If modified milk ingredients is listed as an ingredient for cheese but it also has microbial enzymes and bacterial culture within the ingredients, is it suitable for consumption? I remember seeing on the website that this is permissible for Black Diamond products, but was wondering if this is the general consensus for any MMI-containing products
Bismillahi Ta’ala
Walaikum Assalam Warahmatullah
The ingredient’s label shows all the ingredients used in that product. For this answer, since you have mentioned Black Diamond Cheese, let us use one of their product as an example.
Black Diamond Extra Old Cheddar Cheese label suggests: Made from milk, modified milk ingredients, cream, salt, bacterial culture, calcium chloride, microbial enzyme.
Modified Milk Ingredients (MMI) is a separate ingredient from the rest of the ingredients. For halal suitability, each one of them needs to be halal.
The label shows that the cheese itself is using bacterial culture as well as microbial enzymes.
bacteria culture includes one or more species of bacteria and
microbial enzyme refers to milk coagulating enzymes from Aspergillus oryzae RET-1 (pBoel777), Endothia parasitica, Rhizomucor miehei (Cooney and Emerson) (previous name: Mucor miehei (Cooney and Emerson)) or Mucor pusillus Lindt (Canadian Food Inspection Agency)
However, the final product also uses additional MMI which is itself processed. According to Canadian Food Inspection Agency, MMI includes any of the following in liquid, concentrated, dry, frozen or reconstituted form, namely, calcium reduced skim milk (obtained by the ion exchange process), casein, caseinates, cultured milk products, milk serum proteins, ultrafiltered milk, whey, whey butter, whey cream and any other component of milk the chemical state of which has been altered from that in which it is found in milk
Since we need to confirm which enzymes were used in the preparation of MMI, we must review it independently either from the manufacturer or any external certification.
In case of Black Diamond Cheese, we are informed from the manufacturer that If rennet or lipase is listed in the ingredients, then MMI is made using animal by-products.
Wallahu A’lam
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Mufti Faisal al-Mahmudi
(for AskHalal.ca)