with low alcohol content or no alcohol, which aims to reproduce the taste of beer without the inebriating effects of standard alcoholic brews1. In 2011, flavored beer from the Middle East had been found and advertised as non-alcoholic. There is no halal beer in Islamic law. Any beverage that contains alcohol is considered not halal2.

In 2015, Ruzi Shuib partnered with a distributor of Bavaria 0.0%, to market non-alcoholic beer produced from the Netherlands. JAKIM, the Malaysian Islamic Development Department, had refused to certify any product with beer in the name, even if it was non-alcoholic.  JAKIM turned down Ruzi’s request for halal certification because the malt beverage was produced in the same facilities as Bavaria beer, and claimed the production process was similar to that of alcoholic beverages3. Recently, Senator Khairiah Mohamed was asking question to Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom on the list of approved ‘non-alcoholic beers’ in the market, as well as the terms of their sale. As for ‘halal’ ‘non-alcoholic-beer’ which consumers may come across in the Malaysian market, Jamil Khir stressed that their manufacturers may have obtained halal certification from private companies or international certification bodies not recognized by JAKIM or JAIN. Such beverages, he pointed out, do not feature Malaysia’s halal logo and are therefore, not halal4.

JAKIM stated that the content of industrial ethanol in the final food product should not exceed 0.5%, while the content of naturally-produced ethanol should not exceed 1% in the final food product.5 Halvec has been offering alcohol detection lab service using Headspace-GC/FID for food samples such as food additive, fermented product, dairy products and food & beverage. The turnaround time for the analysis is merely 3 working days. Headspace sampling is an excellent technique to access volatile analytes of interest which can be efficiently partitioned from the sample matrix, solid or liquid, into the headspace gas volume6.

 

References:

1.Wikipedia. Low-alcohol Beer. Accessed 21st April 2017.
2.RNW Media Malaysia Muslim Warned Off ‘non-alcoholic’ beer. Accessed on 25th April 2017.
3.FMT News (2015) M’sian non-alcoholic beer yet to receive halal certification, Feb 25, Accessed o25th April 2017.
4.Melissa Darlyne Chow (2017) ‘Non-alcoholic beer’ not recognised by Jakim, Jain: Jamil Khir, New Straits Times, Apr 2017. Accessed 26th April 2017.
5.Muzakarah Khas Jawatankuasa Fatwa Majlis Kebangsaan Bagi Hal Ehwal Ugama Islam Malaysia (2011) Alkohol Dalam Makanan, Minuman, Pewangi dan Ubat-Ubatan. Accessed 26 April 2017

What are the Real Ingredients in your Burgers?

On 15 January 2013, The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) published the findings of a targeted study examining the authenticity, or labelling accuracy, of a number of burger products, which reveals that products some contained horse and pig DNA1.

27 beef burger products were analyzed, with 10 of the 27 products (37%) tested positive for horse DNA and 23 of 27 products (85%) tested positive for pig DNA. In 9 of 10 beef burger samples, horse DNA was found at very low levels. In one sample from Tesco in UK, the level of horse DNA indicated that horse meat was present and accounted for approximately 29% of the total meat content of the burger1.

The meat adulteration scandal has led to numerous controversies in the press and among consumers concerning the effects of horse meat consumption, the confidence in foodstuffs, and the frauds and ethics issues in food production.

Horse meat falls into the category of red meat, which comes from butcher animals (beef, pork, sheep meat, goat meat, horse meat). The organoleptic features make horse meat resemble beef. The commercial types of meat are difficult to identify as commercial cutting of both meats is similar2.

So, how can we avoid adulterated food? Halvec Laboratories (Halvec) is currently providing services on animal species identification via PCR assay, particularly on meat based samples such as chicken, beef, pork, horse, sheep and ostrich.

 

References:

  1. Food Standards Agency. Timeline on Horse Meat Issue. Accessed on 10 Apr 2017
  2. Stanciu, S. (2015). Horse Meat Consumption – Between Scandal and Reality. Procedia Economics and Finance 23, 697 – 703

Paint Brush from Pig Bristle?

In February 2017, Selangor office of the Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism Ministry seized paint brushes of various types that were believed to be made from pig bristles from three hardware stores in Shah Alam. This issue became viral and sparked concern especially among Muslim consumer1.

The lab tests have been proven significant in verification of the hair origin as some of the brushes had been tested made from pig bristles and not correctly coded or did not bear the origins mark; i.e the A913 and A680 codes (pork bristle code)1.

Halvec Laboratories is an ISO1725 accredited laboratory which offers reliable and accurate Halal testing service to detect pork contamination via DNA Analysis. The testing covers verified DNA extraction procedure, screening of the extracted DNA and sequence-specific detection through real-time PCR. The COA obtained from lab tests shall be used as supporting document to assure Halal integrity of the product/sample tested.

For more information about our service and request for quotation, please contact our team via email to info@halvec.com.

 

References:

  1. Enforcement Officers Seize Pig Bristle Paint Brushes. The Star Online. Accessed