Dangerous red or why carmine is prohibited in Islam?
Still eating bugs? Yes, yes, we are talking specifically about insects, or more precisely about cochineal, from which carmine is produced. Lately we have been receiving quite a lot of questions about this red dye. Let’s talk more about this topic.
What is carmine and where is it used?
Carmine (French carmin, from Arabic kirmiz – cochineal and Latin minium – cinnabar) is a red dye that is obtained from carminic acid produced by female cochineal insects. Carmine is registered as a food additive E120 and is prohibited for use by Muslims.
This food additive is a natural dye and is used in the food and light industries. Manufacturers give preference to carmine due to the fact that it, as a dye, is stable and durable, that is, temperature, light, and oxidation have only a slight effect on it. However, this dye is quite expensive, since its production requires a large number of insects, and the process itself is labor-intensive.
Depending on the acidity of the medium, the color of the dye changes. For example, to obtain orange color you need an acidic environment with pH=3, for red color pH=5.5, for purple color pH=7.
How is E120 obtained?
Female cochineals parasitize prickly pear (prickly pear is a genus of plants in the Cactaceae family). The insects are about five millimeters long. They are collected from cacti with a stiff brush or blade before the egg-laying period, then a multi-stage processing process takes place (cleaning, drying, grinding, treatment with ammonia or sodium carbonate solution), as a result of which the finished dye E120 or its extract is obtained.
Why is carmine haram?
The source of carminic acid is an insect. According to the unanimous opinion of the Hanafi scholars, eating insects is prohibited. Most of the scholars rely on the verse: “He commands them to do good and forbids them from evil, permits for them what is lawful and forbids to them what is impure” (Al-A’raf, 157).
The exception is eating locusts. Abdullah ibn Abu Auf (r.a.) said: “We took part in seven (or: six) military campaigns together with the prophet (pbuh) and ate locusts with him” (Al-Bukhari 5495, Muslim 1952).
It follows that carmine falls into the category of haram.
Effect on the human body
Carmine is of natural origin, is considered a safe additive, and is approved in Russia and other countries. However, a small percentage of the world’s population has an intolerance to this dye. In such people, E120 can cause an allergic reaction and anaphylactic shock.
Where can carmine be used?
The Hanafi scholar Ibn Abidin in his work “Radd al-Mukhtar” speaks of the permissibility of using cochineal for dyeing textiles. This applies exclusively to textile products and in no way to food or those non-food products that may enter the body accidentally (for example, lipstick).
Alina Kashapova
Checked by: Ilgiz Bagautdinov, Bulat Mubarakov
Photo: brewminate.com
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