Is “Halal list” good enough?
We have introduced so many Halal or Muslim-friendly snacks to you, however, we did not mention anything about those haram snacks so far. For our readers, it may be a question if the snack you have just grabbed is Halal or not, if you cannot find the information about it.
We are going to gather information about “haram snacks” in this article to make things clearer. We will be updating the information, so if you have any queries about a snack, feel free to contact us along with the picture of the snack and the label.
Haram snacks
All the snacks are alphabetically listed. Information as of July 2023, please be reminded that changes can be made.
Hi-Chew / Morinaga
Hi-Chew is a chewing candy. It is not a chewing gum but a candy, so you can swallow it unlike a chewing gum. It contains gelatin and emulsifier.
Kaki no Tane (柿の種) / Kameda
Kaki no Tane, which literally means “the seed of persimmon”, is a very basic Japanese snack, especially the ones from Kameda. There are plain, Wasabi and plum flavors, however, according to the labels all of them have emulsifier made from chicken and pork, as well as protein hydrolysate whose source could be from animal.
Kit Kat (キットカット) / Neslet
As you know this Kit Kat is originally from Switzerland and lots of Halal products are sold worldwide, however, the ones in Japan are totally different and contains shortening and emulsifier.
They can be made from plants, however, Neslet does not disclose what they are made from. If you want to avoid ambiguity, KitKat should not be chosen.
Karashi Mentaiko Ogata Agesen (辛子明太子大型揚げせん) / Bonchi
This big and spicy fish roe rice cracker is what we are sure you will all like, however, unfortunately it has alcohol and pig / animal products.
Pretz (プリッツ) / glico
Pretz is a savory pretzel stick, which contains shortening, emulsifier, sake alcohol lees and some animal product such as bouillon. We have found one information saying that the basic Plain taste can be Halal, but since we cannot deny the risk of contamination, we cannot recommend to Muslims.
Tabekko Dobutsu (たべっこ動物) / ginbis
This is a biscuit which has a shape of animals. The snack can be eaten even by infants, so many of you might think it is made from only natural ingredients. Unfortunately, it has shortening, which we have confirmed the source is pig! This is the reason why we cannot recommend this item to Muslims.
Tirol Choco (チロルチョコ) / Tirol Choco
A small cubic chocolate with so many flavors. We are yet to confirm all the products as there are too many flavors, however, the one which has Mochi inside is obviously haram, because it has gelatin and emulsifier. They are so popular among Japanese and tourists but should be avoided if you want to avoid pig product.
Umai Bo (うまい棒) / Yaokin
Umai Bo is a snack we Japanese all know, they had been sold only for 10 yen until recently! There are quite a lot of flavors, but almost all of them contain both pork / animal products and some have alcoholic seasonings. So far, Cheese is the only flavor which does not contain haram ingredients, however, because it is made in the same factory as other flavors, it is highly doubtful.
Your cooperation needed.
Once again, there are more haram snacks than halal or Muslim-friendly snack in Japan. There may be more question arise, so we would like to ask your cooperation to gather more information in this article.
Information as of July 2023. Please be reminded that we are here to help with you translating the label, and not judging if the product is halal or not. There might be changes made on the products, please confirm if there is any update by yourself, and consume at your own risk.