Rice wine refers to a sweet, golden wine derived from fermenting freshly steamed glutinous rice. The most well-known Japanese rice wines are sake and mirin. Though most rice wines are low in alcohol, they are categorised alongside alcoholic beverages, hence unsuitable for Muslim consumption (non-Halal).

According to Section 88A(5) of the Administration of Muslim Law Act, any person who uses the Muis Halal certification mark without its approval shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both.

Outside food is generally not allowed into any eating establishment, including the Halal-certified ones. However, this is more of a company's policy rather than a MUIS halal requirement. Baby food and food for the aged are of course exceptions to this case. We also provide guidelines to the certified companies to ensure that the halal integrity is not compromised.

Halal' is an Arabic word which means lawful or permissible. Any food or drink which falls under this category is permitted for Muslim consumption. Examples of Halal food include vegetables, spices and meat deriving from animals slaughtered in accordance with the Islamic Law.

Halal-certified means that the company has gone through a stringent process of desktop and site audits to ensure that they are indeed providing halal food. If a company is not halal-certified, it does not mean that they are also not halal.

However, we would advise consumers to look out for the halal certificate for greater assurance, especially if the company is dealing with high risk items involving meat, poultry or their derivatives.

Yes, you may as long as the take-away container is empty and clean.

Muis Halal Certification Conditions do not prevent certificate holders from acceding to customers' request for using own containers for take-aways as long as the containers are empty and clean.

Most of these products have been de-alcoholised or have the alcohol content removed. The Muis Fatwa Committee rules that these beverages are not permitted for consumption by Muslims.

Muis Fatwa Committee states that;

1) Even though the products contain low alcohol content (less than 0.5%) and/or have zero alcohol content and/or have its alcohol removed, the process of manufacturing the products is similar to the manufacturing of alcohol (khamr1). Thus, it is Haram even though the small amount of alcohol in the products does not cause an individual to be intoxicated.

2) The products are being marketed in a manner that is similar to alcoholic beverages. Islam forbids an event that has resemblance or events that can lead to Haram activities, even though, in its’ natural state, is permissible. This is aligned with a principle in the Sharia’ known as sad al-zari’ah2.

Thus, products that meet the first or second criteria or meet both criteria are considered non-halal for Muslims consumption.

1 kahmr – An intoxicating drink containing ethanol & other components such as methanol, acetaldehyde and ethyl acetate which is produced by fermentation of carbohydrates or drinks containing ethanol and/or methanol as ingredient.

2 Sadd al-dhara’i‘means, literally, "blocking the means", i.e. to undesirable ends, in other words, forbidding what is likely to lead to the haram. The basis of this principle is contained in the Qur'an where Allah says: "Do not swear at those who call on other gods than Allah, so that they will then swear at Allah in enmity, without any knowledge. …." (Q.6:108). Allah has thus made it haram to swear at the gods of others, to avoid them cursing back at Allah. Another example usually highlighted by our past scholars like Imam An-Nawawi, is the issue of accepting and giving gifts for officials. Even though the act of giving a gift itself in essence is virtuous, hence permissible, scholars clearly discouraged those holding on to official posts to accept gifts from the public, as it could be perceived as a bribe. Please refer to: al-Asyqar,Sulayman ‘Abdullah, al-Wadih fi Usul al-Fiqh, (Amman: Dar al-Salam, 2001) 159.

Generally, products bearing a Halal certification mark is suitable for Muslim consumption. Although it contains a 'doubtful' ingredient, do be rest assured that the Islamic body which certifies the product has verified the status of the ingredient. For further assurance, you may contact the Halal certifying body or the product manufacturer.

The enhanced FHCB recognition framework will be closely aligned to our domestic halal food consumption needs. No impact on the sourcing of halal-certified imported raw materials/ingredients if they are able to meet the new requirements.

The listing of Muis recognised FHCB will be periodically updated during the Transition Phase. For the full comprehensive listing, local Muis certificate holders may login and refer to the GoBusiness Licensing portal at https://licence1.business.gov.sg/feportal/web/frontier using the local CorpPass and/or SingPass.