Khamr or alcoholic beverages, are something that refers to fermented grape-based drinks or drinks that are addictive and intoxicating. The by-product of the fermentation process produces alcohol. In Islamic law, khamr is a drink that is forbidden to consume and can cause a big sin. However, what is the difference between alcohol from khamr and non-khamr? Can alcoholic beverages get a BPJPH halal certificate through LPH LPPOM?
Currently, some lay people who know alcohol may be confused with alcoholic drinks (khamr) as a liquid that can be intoxicating if drunk. Meanwhile, industry players know alcohol as ethanol, which is widely used as a solvent, disinfectant or auxiliary material in a production process, both in the process of making food, medicine, and cosmetics. The condition is that ethanol must not be harmful to the public’s health.
Chemically, alcohol is a compound with the characteristics of a hydroxyl group (R-OH) and is one of the names of a group of organic compounds. Ethanol is one of the compounds in the alcohol family alongside other compounds, such as methanol, propanol, butanol, and so on. It’s just that in everyday life, the alcohol that is often encountered is ethanol.
This is because only ethanol can be used as a base material in alcoholic beverages, the food and beverage industry. Meanwhile, other alcohol compounds, such as methanol and butanol, cannot be used because they are toxic. Judging from the manufacturing process, ethanol can come from petrochemical-based chemical synthesis or fermentation industry products.
For human consumption, chemically synthesized ethanol is never used because of the possibility of producing toxic side compounds, and its taste is less complex than fermented ethanol. Meanwhile, ethanol from fermentation usually involves carbohydrate sources (such as sugar, starch, fruit extracts, etc.) which are reacted with microbes under anaerobic conditions, so that carbohydrates are converted into ethanol.
So, what is the difference between khamr and non-khamr ethanol? According to the LPPOM Halal Auditor, Linda Ayuningtiyas, S.TP., the difference lies in the purpose of ethanol production itself. If it is intended to produce alcoholic beverages, then it is classified as khamr. Meanwhile, fermentation that is not intended for alcoholic beverages is not classified as khamr.
Referring to the Fatwa of the Indonesian Council of Ulama (MUI) Number 10 of 2018 concerning Food and Beverage Products Containing Alcohol/Ethanol, fermented food products containing alcohol are halal, as long as there are no additional haram and impure ingredients in the process.
“Food containing alcohol can be certified halal as long as the source is not from the alcohol industry or alcoholic beverage industry. The production process must not be contaminated with haram and impure ingredients and the alcohol content is not harmful to health. In everyday life, we often find foods containing alcohol, such as tapai, gochujang, topokki, and ripe fruits,” said Linda.
She also emphasized this explanation with several examples related to the use of fermented or alcohol-containing products. For example, a dish mixed with alcoholic products such as angciu, mirin and sake, is still haram. This is because the haram product has been contaminated with alcohol. This is different from shoyu, which is indeed made for cooking ingredients.
Another example, tapai is halal to consume even though it has gone through a fermentation process and contains alcohol by-products. However, if you deliberately squeeze tapai to drink the water and get drunk, then the law becomes haram.
Meanwhile, fermented drinks (non-khamr) are allowed to contain alcohol (ethanol residue) with a content of less than 0.5%. “For fermented drink products, an ethanol content test must also be carried out to detect the alcohol content in the product,” explained Linda. Apart from the fermentation process, the ethanol contained in drinks can also come from carryover, such as from the ethanol content used to extract herbs.
Meanwhile, non-alcoholic drinks such as zero per cent beer and zero-alcohol wine cannot be certified halal for different reasons. This is MUI Fatwa No. 44 of 2020, prohibiting the use of product names that are similar to haram products. Especially if the product has sensory aspects such as taste and aroma that are similar to the actual haram product, it is possible that the product changes its name and uses halal ingredients so that it can be certified halal by BPJPH.
For some people, this matter related to Khamar still needs to be identified. To make it easier for the public to choose BPJPH halal products, LPPOM provides a Halal Product Check platform on the website www.halalmui.org and the Halal MUI application that can be downloaded on Playstore.
LPPOM is also always open to all business actors in various product categories who want to certify their products halal quickly and easily. To make it easier for business actors, LPPOM also has a product testing service, including checking the alcohol/ethanol content of drinks, which has been accredited ISO/IEC 17025:2017 by KAN at an affordable price. (ZUL)
