Is your plastic packaging potentially leaching porcine DNA onto your Halal products?

Migration tests (permeability & leaching) are carried out to ascertain if packaging is made from materials that could potentially leach harmful chemicals into food (especially plastics, coatings or adhesives). These tests are essential for evaluating whether chemicals or substances in plastic packaging materials can migrate into food, potentially compromising the food's safety, or in case of Halal products, their religious acceptability.

Migration tests are typically conducted under simulated conditions such as heat, time, acidity, fat content etc. This is particularly important for UK Halal products exports, as their products could potentially be exposed to relatively high-temperature conditions, such as those encountered during shipping or storage in the Middle East, where food can be exposed to temperatures as high as 50°C.

In the context of halal (Islamic dietary laws), if plastic packaging contains pork-derived ingredients, such as Gelatine (often used as a plasticiser), Stearates or fatty acids derived from animal fats, or especially Lubricants or additives of porcine origin (such as slip agents or stabalisers), then there is a real concern that these substances could potentially leach into food, especially under conditions like high heat or prolonged storage. 

Halal certification for packaging is therefore a crucial but sometimes overlooked part of the halal assurance system. Packaging materials must not contain or leach haram (forbidden) substances such as those derived from pork or other non-halal sources, especially if they come into direct contact with food.

For Muslims, consuming any trace of pork or its derivatives is strictly forbidden (haram), even indirect contamination, such as through primary or sometimes secondary packaging, can render food haram.

To mitigate this potential risk, plastic materials, or primary packaging used for food processing and packaging is verified as halal-compliant, meaning it contains no haram substances which can leach haram substances like pork derivatives. These precautions are critical in maintaining the halal integrity of food products for Muslim consumers.

Organisations, such as Halal Certification Organisation (HCO) UK Ltd., offering halal certification services would review the entire supply chain, including packaging materials, printing inks, adhesives, and coatings used on the packaging, particularly for inner layers or direct-contact packaging.

For Halal assurance to be comprehensive and trustworthy, especially in heat-exposed export markets like the Middle East, packaging materials must be halal compliant, not just the food itself. Any potential for porcine DNA or derivatives to leach into food must be eliminated to maintain consumer trust and religious compliance.