German ingredients-checking website, app HalalCheck preparing for European expansion
Made in Germany HalalCheck has built a database of at least 6,000 products checked for their halal-ness. The seven-year-old service is now ready for the rest of Europe.
It was a bag of gummy candies that sounded alarm bells for German halal consumer Isa Malkoc. The word “halal” was written in Arabic on the bag of sweets but Malkoc had his suspicions about its halal-ness. After an intensive internet search and back-and-forth emails to the manufacturer, the young IT manager learned that the sweets were “made of cows’ gelatin, but from cows that were not slaughtered in a halal way”.
The incident happened seven years ago and shocked Malkoc not only because it showed him how a company could misuse the halal label but also because the product is targeted at children who would not be able to conduct any product checks for themselves. The experience moved Malkoc to set up HalalCheck, a search engine for halal products in Germany, which has now become the destination for more than 80,000 users each month.
Free, in under 30 seconds
Join thousands of professionals reading Salaam Gateway — the Global Islamic Economy Gateway.
Already a member? Sign in
- 5 free articles every month
- Weekly Islamic-economy newsletter
- Save articles to read later
Ali Bahnasawy