isithalal.food

Are Mike and Ike Halal?

It depends on what the label says.

Halal if verified
Medium confidence About this ruling

About this ruling

Condition
Verify the product or supplier in hand
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.
How we score High, Medium, and Low

Reviewed

Mike and Ike are chewy fruit sweets made by Just Born in the US.

Next step Mike and Ike list no gelatin and nothing from a land animal; the shine is confectioner's glaze (shellac) and carnauba wax. Just Born says they are kosher pareve but not Halal-certified, so they suit most Muslims on their ingredients. How to verify
Scan a label

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

How to verify

  1. Read the box for gelatin; Mike and Ike list none.
  2. Confectioner's glaze is shellac, which MUI rules Halal.
  3. Kosher pareve means no meat or milk was used, but it is not a Halal certificate.
  4. Just Born says none of its sweets are Halal-certified, so if you only eat certified sweets, these don't qualify.

Quick checks

  • No gelatin: the chew is corn starch.
  • Glaze is shellac, ruled Halal by MUI.
  • Kosher pareve, not Halal-certified.

What decides the answer

  • Mike and Ike Original Fruits, Mega Mix and Sour (no gelatin)

    Halal if verified

  • Confectioner's glaze (shellac)

    Halal per MUI

  • If you only eat certified sweets

    not Halal-certified, per Just Born

Why this ruling

Mike and Ike are chewy, capsule-shaped fruit sweets made by Just Born in the US, the company behind Peeps. Unlike Peeps, they contain no gelatin.

What's in them

The boxes list sugar, corn syrup and modified food starch, then under 0.5% of fruit acids, sodium citrate, flavourings, dextrin, confectioner's glaze, carnauba wax, medium chain triglycerides and colours.[2][3] Just Born says its modified food starch is corn starch, so the chew comes from corn, not gelatin.[1]

The glaze

Confectioner's glaze is shellac, a resin made by the lac insect that gives the sweets their shine; Just Born describes it as an edible coating from tree sap.[1] Indonesia's MUI rules shellac pure and its use in food Halal.[4] The other coating, carnauba wax, comes from a palm leaf.

Kosher, but not Halal-certified

Just Born says Mike and Ike and Hot Tamales are kosher and pareve, meaning no meat or milk, and adds: "While many of our candies are Kosher, they are not Halal certified."[1] So on their ingredients they suit most Muslims, but they carry no Halal mark. The same company's Peeps are a different case: their gelatin is from pork.

Where you'll find it

  • Chewy fruit sweets in boxes
  • Cinema and pick 'n' mix
  • Mega Mix, Sour and Original Fruits flavours

Frequently asked questions

Are Mike and Ike Halal?
On their ingredients, yes for most Muslims: they list no gelatin and nothing from a land animal. Just Born says they are kosher pareve but not Halal-certified, which is why we class them as Halal if verified.
Do Mike and Ike have gelatin?
No. The chew comes from modified food starch, which Just Born says is corn starch.
What is confectioner's glaze in Mike and Ike?
It is shellac, a resin made by the lac insect, used to give the sweets a shine. Just Born describes it as an edible coating from tree sap. Indonesia's MUI rules shellac pure and Halal.
Are Hot Tamales Halal?
Hot Tamales are also made by Just Born and are in the same kosher pareve group. Like Mike and Ike, they are not Halal-certified, so read the box for gelatin and check the glaze.

Scholarly view

With no gelatin and no meat-derived ingredient, Mike and Ike raise one question only: the confectioner's glaze, which is shellac, a resin from the lac insect. Indonesia's MUI, in fatwa 27 of 2013, rules shellac pure and its use in food Halal.

Just Born's kosher pareve status confirms no meat or milk, but kosher is not the same as Halal, and Just Born says its sweets are not Halal-certified.

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.

Islamic / scriptural

  1. LPPOM MUI — Shellac and MUI Fatwa 27/2013

    LPPOM MUI Retrieved

    Discusses MUI Fatwa No. 27/2013: shellac is pure; its use in food, medicine and cosmetics is Halal when beneficial and not harmful; ethanol used to dissolve it is a critical process point.

Manufacturer / product

  1. FAQs — Are your candies Halal certified?

    Just Born Retrieved

    Jurisdiction: United States

    'The modified food starch that we use in our candies is corn starch.' 'All of our jelly bean type candies, such as MIKE AND IKE, HOT TAMALES... are kosher and pareve', under the Orthodox Union. 'While many of our candies are Kosher, they are not Halal certified.' Mike and Ike 'contain confectioners glaze... a food grade edible coating containing components derived from the sap of trees'.

  2. Mike and Ike Original Fruits

    Open Food Facts Retrieved

    Jurisdiction: United States

    Sugar, corn syrup, modified food starch, less than 0.5% of: citric acid, malic acid, fumaric acid, sodium citrate, natural and artificial flavourings, dextrin, confectioner's glaze, carnauba wax, medium chain triglycerides, Red 40, Yellow 6, Yellow 5, Blue 1.

  3. Mike and Ike Mega Mix

    Open Food Facts Retrieved

    Jurisdiction: United States

    Sugar, corn syrup, modified food starch, fumaric acid, natural flavourings, artificial flavourings, sodium citrate, dextrin, citric acid, malic acid, confectioner's glaze, carnauba wax, medium chain triglycerides, Yellow 5, Red 40, Blue 1, Yellow 6.

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