Minced meat is one of the most popular and versatile food ingredients in the culinary world. Many processed products use minced meat as the main ingredient. What are they? How do you check its halalness?
Its easy-to-shape texture and quick cooking make minced meat a popular ingredient in various foods. Its easy availability on the market is also one reason why minced meat is popular as a processed food ingredient.
The question is, have we ensured that all processed foods made from minced meat that we consume are halal? For Muslim consumers, the halalness of the food products consumed is non-negotiable. Although minced meat seems simple, it has a high potential risk of non-compliance with Islamic law. This is due to the many stages in the processing process that allow contamination with haram or impure materials, either directly or indirectly.
Therefore, it is essential to understand several critical points of halalness in the minced meat production chain. By knowing the critical points of effective halal, consumers can choose products wisely. Awareness and caution, in this case, will ensure that the food consumed is healthy and safe and follows Islamic teachings.
In its no longer intact form, ground beef has great potential to be mixed with haram and unclean ingredients, either intentionally or unknowingly. As a Muslim, caution is not an option but a must. Ensuring halal is not just a matter of labels but also of understanding the long process that the meat goes through before it reaches the hands of consumers.
Various foods from ground beef
As is known, ground beef can be processed into various delicious foods. For example, it can be used as an ingredient in making meat nuggets, which are processed meat that is minced and mixed with other ingredients, such as breadcrumbs and spices. This mixture is then formed into small pieces and fried or baked.
Ground beef can also be used for sausage mixtures, which are meat ground with fat, salt, and other spices. Be careful, though, because sausages can be made from various types of meat, such as chicken, beef, or pork.
Consumer accuracy is also needed when consuming meatballs, which are made from finely chopped meat mixed with tapioca flour or other binding ingredients. There is also the Patty Burger, which is ground meat formed into a patty and then frozen or grilled. This patty is usually used as a burger filling.
Although ground meat is made from animal meat that is halal for consumption, there is a chance that it will become haram. To avoid mistakes when consuming processed foods made from ground meat, LPPOM Senior Halal Auditor Dr. Ir. H. Joko Hermanianto, M.Sc., shared five critical points for the halalness of food made from ground meat.
1. Meat
The first critical point is the type of animal and how it is slaughtered. The meat used must come from halal animals such as cows, goats and chickens and must be slaughtered according to Islamic law.
2. Place of Slaughter
The process of slaughtering animals must be carried out at a halal-certified slaughterhouse (RPH). Even though the animals are halal, the potential for cross-contamination with haram materials is very high in a non-halal slaughterhouse, especially if it is used to slaughter haram animals such as pigs.
3. Grinding and Equipment
After the slaughtering process, the meat is ground using a machine. This is where a critical point arises. “Do you own the tool or is it a grinding service? If it belongs to a grinding service, it must be ensured that the grinding machine is not used to grind pork or other non-halal meat (halal dedicated). If the machine is not halal-dedicated, it must be cleaned according to thaharah (purification) standards if it was previously used for haram ingredients. Machines contaminated by pork residue or other haram ingredients can make the final product non-halal,” explained Joko.
4. Additives
When making processed products based on ground meat, ingredients are often added, such as binders that function to bind the ground meat when cooked or processed so that the product is more unified and does not break down, such as gelatin and fat that can come from pork. As for flavouring and flavouring ingredients, they can come from animals, plants, or synthetic sources. The critical point arises if the origin of the material is unclear, such as from unclean and haram ingredients or not halal certified.
5. Storage and Distribution
Halal ground beef can become haram if stored together with or close to haram and najis materials, such as in a refrigerator with pork, using used haram materials or containers without washing, according to Sharia, and distributed with used haram product vehicles or containers. This process must be strictly monitored to prevent cross-contamination.
Ground beef as a food ingredient has many critical halal points that must be considered. From the source of the animal, the slaughtering process, grinding, additional ingredients, and distribution, everything must meet the Halal Product Assurance System (SJPH) standards.
Therefore, for Muslim consumers, it is essential to always choose halal-certified products from trusted producers. This supervision and awareness are the keys to maintaining something consumed by Islamic law. (ZUL)
Source: Jurnal Halal 173 https://halalmui.org/jurnal-halal/173/
