isithalal.food

Are Stock cubes 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

Stock cubes are salt, starch, yeast extract and flavour enhancers, plus fat or extract from the animal on the label.

Next step Read which animal is in the cube. UK beef and chicken stock cubes contain beef fat, bone stock or chicken fat from animals not shown to be Halal-slaughtered; vegetable cubes labelled vegan contain no animal ingredients. How to verify
Scan a label

Photo: Rainer Z ... · CC BY-SA 3.0

How to verify

  1. Read the flavour: beef, chicken, lamb or vegetable.
  2. Beef or chicken cubes list beef fat, bonestock, chicken fat or chicken extract: avoid them unless the pack has a Halal mark.
  3. Vegetable cubes: check for a vegan label and no meat extract.
  4. Stock pots and gravy granules follow the same rule.

What decides the answer

  • UK OXO beef cubes (beef fat, dried beef bonestock)

    avoid unless Halal-certified

  • UK OXO and Knorr chicken cubes (chicken fat, chicken extract)

    avoid unless Halal-certified

  • OXO vegetable cubes labelled vegan

    Halal: no animal ingredients

  • A stock cube with a Halal certificate

    Halal for that pack

Why this ruling

A stock cube is a pressed block of salt, starch, yeast extract and flavour enhancers, with a little fat or extract from the animal on the label. Dissolved in hot water, it makes a quick stock for soups, stews, rice and gravy.

Beef and chicken cubes

The meat content is small but real. UK OXO beef cubes list beef fat (4.5%) and dried beef bonestock.[1] OXO chicken cubes list chicken fat and chicken extract,[2] and Knorr chicken cubes list chicken fat and chicken.[3] None of these packs is Halal-certified, so nothing shows the animals were slaughtered Islamically.

That matters even in small amounts. Darul Uloom Deoband's fatwa department says fat from an otherwise Halal animal slaughtered by a non-Islamic method is not Halal.[8] The same reasoning applies to beef, chicken and beef tallow. So avoid beef and chicken cubes unless the pack carries a Halal mark.

Vegetable cubes

OXO's vegetable cubes are labelled vegan and list salt, starch, flour, flavour enhancers, palm oil, yeast extract, tomato and herbs.[4] Nothing comes from an animal, which makes them the easy substitute in most recipes.

In restaurants and ready meals

Stock is often hidden in sauces, soups, rice and gravy. If a restaurant's meat is Halal, ask whether its stock and gravy are too.

Where you'll find it

  • Soups, stews and gravy
  • Rice and couscous
  • Restaurant and takeaway sauces

Frequently asked questions

Are stock cubes Halal?
Vegetable cubes labelled vegan are. Beef and chicken cubes from UK brands such as OXO and Knorr contain beef fat, bone stock or chicken fat from animals not shown to be Halal-slaughtered, so avoid them unless the pack carries a Halal mark.
Are OXO cubes Halal?
UK OXO beef cubes list beef fat and dried beef bonestock, and OXO chicken cubes list chicken fat and chicken extract; neither is Halal-certified. OXO vegetable cubes are labelled vegan and list no animal ingredient.
Is Knorr chicken stock Halal?
UK Knorr chicken stock cubes list chicken fat and chicken, with no Halal certification, so they are not shown to be Halal. Packs sold in other countries can differ; check the one you buy.
Is bone broth Halal?
Only when the bones come from Halal-slaughtered animals. Bone broth is bones simmered in water: Freja's beef bone broth lists meaty beef bones, M&S chicken bone broth lists chicken bones, and Borough Broth's beef broth lists beef and chicken bones. None of these UK packs records a Halal label, so they are not shown to be Halal.
What can I use instead?
A vegan vegetable cube, a Halal-certified stock, or stock made at home from Halal meat and bones.

Scholarly view

Stock cubes raise the same question as the meat they come from. Beef and chicken are Halal animals, but their fat or extract is only Halal if the animal was slaughtered Islamically. Darul Uloom Deoband's fatwa department says fat from an otherwise Halal animal slaughtered by a non-Islamic method is not Halal.

Some scholars accept meat slaughtered by Jews and Christians; Halal certifiers do not apply that view to ordinary supermarket products.

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. Is emu bird fat Haram if non-zabiha slaughtered? (Fatwa 1208/1227/B=01/1440)

    Darul Ifta, Darul Uloom Deoband (Hanafi), via IslamQA.org Retrieved

    An otherwise Halal animal slaughtered by a non-Shariah method becomes Haram, so oil made from its fat is not Halal or pure.

Manufacturer / product

  1. OXO Beef Stock Cubes (barcode 5000354402067)

    Open Food Facts (ingredient list transcribed from pack photos) Retrieved

    Jurisdiction: United Kingdom

    Wheat flour, salt, maize starch, yeast extract, flavour enhancers, colour, beef fat (4.5%), autolysed yeast extract, dried beef bonestock, flavourings, sugar, acidity regulator, onion powder.

  2. OXO Chicken Stock Cubes (barcode 5000175411118)

    Open Food Facts (ingredient list transcribed from pack photos) Retrieved

    Jurisdiction: United Kingdom

    Wheat flour, salt, dried glucose syrup, flavour enhancer, yeast extract, flavouring, chicken fat, potato starch, sugar, chicken extract (2%), onion extract, colour.

  3. Knorr Chicken Stock Cubes (barcode 5000184161028)

    Open Food Facts (ingredient list transcribed from pack photos) Retrieved

    Jurisdiction: United Kingdom

    Salt, starch, vegetable fats, yeast extract, sugar, chicken fat (3%), flavourings, chicken (1%), spices, lemon juice powder, onion powder, parsley, caramel syrup, maltodextrin.

  4. OXO Vegetable Stock Cubes (barcode 5000354404368)

    Open Food Facts (ingredient list transcribed from pack photos) Retrieved

    Jurisdiction: United Kingdom

    Labelled vegan. Salt, potato starch, wheat flour, dried glucose syrup, flavour enhancers, onion extract, flavourings, palm oil, yeast extract, tomato powder, sugar, dried herbs, black pepper extract.

  5. Freja Bone Broth Beef (barcode 5070000140117)

    Open Food Facts Retrieved

    Jurisdiction: United Kingdom

    Water, meaty beef bones, onion, carrot, parsnip, leek, sea salt, parsley, thyme, black pepper, bay leaf. No Halal label recorded.

  6. M&S Chicken Bone Broth (barcode 29283378)

    Open Food Facts Retrieved

    Jurisdiction: United Kingdom

    Water, chicken bones, onions, carrots, leeks, salt, gelling agent: agar, parsley, garlic, white peppercorns, bay leaves. No Halal label recorded.

  7. Borough Broth Beef Bone Broth (barcode 5060651990292)

    Open Food Facts Retrieved

    Jurisdiction: United Kingdom

    Spring water, bones (beef bones 38% and chicken bones 2%) (40%), carrots, onions, apple cider vinegar, black peppercorns, pink Himalayan salt, thyme, bay leaves. No Halal label recorded.

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