Criterion 2 — Materials

Core question: is every material that goes into — or touches — the certified product provably halal? The burden of proof is on the company; the auditor tests the evidence, not the promise.

Related: Guide 01 §7 blockers · material register template · change report template · China high-risk table context

Science primers (the why behind the rules): animal-origin chemistry & hidden sources · unit operations & halal risk · fermentation & alcohol chemistry · detection & testing

1. Definition of “material” — wider than the recipe

Materials = everything used in making the product and everything that touches it. Six classes (mirroring internal-audit item 8):

1. Raw materials (原料)
2. Food additives (食品添加剂 / BTP)
3. Processing aids (加工助剂 / bahan penolong) — enzymes, antifoaming agents, filter aids, release agents, extraction solvents
4. Packaging in direct contact, food-grade lubricants & grease, sanitizers
5. Cleaning aids (清洁剂) used on food-contact surfaces
6. Media for validating cleaning results — swab/agar plates: culture media often contain animal-derived peptone/agar

Each class can smuggle in animal origin or alcohol even when the recipe looks clean. Ask “what touches the food, and what validates that it is clean?” — that surfaces classes 4–6.

2. Evidence decision tree

Work top-down; move one level down only when the level above cannot be met.

L1  Halal certificate from an HCB recognized by BPJPH (LHLN live list)
     └─ covers exact supplier name + address + product + validity period
     └─ no cert / issuer not recognized ↓
L2  Material with critical processing (fermentation/microbial — flavors,
    dyes, enzymes, extracts; any animal origin; any alcohol involvement):
     halal certificate is REQUIRED — no flowchart shortcut        → L4
     └─ material with simple mechanical/physical processing only ↓
L3  Manufacturer process flowchart + animal-free statement (无动物源性声明)
     └─ flowchart proves no critical step (fermentation, growth medium,
        solvent extraction, animal input)
     └─ China doc shortcut (own practice 2026): CoA / TDS / MSDS /
        regulatory data sheet (RDS) explicitly stating "free of animal
        origin or derivatives" replaces the animal-free statement letter
     └─ weak docs, only an animal-free letter → optional lab test for
        porcine DNA/protein (supplementary only)                  → L4 if unclear
L4  Cannot be cleared → find alternative material / alternate manufacturer.
     THE ONLY ROUTE for animal-derived material without an accepted
     halal certificate.

Decision boundaries (encode these — common auditor mistakes live here):

• 🚫 Animal-derived materials can NEVER be cleared via flowchart + animal-free statement. Gelatin (明胶), whey/casein, rennet, animal-fat glycerides, bone/meat powders & extracts, animal enzymes/flavors, carmine (胭脂红), shellac (虫胶): accepted halal certificate or replacement.
• ✅ Flowchart + animal-free statement only works for materials that are genuinely non-animal and physically/mechanically processed (corn/rice flour, mechanically extracted oils, salt, sugar from cane/beet with standard refining).
• ⚠️ Fermentation/microbial route (flavors, dyes, enzymes, organic acids, some thickeners): growth media & cultures introduce animal/alcohol risk → halal certificate required; flowchart + animal-free statement is normally insufficient.
• 🧪 Lab testing (porcine DNA/protein) is a supplementary check, not a substitute for a certificate where the certificate is mandatory; it supports L3 for genuinely non-animal materials or verifies claims the auditor distrusts.

3. Meat and slaughter — non-negotiable

• Meat and meat derivatives must come from halal-certified slaughterhouses whose certification is acknowledged by BPJPH (recognized slaughterhouse + HCB chain). No flowchart route, no statement route, no lab-test route.
• In China: domestic 清真 (qingzhen) slaughter certification (Islamic Association / local associations) is not automatically recognized for BPJPH.
• Watch for:
  • meat imported into China (frozen beef/mutton, poultry) carrying halal certificates from bodies/slaughterhouses on BPJPH’s recognized list — usable only if the chain is intact and documented;
  • stunning practice and slaughter method at the actual plant (reversible stunning, animal alive, Muslim slaughterers);
  • “meat-flavored”/meat-containing items whose meat cannot be traced to a recognized slaughterhouse → non-compliant.
• Context: slaughter services & products are themselves a wajib-halal category (see framework).

4. Alcohol rule (operational standard of this body)

1. Source matters more than percentage. Alcohol from wine / alcoholic beverages (khamr origin: 葡萄酒, cooking wines derived from alcoholic drinks, red-wine vinegar) is haram at any level, even traces.
2. Non-khamr ethanol (industrial/edible ethanol from sugarcane, molasses, cassava): acceptable only if the relevant alcohol content does not exceed 0.5% — operational max 0.49% (finished-product basis per this body’s practice) and it is not intoxicating.
3. Distinguish three situations; document each:
   • (a) Ethanol added as ingredient/solvent — 香精 (flavors) and vanilla-type extracts can carry 20–60% ethanol as solvent. Require supplier CoA/declaration of ethanol source (khamr or not) and compute the finished-product contribution.
   • (b) Fermentation by-product naturally formed — soy sauce 酱油, vinegar 醋, yeast extracts 酵母抽提物, fermented grains: low-level alcohol is typical; must be non-khamr route and within limit.
   • (c) Alcohol-containing condiments & cooking wines — 料酒, 米酒, 红曲酒, 酒酿, beer/malt-based ingredients: name and origin put them in khamr-adjacent territory; treat strictly, prefer replacement on certified lines (红糟 red lees from 红曲酒 brewing is a beverage-route derivative — see the angkak case study).
4. Auditor asks the company to show how it demonstrates ≤0.5%: finished-product CoA/testing per batch, or supplier declaration + recipe math.

5. Material register / matrix (mandatory deliverable)

One consolidated register, maintained by the company, verified by the auditor (template):

中文 material	English/INS	Role	Supplier (name+address)	Halal status	Evidence	Valid until	Risk class
明胶	Gelatin E441	additive	…	cert required	halal cert (LHLN)	dd.mm.yyyy	CRITICAL

Rules:

• Every purchased material and every free-issue/packaging item appears once; the register is the positive list — the only things the company may purchase for certified products.
• Materials exempted from halal certification (exemption/positive-list category per current SJPH rules 🔎) must still be listed with the exemption basis.
• Purchases must match the register: same name/brand/manufacturer as approved. A new brand of the same material is still a change.
• Change management: alternate supplier, substitute, reformulation → pre-approval required + reporting/review (links to criterion 5 and Guide 05 §3). Chinese suppliers switch vendors frequently — the #1 place SJPH manuals fail in practice.

6. China high-risk ingredients quick table

中文	English	Typical risk	Route
明胶	Gelatin	porcine/bovine bone-skin; bovine must be halal-slaughter chain	cert or replace
猪油/猪板油	Lard	pork	never acceptable
牛油/羊油/动物油脂	Beef/mutton tallow	animal, slaughter status	cert or replace
骨粉/肉粉/骨汤粉	Bone/meat powders, bone broth	animal	cert or replace
肉味香精/肉精膏	Meat flavors & pastes	may carry real animal extracts	cert or replace (flowchart+statement only if provably non-animal)
水解蛋白	HVP (plant) OK; HAP (animal) not	animal if HAP	HVP: flowchart+statement; HAP: cert or replace
蛋白胨	Peptone	animal-derived (culture media)	cert or replace
乳清粉/乳粉	Whey/milk powders	dairy, slaughter-chain sensitivity (rennet/casein)	cert or replace for Indonesian use 🔎
干酪素	Casein	dairy	cert or replace
凝乳酶	Rennet	animal (calf) vs microbial	cert preferred (microbial)
单双甘油脂肪酸酯	Mono-/di-glycerides E471	fat source (animal vs palm)	cert / plant-origin declaration
甘油	Glycerol E422	animal fat possible	declaration + cert if animal
卵磷脂	Lecithin	usually soy; check egg/animal	flowchart+statement (soy)
酶制剂	Enzyme preparations	fermentation media; animal enzymes	cert required (fermentation route)
食用香精（含酒精溶剂）	Flavors with ethanol solvent	alcohol source & level	non-khamr declaration + dosage math
胭脂红/虫胶	Carmine / shellac	insect-derived	replace for Indonesian market 🔎
蚝油/鱼露/虾酱	Oyster/fish/shrimp sauces	aquatic — halal per prevailing fiqh; verify processing aids & claims	flowchart+statement
酵母抽提物	Yeast extract	low alcohol by-product; media	declaration + level check
酱油/醋	Soy sauce / vinegar	fermentation alcohol by-product	declaration + level check
红曲/红曲红	Angkak / red yeast rice (fermented colorant)	fermentation route; media must be plant-only (rice/soy — declare actual list), extraction solvent disclosed	cert; fallback flowchart + animal-free — case study
红糟/红曲酒/料酒/米酒/酒酿	Red vinasse / red rice wine / cooking wines	alcohol — beverage-route risk	treat strictly; reject if from alcoholic-beverage route

🔎 Insect-derived (carmine/shellac) and aquatic/animal fiqh points: confirm your LPH’s fatwa basis before applying a rule to a real file.

7. Supplier evidence documents (China) — collect & verify

• Business license 营业执照 (verify live on GSXT — see China operating layer); SC production license 生产许可证 where applicable; name/address must match invoice + CoA.
• Halal certificate copy (if claimed): verify issuer on the BPJPH live LHLN list; scope covers supplier + product + validity.
• CoA / TDS / MSDS / regulatory data sheet (RDS): look for explicit wording — “no animal origin or animal-derived materials, no porcine material” — and for alcohol content where relevant. The four are not interchangeable — see template 06 §3.2.
• Manufacturer process flowchart (decision logic §2 above).
• Third-party test reports (CNAS/CMA labs) for porcine DNA/protein when required.
• Animal-free statement letters: usage guide, bilingual declaration mapping and verification points in template 07 — 无动物源性声明 (editable master at workspace root).
• Purchase receipts/invoices kept for the certificate validity period (internal-audit item 14).

8. Typical non-conformities (China files)

1. Most halal-cert-required materials lack certificates from BPJPH-acknowledged HCBs — the dominant finding.
2. Certificates from HCBs not on the recognized list (incl. Chinese 清真 certificates) — reject; explain the LHLN rule.
3. Animal-free letters without supporting flowchart, or flowchart hiding a fermentation/extraction step.
4. New supplier brands purchased but absent from the approved register (change-management failure).
5. Packaging/cleaning/lubricant/validation-media materials missing from the register entirely.
6. Only finished-product alcohol % declared — no ethanol-source declaration for flavor/vanilla-type ingredients.
7. MSDS showing animal components (animal glycerin, tallow-based emulsifier) used as a “processing aid” the company never listed.

9. Auditor checklist (quick)

• Material universe complete — all six classes listed (§1)?
• Approved register is the only purchasing basis (sample invoices vs register)?
• Every critical material: L1 certificate → live LHLN check? scope/address/validity match?
• No-cert materials: flowchart + animal-free statement adequate? any animal origin → replaced?
• Meat: recognized slaughterhouse chain documented end-to-end?
• Alcohol: khamr-source excluded; ≤0.5% (max 0.49%) demonstrated; solvent-ethanol ingredients source-declared?
• Any unapproved changes since last review? (links criterion 5)

Map: 32-item internal audit checklist items 8–14 (see template).