Enzymes in food and Halal certification: what Italian agri-food companies need to know

26 August 2026 · 6 min read · by HQC Italia

The word 'enzymes' on the label of a cheese or packaged bread is one of the ingredients most closely scrutinised by Muslim consumers and Halal certification bodies. For an Italian company exporting to Islamic markets, failing to declare the origin of the enzymes used can block certification or lead to customs disputes. Here is what this means in practice and how to manage the issue.

The problem starts with the label

A Muslim consumer reads the ingredient list of an Italian cheese and simply finds «enzymes». The question they ask — where do these enzymes come from? — is the same one asked by Halal certification bodies in Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates and all the main destination markets for Italian food exports. The article published on 12 August 2026 on deenup.app and picked up by HalalFocus on 24 August 2026 highlights how strongly the global Muslim community feels about this issue. For an Italian agri-food company, ignoring it means losing market share or, worse, having a shipment that has already left blocked.

What enzymes are and why their origin matters for Halal

Enzymes are biological proteins that speed up chemical reactions. The food industry uses them in a great many products: cheese (rennet and lipase), bread and bakery products (amylase, lipase, protease), fruit juices, beer, modified starches and processed meats. From a Halal perspective, the critical point is not the enzyme's function but its origin. An enzyme may come from:

• plant or microbial sources, generally accepted as Halal;
• Halal animals slaughtered according to the ritual, accepted if properly certified;
• non-Halal animals — including pigs — or animals not slaughtered in line with Islamic requirements: in this case the final product is not Halal, regardless of how little enzyme is used.

Microbial rennet or Halal-certified bovine rennet are accepted. Rennet extracted from calves not slaughtered according to the Islamic ritual, or lipase of porcine origin, make the product impossible to certify. The problem is that many Italian producers — especially in the dairy and industrial bakery sectors — use enzyme preparations bought from third-party suppliers without full knowledge of the raw material's origin and, as a result, without being able to declare it for certification purposes.

The practical implications for Italian exports

In markets that require mandatory Halal certification — including Saudi Arabia (where SASO and SFDA operate), Indonesia (BPJPH), Malaysia (JAKIM) and Singapore (MUIS) — a product containing enzymes of unverified or non-Halal origin cannot be imported with a valid Halal certificate. The practical consequences for an Italian company are at least three:

• Certification refused: the certification body asks for the enzyme's technical data sheet and, if the origin is undocumented or non-compliant, does not issue the certificate.
• Customs hold: in countries with systematic import checks, the product may be stopped at customs and sent back, with logistics costs and reputational damage.
• Lost customer: a local importer who has already invested in introducing the product to the market will not reorder if the Italian supplier cannot guarantee ingredient compliance.

What the company should do

Putting this part of production in order is neither long nor particularly expensive, provided it is approached methodically. The essential steps are:

• Map all enzyme ingredients used: not only enzymes bought directly, but also those contained in preparations, flavourings, additives and processing aids. A processing aid does not appear on the label, but it is still subject to Halal assessment.
• Ask suppliers for documentation on origin: full technical data sheet, declaration of the enzyme's origin (animal, plant, microbial) and, where available, the supplier's own Halal certification.
• Consider replacing critical enzymes: in many cases it is possible to switch to microbial or plant equivalents without significantly changing the production process or the sensory characteristics of the final product.
• Include enzymes in the certification file: when you start the process with a Halal certification body recognised in your destination markets, all enzyme documentation should be submitted from the outset to avoid delays at the audit stage.

The role of the certification body

A recognised Halal certification body verifies the compliance of the entire recipe, including enzymes, and flags any issues as early as the document review stage, before the formal audit. Complete documentation from the start is what makes the difference between certification obtained on schedule and a file that stalls for weeks waiting for missing documents. HQC Italia has been active in Halal certification since 1983 and is recognised in more than 50 Islamic countries that require certificates issued by recognised bodies, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Companies that want to check their position can request a free quote: the reply arrives within 24 hours.

In summary

The word «enzymes» on a label is not neutral for Islamic markets. It is a control point that certification bodies examine carefully and that Muslim consumers are learning to read with an increasingly critical eye. For an Italian agri-food company that exports or wants to export to those markets, addressing the issue in advance — mapping raw materials, documenting origins and choosing suppliers able to guarantee compliance — reduces risk and strengthens the product's credibility with local importers.

Source: HalalFocus — Are Enzymes Halal? What Every Muslim Should Know (24 August 2026), based on deenup.app, Ahmad, 12 August 2026.

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