Do vegan Tonkotsu noodles contain pork, and are therefore not halal for Muslims to eat?!

Take a look at the viral photo, and find out what the facts really are!

A packet of vegan Tonkotsu noodles has gone viral, with people claiming that it contains pork, and is therefore not halal for Muslims to consume. It’s often accompanied by comments like:

Kepada yg suka sgt Japanese Food. Berhati2 lah. (To those who love Japanese food, be careful)

Dunia hari ini… hati2 bila membeli (Be careful when buying things in today’s world)

Something is off about this

The photo of the Tonkotsu noodles packet has gone viral, with Muslim netizens in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand deeply concerned about its halal status, so here is what you need to know…

Fact #1 : That Is A Packet Of Vegan Tonkotsu Instant Noodles

First, let me just point out that many netizens did not bother to look at the photo properly.

It is stated clearly  on the packet that it contains Tonkotsu with pork bone broth flavour .

The small labels also point out that this packet is not only vegan, it has a gluten-free soup base.

Fact #2 : Vegan Tonkotsu Noodles Do Not Contain Meat

This packet of vegan Tonkotsu noodles does NOT contain meat. Certainly not pork.

In fact, vegan food products by definition do NOT contain any animal products. That means it won’t contain meat, eggs, dairy products, or any other animal-derived substances.

The soup is made to mimic the taste of pork bone broth, using yeast extracts and garlic powder amongst other things.

For example, here are the ingredients of the Nissin Tonkotsu Instant Noodles – a similar vegan tonkotsu ramen product :

Noodles: Wheat Flour, Palm Oil, Tapioca Starch, Salt, Potassium Chloride (Salt Substitute), Sodium Phosphates, Potassium Carbonate, Sodium Carbonate, Sodium Alginate, Guar Gum, Green Tea Powder, Tocopherols, Ascorbyl Palmitate.

Soup Base: Sugars (White Sugar, Glucose Syrup, Dextrose), Salt, Monosodium Glutamate, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Yeast Extracts, Soy Sauce Powder (Soybeans, Wheat, Salt), Garlic Powder, Fully Hydrogenated Palm Oil, Onion Powder, Dehydrated Green Onion, Guar Gum, Maltodextrin, Vegetable Oil, Milk Protein, Silicon Dioxide. Black Garlic Oil: Palm Oil, Garlic, Vegetable Oil, Caramel Colour.

As you can see – its ingredients are not only completely halal, they are also completely vegan.

Fact #3 : NAHA Halal Logo Was Used Without Permission

The packet of vegan Tonkotsu noodles also has a Nippon Asia Halal Association (NAHA) logo, which proclaims that it had been certified halal.

However, NAHA issued a statement on August 19, 2022 stating that it did not certify this noodle producer as Halal, and the brand did not receive their permission to use the NAHA Halal logo.

We never certify this company as halal. Even if the product is vegan, our Halal standards clearly explain that we dont allow this kind of label even if all ingredients are halal and process is halal dedicated. We are searching which company has used this label with our halal mark without our permission. Please discourage this and wherever you saw this product, please inform the store that this is fake label and fraud label.

Fact #4 : Invalid NAHA Logo Does Not Mean It Is Not Halal

I have to point out that NAHA did not certify this company, so the use of their label is illegal, even if the product itself is halal .

That is a certification issue, and does not mean that the vegan noodles are not halal.

For example, if the noodle company paid NAHA to certify this particular Tonkotsu instant noodle product, it would receive a certificate and the right to use the halal logo for just 1 year.

If the brand does not continue to pay NAHA for the halal certification, it will lose the right to use its halal logo, even though the instant noodles have not changed one bit, and remain just as halal as it was before.

In other words – certification confirms that the product is halal, but the lack of certification or even the use of lapsed / false certification does not mean that the product is not halal.

NAHA, for example, offers halal certification for mineral water with a 2-year validity period. But does that mean that mineral water without the NAHA logo is not halal?

Of course, if you are in doubt about whether vegan noodles are truly halal, it’s best to check with the religious authorities in your country.

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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

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