isithalal.food

Are Swedish Fish 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

US Swedish Fish packs list sugar, invert sugar, corn syrup, modified corn starch, citric acid, a small amount of oil (white mineral oil, or sunflower oil on some newer bags), flavouring, carnauba wax and colours.

Next step Swedish Fish list no gelatin and nothing from an animal, but they are not Halal-certified. Read the bag for any new ingredient. How to verify
Scan a label

Photo: Matthew Bellemare · CC BY-SA 3.0

How to verify

  1. Read the ingredients for gelatin; current packs list none.
  2. The chew comes from modified corn starch.
  3. The wax is carnauba, from a palm leaf.
  4. Jelly beans and other spin-offs have their own lists, so read those too.

What decides the answer

  • Swedish Fish Original, Mini and Assorted (no gelatin, no animal ingredients)

    Halal if verified

  • Swedish Fish jelly beans (beeswax and carnauba wax, no gelatin)

    Halal if verified

  • Any pack that lists gelatin with no Halal source named

    avoid unless certified

Why this ruling

Swedish Fish are red, fish-shaped chewy sweets sold in North America. Unlike most gummies, they are not set with gelatin, which is why they come up so often in Halal sweet lists.

What's in them

A current 8 oz bag lists sugar, invert sugar, corn syrup and modified corn starch, then under 2% of citric acid, sunflower oil, flavouring, carnauba wax and Red 40.[1] Mini bags, made in Canada, list the same with white mineral oil in place of sunflower oil.[2] Assorted bags add the colours for the other flavours and nothing else.[3]

The chew comes from the starch, not gelatin. Carnauba wax is a palm-leaf wax, and white mineral oil is refined from petroleum. None of it comes from an animal.

Are they Halal?

On their listed ingredients, yes, for most Muslims. They are not Halal-certified, so if you only eat certified sweets, Swedish Fish don't qualify. The jelly beans are a separate product: they add beeswax, which is Halal, and still list no gelatin.[4]

If a pack ever lists gelatin, treat it as a gelatin source question. For other US sweets, see the US Halal candy guide.

Where you'll find it

  • Red, fish-shaped chewy sweets
  • Assorted and Mini bags
  • Cinema and pick 'n' mix

Frequently asked questions

Are Swedish Fish Halal?
They list no gelatin and nothing from an animal, so most Muslims eat them. They are not Halal-certified, which is why we class them as Halal if verified.
Do Swedish Fish have gelatin?
No. US packs list sugar, invert sugar, corn syrup and modified corn starch. The chewy texture comes from the starch.
Are Swedish Fish vegan?
The Original, Mini and Assorted packs list no animal ingredients. The wax is carnauba, from a palm leaf. The jelly beans also list beeswax, so they are not vegan, though beeswax is Halal.
What is the mineral oil in Swedish Fish?
White mineral oil is a refined oil from petroleum, used in tiny amounts so the sweets don't stick. It does not come from an animal. Some newer bags use sunflower oil instead.

Scholarly view

With no animal ingredient listed, Swedish Fish raise no question beyond their unnamed flavouring, which most Muslims accept in sweets. Scholars who require certification for all processed sweets would still look for a Halal mark, and there is none.

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.

Manufacturer / product

  1. Swedish Fish Soft & Chewy Candy, 8 oz (barcode 0070462035988)

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

    Jurisdiction: United States

    Sugar, invert sugar, corn syrup, modified corn starch, less than 2% of citric acid, sunflower oil, natural and artificial flavor, carnauba wax, red 40.

  2. Swedish Fish Mini (barcode 0070462008258)

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

    Jurisdiction: United States

    Made in Canada. Sugar, invert sugar, corn syrup, modified corn starch, less than 2% of citric acid, white mineral oil, natural and artificial flavor, red 40, carnauba wax.

  3. Swedish Fish Assorted (barcode 0070462098365)

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

    Jurisdiction: United States

    Same base list as the red fish, with red 40, yellow 6, yellow 5 and blue 1.

  4. Swedish Fish jelly beans (barcode 0070462434033)

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

    Jurisdiction: United States

    Sugar, corn syrup, corn starch, modified corn starch, malic acid, gum arabic, flavour, red 40, carnauba wax, beeswax. Record last updated 2020.

Browse this topic

Open the parent category hub for more foods in the same group.