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Is Lotus Biscoff Halal?

Yes — this one is Halal.

Halal
Medium confidence About this ruling

About this ruling

Evidence confidence
Medium means the sources are named, but they do not pin the evidence to a specific market or product. Use this page as orientation, then read the pack in your hand.
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Reviewed

The original caramelised biscuit is wheat flour, sugar, vegetable oils, candy sugar syrup, a raising agent, soya flour, salt and cinnamon, with no animal ingredient.

Next step Original Lotus Biscoff biscuits and Biscoff spread are Halal: the ingredients are plant-based, and Malaysia's JAKIM confirmed in 2020 that Lotus Bakeries holds Halal certification from the Halal Food Council of Europe for the biscuit, both spreads, the crumble and the topping. Filled Biscoff sandwich biscuits add milk and whey, which the 2020 list did not name. How to verify
Scan a label

Photo: Open Food Facts contributors · CC BY-SA 3.0

What decides the answer

  • Original biscuits, smooth or crunchy spread, crumble, topping

    Halal (plant-based; HFCE-certified per JAKIM, 2020)

  • Filled or flavoured Biscoff biscuits with milk powder or whey

    Halal if the whey is acceptable to you; not on the 2020 certified list

  • Other companies' products made with Biscoff

    judge their own ingredients

Where you'll find it

  • Biscuits with coffee or tea
  • Spread on toast or in desserts
  • Crumbled into cheesecake bases, ice cream and bakes

Why this ruling

Lotus Biscoff is the Belgian caramelised biscuit served with coffee, now also sold as a spread. It is one of the simpler Halal questions on a supermarket shelf.

The biscuit and the spread

The original biscuit is wheat flour, sugar, palm and rapeseed oil, candy sugar syrup, a raising agent, soya flour, salt and cinnamon.[2] Nothing in it comes from an animal, and nothing involves alcohol. The spread is 58% crushed biscuit, with rapeseed oil, sugar, soya lecithin and citric acid.[3] Both are Halal on their ingredients alone.

The certificate

In December 2020, after many questions on social media, JAKIM, Malaysia's Halal authority, confirmed that Lotus Bakeries holds Halal certification from the Halal Food Council of Europe (HFCE), a Belgian body JAKIM recognises. It named five certified products: the original caramelised biscuit, smooth spread, crunchy spread, crumble and topping.[1] That statement is from 2020; for the current certificate, JAKIM pointed people to HFCE.

Filled Biscoff biscuits

The wider range is not all the same recipe. The chocolate cream sandwich, for example, adds skimmed milk powder and whey powder.[4] Milk is Halal. Whey is a by-product of cheesemaking, so it carries the rennet question; many Muslims accept it, and those who follow the stricter view check it. Those filled products were not on JAKIM's 2020 list.

Biscoff in other products

Cheesecakes, ice creams and bars "with Lotus Biscoff" are made by other companies. The Biscoff inside is fine; the rest of the recipe, such as gelatine in a cheesecake or the base of an ice cream, is what decides them. For other biscuits, see cookies and Oreos.

How to verify

  1. Original biscuits, smooth or crunchy spread, crumble, topping: plant-based ingredients, and named as HFCE-certified in JAKIM's 2020 statement.
  2. Filled or flavoured Biscoff products: read the pack for milk powder or whey; whey is the one ingredient that can need a check.
  3. Want the current certificate? HFCE lists certified products; JAKIM pointed consumers to hfce.eu.
  4. Products made by other companies with Biscoff inside (cheesecakes, ice cream, cereal bars) are judged on their own ingredients.

Frequently asked questions

Is Biscoff Halal?
Yes, the original biscuits and the spread. They contain no animal ingredients, and JAKIM confirmed in 2020 that Lotus Bakeries holds Halal certification from the Halal Food Council of Europe for the original biscuit, smooth and crunchy spread, crumble and topping.
Is Biscoff spread Halal?
Yes. Biscoff spread is crushed original biscuits with rapeseed oil, sugar, soya lecithin and citric acid, all plant-based. Smooth and crunchy spread were both named as HFCE-certified in JAKIM's 2020 statement.
Who certifies Lotus Biscoff as Halal?
The Halal Food Council of Europe (HFCE), a Belgian certification body that Malaysia's JAKIM recognises. JAKIM said so in a December 2020 statement after questions from the public.
Are filled Biscoff biscuits Halal?
Probably, but check. Filled varieties such as the chocolate cream sandwich add skimmed milk powder and whey powder, and they were not on the 2020 certified list. Whey is made with rennet, which some Muslims check; many accept it.
Is Biscoff vegan?
The original biscuit and the spread contain no animal ingredients, and Open Food Facts lists them as vegan. Filled Biscoff biscuits with milk powder or whey are not vegan.

Scholarly view

A biscuit made only from plant ingredients needs no slaughter or alcohol check, so the original Biscoff is Halal on its ingredients alone; the certificate confirms it. The one ingredient in the wider range that can need a check is whey: it is made with rennet, and scholars differ on rennet from an animal not slaughtered Islamically. Whether uncertified whey is acceptable is set out on the whey powder page.

Sources

Named Islamic, certifier, manufacturer, and regulatory sources used on this page. Inline markers like [1] jump here. Retrieval dates show when we last checked the live URL. Editorial methodology.

Certifier / jurisdiction

  1. Biskut jenama Lotus Biscoff disahkan halal – Jakim

    Kosmo! (reporting a JAKIM press statement) Retrieved

    Jurisdiction: Malaysia

    3 December 2020. JAKIM's Halal Management Division confirmed that Lotus Bakeries holds Halal certification from the Halal Food Council of Europe (HFCE), a foreign certification body in Belgium recognised by JAKIM. Products named as HFCE-certified: Lotus Biscoff – The Original Caramelized Biscuit, Spread Smooth, Spread Crunchy, Crumble and Topping. Consumers were pointed to hfce.eu for more.

Manufacturer / product

  1. Lotus Biscoff Original, 750 g (6 × 125 g)

    Open Food Facts Retrieved

    Ingredients: wheat flour, sugar, vegetable oils (palm oil from sustainable and certified plantations, rapeseed oil), candy sugar syrup, raising agent (sodium bicarbonate), soybean flour, salt, cinnamon. Labelled vegetarian and vegan.

  2. Lotus Biscoff spread

    Open Food Facts Retrieved

    Ingredients: original caramelised biscuits 58% (wheat flour, sugar, vegetable oils (palm, rapeseed), candy sugar syrup, raising agent (sodium hydrogen carbonate), soya flour, salt, cinnamon), rapeseed oil, sugar, emulsifier (soya lecithin), acid (citric acid).

  3. Lotus Biscoff Fourré, chocolate cream, 150 g

    Open Food Facts Retrieved

    Ingredients include skimmed milk powder and whey powder (milk), alongside sugar, wheat flour, vegetable oils, defatted cocoa powder, candy sugar syrup, soy flour, soya lecithin, salt and cinnamon.

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