As introduced in Halal curry available at MUJI, this shop is available throughout Japan and attracting many people. They have wide variety of food items, so if there is a Halal item then it can be a great option for Muslim travelers.
Are there any snack or food that can be Muslim-friendly? We have contacted MUJI to find this out.
Is Baum Halal? The most popular MUJI item.
When you go to MUJI shop, you will see their signature Baum cakes. Baum is originally from Germany, called Baum Kuchen, a stamp cake. There are so many flavors and all look so good, but unfortunately most of them are not Halal.
Look at their ingredients first. Below is Banana flavor.
Credit: https://www.muji.com/jp/
Yellow highlighted area are margarine, shortening and emulsifier. These ingredients can be made from animal or plant, so we got in touch with MUJI to confirm the source.
Their answer was that all of their Baums include animal-derived ingredients, except for Milk flavor!Only Milk Baum is free from animal-derived ingredients.
Furthermore, they also have mentioned risk of contamination with alcohol. All kinds of Baums except for Milk are manufactured by the machinery that handles liquor. Again, Milk flavor is manufactured separately, which means that the product is free from contamination with alcohol, too.
In short, their Milk flavor is free from animal-derived ingredients, alcohol and risk of contamination!
Credit: https://www.muji.com/jp
As a Muslim, only choose Milk flavor!
What about other products?
As there are too many products, we cannot mention all the products that can be Muslim-friendly. As we went to see their products in August 2023, below items can be Muslim-friendly.
Sweet potato sticks, or Imo Kempi in Japanese, is a specialty from Kochi prefecture, but it is eaten nationwide. The snack is rather simple, but this is good because it can be a Halal Snack! What we have to be careful with this snack if their frying oil, but it clearly says that they are using plant oil for this product.
Kinako is powder soybean, which is usually used for Japanese traditional sweets. It can be mixed with liquid sugar and made into a candy, just like a product we can find at MUJI.
The Kinako Ball candy at MUJI is made from very simple ingredients. Soybean powder, sugar, liquid sugar and brown sugar! Try this healthy snack full of protein.
Egg Yolk Bolo (卵黄ボーロ)
Bolo is a snack originally from Portugal, which indicates ball in English. It is also a very simple Japanese snack, so we give our babies as their first snack!
The snack is made from starch from potato, sugar, egg yolk and some dairy like milk. Bolo is so soft and melts on your tongue.
Dried Sweet potato (スティック切れ端干しいも)
No explanation is required for this snack. It is a very simple dried sweet potato! It is not completly dried, so you can feel a little bit of moisture upon eating.
It is a snack that reminds us of our grandma, because they often put the potato on the old heating machine to warm up a little bit and let us eat. This is still the best way to enjoy the snack.
Enjoy shopping at MUJI!
We guess many of you are very excited to enjoy shopping at MUJI at more reasonable price than in your country. The great news is that they are not only limited to stationeries but also food. Although they are not Halal-certified, there are some items free from haram ingredients and risk of contamination.
There can be more Muslim-friendly products. Let us know if you find any other Muslim-friendly snacks at MUJI!
