Principles of halal-compliant fermentations: Microbial alternatives for the halal food industry

Background: Microbial food ingredients produced using biotechnology have a wide range of applications in the food industry. With new technological improvements such as genetic modification, microbial products can be produced more effectively. Microbial products and the new ways of producing them have led to some confusion for consumers in recent years. Religions and lifestyles are determinative factors in the food consumption preferences of different societies. People who are followers of a religion or philosophy of life, such as Islam, inquire about the microbial ingredients of the foods they consume. For Muslim societies, who follow Islam, it is critical that microbial products match the criteria of the Islamic diet. Therefore, they require some basic principles that must be followed in the production of bioproducts. Scope and approach: The aim of this review is to summarize the basic principles of producing microbial food ingredients that are used for halal foods. Key findings and conclusions: To evaluate the steps of a fermentation process from an Islamic point of view and to determine the control points for halal requirements would eliminate any questions about the foods that are prepared using microbial metabolites. Nowadays, many biotechnology companies have invested in modifying their production processes to comply with halal principles so that they can reach the halal food market. In the future, it is expected that the share of halal microbial products will increase in the biotechnology market.