Firstly, the disagreement regarding the ruling on Oreo cookies originally stemmed from a tweet that mentioned that Oreo is not halal (“Oreo is not halal. Thank you for your message”), as well as from a tweet attributed to the Oreo Company on Twitter on May 11, 2019.
This tweet, written in English as “no Oreo is not Halal approved,” sparked many questions regarding the ingredients of this type of biscuit, which many consider to be vegan.
Secondly, referring to the global encyclopedia, we find that the ingredients of Oreo have remained largely unchanged from their original composition, despite the emergence of various alternative flavors and varieties over time. It used to be made with pork fat until the mid-1990s, when Nabisco replaced animal fats with partially hydrogenated vegetable oil due to increasing health concerns. The classic Oreo cake is made using eleven main ingredients, which are:
– Sugar – Unbleached enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, iron, thiamine mononitrate [Vitamin B1], riboflavin [Vitamin B2], folic acid) – High oleic canola or palm oil – Cocoa (processed with alkali) – High fructose corn syrup- Leavening agent (baking soda or monocalcium phosphate) – Cornstarch – Salt – Soy lecithin – Vanillin (an artificial flavor) – Chocolate – Nutrition.
Similarly, it is also mentioned in many sources that cater to the interests of vegans that:
The ingredients listed on a package of Oreos are: enriched unbleached flour, sugar, palm and/or canola oil, cocoa, high fructose corn syrup, leavening, cornstarch, salt, soy lecithin, artificial flavor (vanillin), unsweetened chocolate.
There is no mention of dairy or egg products, yet the Oreo Company itself states that it does not consider it “suitable for vegans.” On their Frequently Asked Questions page, they say: “Oreo cookies contain milk as a cross-contact, and therefore, they are not suitable for vegans.” This is because they are manufactured in an environment where dairy might be present.
They also mentioned that Oreo was certainly not vegan in the past. In the early 20th century, they were made with lard (pig fat). Only in the mid-1990s, due to concerns about the healthiness of animal fats, the Nabisco company (the parent company of Oreo) decided to replace lard with partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. This change continued for another decade until more health concerns arose. Therefore, in January 2006, under public pressure, Oreo replaced trans fats in the cookies with non-hydrogenated oils. However, the recipe still included whey protein derived from dairy products until 2013 in the UK and 2014 in the US. When this ingredient was removed, the ingredients finally became free of animal-derived components.
In light of the mentioned ingredients, there is nothing preventing it from being consumed.
Thirdly, it appears that the distinction between products labeled as “halal” and those that are not may be due to the distribution requirements in the respective countries. Most Islamic countries require this labeling for product distribution approval. In non-Muslim countries, there might not be a legal requirement for explicit labeling.
What we rely on here is the ingredients, not the labeling.
Fatwa by Dr. Khālid Naṣr