A comprehensive list of Halal and Haram ingredients starting with the letter N. The list contains common uses of the ingredients in the food/medicine/cosmetic industries, sources and halal and haram status.
Natural Flavors (Doubtful)
Flavorings are focused on altering the flavors of natural food product such as meats and vegetables, or creating flavor for food products that do not have the desired flavors such as candies and other snacks. Most types of flavorings are focused on scent and taste. Flavoring substances are obtained from plant or animal raw materials, by physical, microbiological or enzymatic processes. Alcohol is often used as a solvent. It is tricky to determine if the natural flavour present in a product is actually halal. The product maybe Kosher certified but alcohol may still be present in the natural flavors. Thus, one has to do some additional research with the manufacturer of the product to ensure it is free of animal raw materials and alcohol.
Natural Hickory Smoke Flavor (Halal)
Smoking is the process of flavoring, browning, cooking, or preserving food by exposing it to smoke from burning or smoldering material, most often wood. Meats and fish are the most common smoked foods, though cheeses, vegetables, and ingredients used to make beverages such as lapsang souchong tea are also smoked. In Europe, alder is the traditional smoking wood, but oak is more often used now, and beech to a lesser extent. In North America, hickory, mesquite, oak, pecan, alder, maple, and fruit-tree woods, such as apple, cherry, and plum, are commonly used for smoking. The smoke is captured in the process, condensed and filtered, and mixed with water, and added to food as flavoring.
Niacin or Vitamin B3 (Doubtful)
Niacin, also known as vitamin B3 and nicotinic acid, is an organic compound. Niacin is found in a variety of whole and processed foods, including fortified packaged foods, meat from various animal sources, seafoods, and spices. Since it can be sourced from animal and plant sources, consume only if the source is known to be from a Halal source, i.e. plant. Look for Halal or Kosher certification on the product.
Nonfat Dry Milk (Doubtful)
Powdered milk or dried milk is a manufactured dairy product made by evaporating milk to dryness. One purpose of drying milk is to preserve it; milk powder has a far longer shelf life than liquid milk and does not need to be refrigerated, due to its low moisture content. Powdered milk is frequently used in the manufacture of infant formula, confectionery such as chocolate and caramel candy, and in recipes for baked goods where adding liquid milk would render the product too thin. Powdered milk is also widely used in various sweets such as the famous Indian milk balls known as gulab jamun and a popular Indian sweet delicacy (sprinkled with desiccated coconut) known as Chum chum (made with skim milk powder). The reason why it’s doubtful is because the equipment used to dry the milk may also be used to process other dairy products which may not be halal. If proper sanitation procedure is not used in between product changeovers then cross contamination may occur. Consume if the product is Halal or Kosher certified.
Nucleotides are organic molecules that serve as the monomers, or subunits, of the nucleic acids DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) and RNA (ribonucleic acid), both of which are essential biomolecules in all life-forms on Earth. Nucleotides are the building blocks of nucleic acids; they are composed of a nitrogenous base, a five-carbon sugar (ribose or deoxyribose), and at least one phosphate group. They are also known as phosphate nucleotides. “Nucleotides are commercially produced from Torula yeast cells by providing alcohol as nutrients for growing torula yeast cells in millions. Then Nucleotides are obtained RNA of torula yeast cells. Nucleotides are used in baby infant formula to provide immunity against diarrhea and other diseases in new born babies and 0-12 months old babies.” (Source: muslimconsumergroup.com)
A plant based spice. Nutmeg (also known as pala in Indonesia) is one