isithalal.food

Is Quorn Halal?

It depends on where you bought it.

Market-dependent
Medium confidence About this ruling

About this ruling

Condition
Certification and products vary by market
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

Quorn is made from mycoprotein, a protein grown from the fungus Fusarium venenatum, bound with free-range egg white in most products.

Next step Quorn is meat-free, so the question is what else is in the pack. Plain Quorn Pieces, Vegan Pieces and the 8 Sausages pack are recorded with a Halal label; for other Quorn products, read the ingredients for alcohol and look for the Halal mark. How to verify
Scan a label

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

How to verify

  1. Look for the Halal mark: Open Food Facts records it on Quorn Pieces, Vegan Pieces and the 8 Sausages pack.
  2. Without a mark, read the ingredients for wine, alcohol or other non-Halal items.
  3. Pies, pastries and ready meals add other ingredients, such as emulsifiers of unstated source; check them.

Quick checks

  • Mycoprotein and egg white: no Halal issue.
  • Halal label on Pieces, Vegan Pieces and 8 Sausages.
  • Unmarked products: check for alcohol.

What decides the answer

  • Quorn with a Halal mark

    Halal

  • Quorn without a mark and no alcohol or non-Halal ingredients

    Halal per Islamic Portal

  • Products listing alcohol or wine

    not Halal

Why this ruling

Quorn is a UK meat-free brand. Its products are built on mycoprotein, which is grown from a fungus and, in most products, bound with egg white.

The ingredients

Mycoprotein is made in fermenters by feeding the fungus Fusarium venenatum oxygen, nitrogen, glucose and minerals; free-range egg white is added to bind it.[1] Quorn Pieces are 95% mycoprotein with egg white, flavouring and firming agents,[3] and Quorn Mince adds pea fibre and barley malt extract.[6] None of these is a Halal concern.

The Halal approval

Quorn has said that some of its products are Halal approved, and that for a meat-free brand the assessment is "to ensure there is no alcohol used in either the products or the process of manufacture".[1] Open Food Facts records a Halal label on Quorn Pieces,[3] the 8 Sausages pack[4] and Vegan Pieces.[5]

What scholars say

Islamic Portal concludes that "Quorn products are Halal as long as they do not contain alcohol".[1] A Darul Iftaa answer to a Hanafi questioner was more cautious: ask HMC, and abstain while in doubt.[2] For other meat-free proteins, see tofu and seitan.

Where you'll find it

  • Meat-free mince, pieces and fillets
  • Vegetarian sausages and burgers
  • Pies, pastries and ready meals

Frequently asked questions

Is Quorn Halal?
Its main ingredients are: mycoprotein, which comes from a fungus, and free-range egg white. Quorn says some of its products are Halal approved, and Open Food Facts records a Halal label on Quorn Pieces, Vegan Pieces and the 8 Sausages pack. For other products, check for alcohol.
What is Quorn made of?
Mycoprotein, made by fermenting the fungus Fusarium venenatum with oxygen, nitrogen, glucose and minerals. Most products add rehydrated free-range egg white to bind it; Quorn Mince also lists pea fibre and barley malt extract.
Does Quorn contain alcohol?
Quorn's Halal approval is about exactly that: its statement says the assessment is 'to ensure there is no alcohol used in either the products or the process of manufacture'. Islamic Portal notes some products may contain alcohol, so read the label of anything without the Halal mark.

Scholarly view

Mycoprotein is grown from a fungus with oxygen, nitrogen, glucose and minerals, and egg white from free-range eggs is added to bind it; neither is a Halal concern. Shaykh Yusuf Shabbir of Islamic Portal concludes that Quorn products are Halal as long as they contain no alcohol.

A Darul Iftaa answer approved by Mufti Ebrahim Desai, for a Hanafi questioner, advised asking HMC and abstaining while in doubt; that is caution about certification, not a finding against the ingredients.

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. Mycoprotein and Quorn foods

    Islamic Portal, Shaykh Yusuf Shabbir (via IslamQA.org) Retrieved

    'Mycoprotein is Halal.' Quotes Quorn: 'Quorn Foods have certain products that are Halal approved... As Quorn is a meat free brand, the assessment has nothing to do with the treatment of animals, but rather, it is to ensure there is no alcohol used in either the products or the process of manufacture.' 'In conclusion, Quorn products are Halal as long as they do not contain alcohol.'

  2. Is Quorn meat halal according to the Hanafi school?

    Darul Iftaa, Mufti Ebrahim Desai (via IslamQA.org) Retrieved

    Advises contacting HMC for advice and that 'if you have a doubt, you should abstain from eating it until you get clarity'.

Manufacturer / product

  1. Quorn Pieces

    Open Food Facts Retrieved

    Mycoprotein 95%, rehydrated free range egg white, natural flavouring, firming agents (calcium chloride, calcium acetate). Labels recorded: vegetarian, halal.

  2. Quorn 8 Sausages

    Open Food Facts Retrieved

    Mycoprotein (41%), rehydrated free range egg white, vegetable oils, rusk, onion, natural flavouring, calcium alginate casing, textured wheat protein, herbs, pea fibre, roasted barley malt extract. Labels recorded: halal, Vegetarian Society approved.

  3. Quorn Vegan Pieces

    Open Food Facts Retrieved

    Mycoprotein 89%, potato protein, pea protein, firming agents, natural flavouring, wheat gluten, pea fibre, stabilisers. Labels recorded: halal, vegan.

  4. Quorn Mince

    Open Food Facts Retrieved

    Mycoprotein (88%), rehydrated free range egg white, pea fibre, natural caramelised sugar, firming agents, gluten free barley malt extract.

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