Tayyib › Guides › E-numbers list: halal, haram or mushbooh?
E-numbers list: halal, haram or mushbooh?
An overview to look things up: which additives are unproblematic, which ones the scholars genuinely disagree about, and why most stay "in doubt" (mushbooh). Honest, with sources.
·
Anyone reading an ingredient list in a supermarket quickly runs into a row of E-numbers, and the question: is this halal? The good news: the vast majority of E-numbers are purely plant based or mineral and completely unproblematic. A smaller group is source dependent (animal or plant possible), and for exactly two numbers it is not the origin that is open but the assessment. This list sorts them into those categories.
First things first: an E-number alone is not a result. Whether a source dependent additive is animal in a particular product is usually not revealed by the packaging. That is why the honest classification in such cases is mushbooh (doubtful), not haram across the board.
The four categories at a glance
- Not halal (red): forbidden regardless of source. No E-number falls under it, see below.
- Disputed (orange): the origin is known, the assessment is not. Recognised bodies rule differently, and a manufacturer statement changes nothing.
- Mushbooh (orange): source dependent, can be animal or plant. Without evidence, in doubt.
- Halal tendency (green): as a rule plant based, mineral or synthetic, no flagged components known.
1. Forbidden regardless of source (not halal)
For E-numbers this category is empty, and that is not an omission. Forbidden regardless of source, by the consensus of all schools, are pork and khamr (intoxicating alcohol). Neither carries an E-number of its own. They appear in plain words on the ingredient list instead, for example "pork gelatine", "ethanol" or "rum flavouring".
That is why you will find no list of "forbidden E-numbers" here. Where an overview marks a number haram across the board, it is worth looking at what it rests on.
2. Disputed assessment
Two E-numbers come from insects. Here the origin is not an open question, the assessment is. A manufacturer statement is therefore no help: the question is not what the substance is made from, but how scholars judge that.
| E-number | Name | What it is | How it is judged |
|---|---|---|---|
| E120 | Carmine / cochineal | red colouring from scale insects | Hanafi, Shafi'i and Hanbali: insects are not edible. Maliki: permitted. MUI (Indonesia) and JAKIM (Malaysia) certify it, SMIIC and GIMDES reject it. |
| E904 | Shellac | resin of the lac insect, a glazing agent | a secretion rather than the insect itself, and therefore judged more mildly than carmine. Al-Azhar, MUI and JAKIM hold it permissible, GIMDES rejects it. |
Anyone following the majority avoids both. We list them as doubtful rather than forbidden, because recognised bodies stand on both sides. In full: Is E120 halal?
3. Source dependent, mushbooh in doubt
This is the largest and most important group. These additives can be plant or animal. If the origin is not clarified, they count as doubtful.
| E-number | Name | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| (gelatine) | edible gelatine | beef or pork, mushbooh with no statement |
| E422 | Glycerol / glycerine | plant, animal or synthetic |
| E432 to E436 | Polysorbates | fatty acid usually plant, animal possible (more on E435) |
| E442 | Ammonium phosphatides | fatty acid derivative, plant or animal |
| E470a/b | Fatty acid salts | plant or animal |
| E471 | Mono- & diglycerides | plant or animal (the most common doubtful case) |
| E472a to f | Esters of mono-/diglycerides | plant or animal |
| E473 to E475 | Sugar and polyglycerol esters | plant or animal |
| E476 | Polyglycerol polyricinoleate | usually castor oil (plant), mostly unproblematic |
| E481/E482 | Stearoyl lactylates | from stearic acid, plant or animal |
| E491 to E495 | Sorbitan esters | fatty acid derivatives, plant or animal |
| E542 | Bone phosphate | from animal bones, mushbooh, avoid without evidence |
| E570 | Stearic acid / fatty acids | plant or animal |
| E572 | Magnesium stearate | plant or animal (often in capsules and tablets) |
| E631 | Disodium inosinate | often from meat or fish, mushbooh in doubt |
| E635 | Disodium ribonucleotides | frequently combined with E631, check the origin |
| E920 | L-cysteine | from feathers or hair, or microbial, mushbooh with no statement |
| (rennet) | Rennet (cheese) | animal or microbial, animal and unclear: mushbooh |
3. As a rule unproblematic (halal tendency)
These common E-numbers are normally plant based, mineral or synthetic. No cause for concern, unless something else on the pack suggests otherwise.
| E-number | Name |
|---|---|
| E100 | Curcumin (turmeric) |
| E101 | Riboflavin (vitamin B2) |
| E140 / E141 | Chlorophyll |
| E160a | Beta carotene |
| E162 | Betanin (beetroot red) |
| E170 | Calcium carbonate |
| E200 / E202 | Sorbic acid / potassium sorbate |
| E260 / E296 / E330 | Acetic, malic, citric acid |
| E300 | Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) |
| E322 (soy) | Soy lecithin |
| E407 | Carrageenan (seaweed) |
| E410 / E412 / E415 | Locust bean gum, guar gum, xanthan |
| E440 | Pectin |
| E466 | Carboxymethyl cellulose |
| E500 / E501 | Sodium carbonate (baking soda) |
| E621 | Monosodium glutamate (usually fermentation) |
Note: "as a rule unproblematic" is not a guarantee for any single product. Tocopherols (E306, E309), for example, are mostly plant based but the carrier can vary. In doubt, the manufacturer statement always applies.
Common questions
Are E-numbers halal?
Most E-numbers are purely plant based or mineral and therefore unproblematic. No E-number is forbidden regardless of source: that is pork and khamr alone, and both appear in plain words on the list. A larger group is source dependent and therefore mushbooh in doubt, such as E471 or gelatine, because they can be animal or plant.
Which E-number is pork?
No E-number automatically means pork. Additives such as gelatine, E471, E472, E570 or E542 can be of animal origin and then also come from pork, but they need not. Without a manufacturer statement or halal certificate the animal usually cannot be identified, which is why they count as mushbooh.
Is E120 halal?
E120 (carmine/cochineal) is a red colouring made from scale insects. The majority (Hanafi, Shafi'i, Hanbali) hold insects to be inedible and avoid it, while the Maliki school permits them. The certifiers differ too: MUI and JAKIM certify carmine, SMIIC and GIMDES do not. Because recognised bodies stand on both sides, the honest classification is doubtful rather than clearly haram.
Is E471 halal?
E471 is an emulsifier that can be made from plant or animal fat. Because the packaging rarely states the source, E471 without evidence is mushbooh, not automatically haram. More on this →
What does mushbooh mean?
Mushbooh means doubtful. An additive is mushbooh when its origin is not clarified. Rather than judging green or red too quickly, the honest position is: in doubt, avoid it or check the source.
Next: which E-numbers are haram? → · How to read an ingredient list →
Note: this list is not a fatwa and not a certification. It explains where the additives named here typically come from and why the origin decides it. In case of doubt, the manufacturer statement or a recognised halal certification applies.
Instead of looking up every E-number: scan the barcode with Tayyib and see straight away which additives are flagged, with a sourced explanation of where they typically come from.