Idealogian

Halal Halachah

Muslims get soft drinks go-ahead

Muslims in the UK have been given permission to consume soft drinks which contain minute traces of alcohol and pork products.

Under strict interpretation of Muslim law, Lucozade and Ribena were both previously considered to be "unclean".

Lucozade contains 0.01% ethyl alcohol to aid flavouring, which the Muslim Law Council now says is too small to matter

Ribena previously used gelatin - a pork by-product - in its production but has now changed its manufacturing methods.

. . .

"I see no harm in consuming Ribena and Lucozade which contain traces of ethyl alcohol and animal ingredients that do not bear their original qualities and do not change the taste, colour or smell of the product," [Muslim Law Council chair Zaki] Badawi said.

(Emphases mine.) Apparently Islamic "halachah" also believes in the concepts of bittul b'shishim¹ (at least) and notein ta'am.² I wonder, though, what the article means by "to aid flavouring" and whether that would be a problem in kashrut.

¹Bittul B'Shishim - the halachic concept that anything comprising less then 1/61^st of a mixture is considered insignificant
²Notein Ta'am - the halachic concept that a component that might otherwise have been considered insignificant cannot be ignored if it contributes to the taste of the overall mixture