Mentos Fruit! (UPDATE AFTER INVESTIGATION = HARAM)
I had been given the task to find out if Mentos Fruit are Halal or not. (By a family member)
The ingredients: Sugar, glucose syrup, hydrogenated vegetable oil, citric acid, fruit juices from concentrate, starch, sucrose esters of fatty acids, natural, colors (carmine, paprika oleoresin, beta-carotene, beetrood red), carnauba wax, beeswax E414, E418
The Ingredients does not say suitable for vegetarians, yet nothing in the ingredients looks Haram at first site.
Here's a breakdown of my findings and WHY it is HARAM.
Carnauba Wax
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Carnauba wax
Carnauba (English pronunciation: /kɑːrˈnɔːbə/ or /kɑːrˈnaʊbə/), also called Brazil wax and palm wax, is a wax of the leaves of the palm Copernicia prunifera, a plant native to and grown only in the northeastern Brazilian states of Piauí, Ceará, and Rio Grande do Norte.[1] It is known as "queen of waxes"[2] and usually comes in the form of hard yellow-brown flakes. It is obtained from the leaves of the carnauba palm by collecting them, beating them to loosen the wax, then refining and bleaching the wax.
beta-Carotene
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
β-Carotene is a strongly-coloured red-orange pigment abundant in plants and fruits. It is an organic compound and chemically is classified as a hydrocarbon and specifically as a terpenoid (isoprenoid), reflecting its derivation from isoprene units. β-Carotene is biosynthesized from geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate.[3] It is a member of the carotenes, which are tetraterpenes, synthesized biochemically from eight isoprene units and thus having 40 carbons. Among this general class of carotenes, β-Carotene is distinguished by having beta-rings at both ends of the molecule. Absorption of β-Carotene is enhanced if eaten with fats, as carotenes are fat soluble.
Carotene is the substance in carrots that colours them orange and is the most common form of carotene in plants. When used as a food colouring, it has the E number E160a
Paprika oleoresin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Paprika oleoresin (also known as paprika extract) is an oil soluble extract from the fruits of Capsicum Annum Linn or Capsicum Frutescens(Indian red chillies), and is primarily used as a colouring and/or flavouring in food products. It is composed of capsaicin, the main flavouring compound giving pungency in higher concentrations, and capsanthin and capsorubin, the main colouring compounds (among other carotenoids).[1]
Extraction is performed by percolation with a variety of solvents, primarily hexane, which are removed prior to use
From what I have found out, it seems that due to some Vegans who do not eat processed sugar (SUCROSE esters of fatty acids) They do not call it suitable for vegeterians.
And with further investigation, we find that (SUCROSE esters of fatty acids) = E473 and according to Mufti Sacha's investigation above THIS IS HARAM
MENTOS FRUIT ARE HARAM because of (SUCROSE esters of fatty acids), although disguised as sugars, it is E473 and is HARAM
I do not want to go into detail as to why it is Haram, Mufti Saab has said E473 is Haram, so for me it is Haram.
If you want to go into further detail, you are welcome to study this detailed document of what (SUCROSE esters of fatty acids) is
www.fao.org/ag/agn/jecfa-additives/specs/monograph10/addi...
This is where this comes in!