MOS burger (モスバーガー) is one of the food chains in Japan, whose main product is hamburger. Unlike other fast food chains, they call themselves “slow food”, because they process everything by hand after receiving an order from customers.
They have western burgers just like we imagine, but they also have original burgers that are using Japanese ingredients, such as rice burger. As they pursue healthy food, there are also some vegetarian and seafood burgers.
Let’s see if these burgers without meat can be consumed by Muslims.
Vegetarian options at MOS burger
MOS burger in Japan is not Halal-certified, so we are not going to talk about their products with meat. Their menu without meat is as follows.
Credit: https://www.mos.jp/
Their products called Soy Burgers are using patty made from soybeans. They are free from meat products.
Credit: https://www.mos.jp/
They have fish burger, as well as plant-based burger. This plant-based burger is not using garlic or onion, which makes it possible for Chinese vegetarians to eat. They also have potato and onion fries.
As they seem like they are free from animal-derived ingredients, you may wonder if it can be Halal. Unfortunately, the answer is NO.
Why products without meat cannot be Halal at MOS burger?
This is all because of risk of contamination. Looking at the allergen list published by MOS burger, we can find products with or without allergen. When choosing meats and gelatin as allergen to remove products with animal-derived ingredients, there is no burger found.
Credit: https://www.mos.jp/
Though there are so some products that do not contain animal-derived ingredients, they are sharing frying oil for all products, which is the reason why they cannot guarantee the products are completely free from allergen.
In other words, it means that risk of contamination cannot be denied.This is the reason why we cannot say their products are completely Halal.
So, what can Muslims eat at MOS burger in Japan?
The below is the list of items without meat products. As we cannot remove the usage of Alcohol, please make a final decision by yourself.
Orange Juice (オレンジジュース)
Iced Cafe Latte (アイスカフェラテ)
MOS Shake Vanilla (モスシェイクヴァニラ)
MOS Shake Coffee (モスシェイクコーヒー)
Fruit and vegetable juice (くだものと野菜)
Cafe Latte (カフェラテ)
Cold Dolce Strawberry mousse (ひんやりドルチェ いちごムースケーキ)
In conclusion
MOS burger has some vegetarian and seafood menus, but they can be contaminated in their making process. However, it is confirmed that there are some products that do not contain meat as their ingredients, so it is totally up to you if you consider them as Halal or not.
