Can We Eat Products Containing Sodium Steroyl Lactylate?
Sodium stearoyl lactylate is an emulsifier. There are many different emulsifiers used in the food industry. Others include monoglycerides, diglycerides, esters of fatty acids and lecithin. Emulsifiers are compounds used to keep oils or fats and water dispersed in one phase (i.e., they prevent oil and water from separating). This is important in products that combine water soluble and oil soluble ingredients. Emulsifiers are used in a wide variety of products including baked goods, peanut butter, margarine, shortening and other products. These items can be derived from animal or vegetable sources. Unless the source is known, we consider them questionable because they may have been derived from haram sources. At present, food labels do not usually list the source of these questionable ingredients so the only way to know if they are appropriate for the Halal diet is to ask the manufacturer about the source or for the product containing the ingredient to be Halal certified. Of course, Hala
