Vanilla Flavors in Ice cream and other food products

Vanilla Flavors in Ice cream and other food products

Vanilla Flavors in Ice cream and other food products
There are 5 different vanilla flavors are used in Ice Cream and other food products.
Natural Vanilla Flavor, Vanilla Extract, Artificial Vanilla Flavor, Vanillin, Dried Vanilla Beans

1. Natural Vanilla flavor is always made with alcohol as a solvent because natural vanilla flavor is extracted from vanilla beans with alcohol and water. The vanilla beans left over after alcohol extraction can be used as Vanilla or Vanilla Specks, but some ulema still think it is not Halal because they were treated with alcohol, although there is no alcohol left over in the beans after extraction.

2. Vanilla Extract by definition must contain minimum 35% alcohol. Vanilla extract is used in ice cream, cookies and other products. Vanilla Extract is not consider as a Halal ingredient.

3. Artificial Vanilla Flavor is made with or without alcohol as a solvent. Pacific Valley Dairy's soft vanilla ice cream sold in 2007 at ISNA convention is made with artificial vanilla flavor where Propylene Glycol is used as a solvent not alcohol. Propylene Glycol is a Halal solvent. Similarly Baskins Robbins some cones are made with alcohol free artificial flavors according the company.

4. Vanillin is a Halal ingredient, no alcohol is used during its production. It is a  artificial flavor made from Halal raw materials.

5. Dried Vanilla Beans is provided by McCormic spice company and it is available in every US supermarket in spice section for home made ice cream or home made cookies. Dried Vanilla beans is different from vanilla beans left over after alcohol extraction. Dried Vanilla bean is a natural dried beans from vanilla plants and it is 1a 00% Halal ingredient. It is possible that it may be used in food products. If you see vanilla or vanilla specks as an ingredient in a any food product, please ask the manufacturer how it is made.

taken from
http://www.muslimconsumergroup.com/news.html