Red Bull Halal / Haram Issue (alcohol)?

Question
Date: 31/08/2003
http://www.gmwa.org.uk/foodguide2/index.php

please can u tell me if the drink, "Red Bull" is halal? i ask this question as many muslims consume this drink, but doesn't this drink have a "drug" effect on people- it makes people get excited and hyper.(ie it acts like a sort of drug) i hope u understand my question


Answer

Answered: 31/08/2003
Last Updated: 31/08/2003

Assalamooalaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh Respected SisterBrother

Hereunder is the response to your query about the suitability of Redbull energy drink subject to disclaimer. According to the information supplied by the manufacturer Red Bull®:

Red Bull Stimulation and Red Bull sugar free are both suitable for a Muslim diet.

Red Bull does not contain alcohol per se, but does use alcohol as a carrier. Alcohol in foods Fatwa

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1) Ethanol alcohol in foods and sweets.

Question
In one of your answers you said that coke had alcohol and it was halal because it did not come from dates or grapes. Is it then true to say if the same kind of alcohol is found in sweets or in food is it still permissible to eat the food?

Answer
Respected Brother-in-Islam

Assalaamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullaahi Wa Barakaatuhu

Yes.

and Allah Ta'ala Knows Best

Mufti Ebrahim Desai
FATWA DEPT.


2) Question

What is synthetic alcohol.
You have previously stated that it is halal to use products that contain alcohol which is synthetic but you did not say what synthetic alcohol was. Could you please kindly explain what synthetic alcohol is and if possible could you give a list of all synthetic alcohols. Jasakhala

Answer

Synthetic alcohol refers to alcohol formulated from chemical substances.

and Allah Ta'ala Knows Best

Mufti Ebrahim Desai
FATWA DEPT.


Q.) There are foods that incorporate alcohol for flavor, although the alcohol will evaporate during the cooking process leaving the flavor behind. I found some info on this from this website and here is the content: http://www.muslimconsumergroup.com/ingredient.htm
"Alcohol is widely used as a carrier in many food flavors. This alcohol will evaporate if used in baked or heat treated products. Some Islamic scholars consider a food product halal if it is made with all halal ingredients including food flavor containing alcohol as a carrier which will evaporate during food processing. But other Islamic scholars do not consider such products halal."

Now based on the above, is it halal or haram? [Anaf]


A.) If the alcohol is not from grapes or dates extract, and is synthetic, then it will not be impure. The food having such alcohol will be halal.

And Allah Ta'ala Knows Best
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
http://www.albalagh.net/qa/alcohol_in_food.shtml

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From what we have read about the product, it is not a drug and is merely an energy drink. It is not an intoxicant so permissible.

Information from http://www.redbull.com/faq/index.html

1. Red Bull® Energy Drink is suitable for vegetarians. Red Bull® Energy Drink does not contain any animal products or substances derived from animals.

2. Red Bull® Energy Drink is an energy drink. It has not been formulated to deliver re-hydration. Adequate fluid intake is critical during intense and long lasting physical performance. Without adequate fluid intake, intense physical activities may lead to dehydration. As Red Bull® Energy Drink has not been formulated to deliver re-hydration, we encourage people who engage in sports also to drink lots of water during intense exercise.

3. It is recommended that the daily consumption including the consumption at one time of Red Bull® Energy Drink should conform to a person's intake of caffeine, and this varies form person to person. The caffeine in one can of Red Bull® equals that of one cup of filtered coffee.


Dear Sir,

In answer to the question below, our international head office has now provided me with the following response:

Q: "...I have read your reply regarding Red Bull. I agree with what you have said, however, have one query. I have read on the Internet that if you have more than 3 cans at a time, "most people cannot under any circumstances be considered sober". I understand that this is one person's opinion, however, if this is the case, it is surely intoxicating and therefore haraam. I would greatly appreciate a reply to this question as soon as possible.

A: Red Bull is a non-alcoholic beverage and is registered as a non-alcoholic beverage in all the countries where it is sold. Red Bull contains less than
0.05% alcohol. To put this into perspective, normal apple juice or currant nectar contain about 0.14% alcohol. Grape juice contains 0.17% alcohol and black currant nectar contains even 0.2% alcohol. That means that also fruit juices are not a 100% free of alcohol.

The traces of alcohol contained in Red Bull come from the flavourings used in Red Bull. Alcohol is used as a carrier for the flavouring substances. This is common practice and done for almost all flavoured soft drinks, not just Red Bull, as flavouring substances normally do not dissolve in water but just in alcohol.

Red Bull only contains traces of alcohol and the alcohol in Red Bull is definitely not an intoxicant.
Furthermore i can confirm that Red Bull is certified as Halal.

I hope this clarifies the matter for you.

Best regards
Nichola Spencer
Red Bull Company Limited

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Foodguide Administrator