SEPTEMBER, 2019 | The HEALTH
HALAL HEALTH
09
The four most popular brands of bubble tea selected to be tested.
Of halal and bubble tea
A response to a viral social media post questioning the halal status of the massively popular bubble tea
T
HE famous beverage which is
served with a hefty amount of
tapioca balls; also referred to as
‘bubbles’ and mostly sold by the
Malaysian Chinese has become
an online phenomenon. Th ere’s
simply no escaping at least a photo of a plastic
lid cup with what seems to be containing a
gooey brown sugar with milk tea every time
we’re on Facebook.
However, the recent social media post
raised an issue where the Muslims are ques-
tioning the halal status of the sugary drink
which boils down to a pressing question – is
it halal for the Muslim consumers? Our exclu-
sive interview and tests with Global Haltec
Sdn Bhd will provide you the inside scoop on
the matter.
Putting things into perspective
Th e Health raised the matter of how unhealthy
the bubble tea is in the last issue. However,
we are looking at the halal part of it in this
article. Seeing as the majority of Malaysians
are Muslims, and are no doubt swept along
the bubble tea craze, we should take the whole
halal issue seriously.
Here’s how things work when it comes to
halal. According to the Department of Islamic
Development Malaysia (JAKIM), for a product
to be certifi ed halal, it must contain 0 per cent
non-halal ingredients, it must not come in
contact with any non-halal substances during
production, and the production process and
the facility as well must adhere to strict food
hygiene and safety standards. Only then can
one be certifi ed halal.
We can’t possibly know how well the bubble
tea companies are keeping with cleanliness
and halal-ness during production, but what
we can do is test the fi nished product and
see whether it has any traces of non-halal
ingredients or substance.
Scientifi cally tested
for porcine DNA
Four samples were taken randomly from the
market and tested by Global Haltec’s own
halal testing facility, Halvec Laboratories.
Nurul Atiqah Sa'adon, Senior Lab Analysis
Atiqah outlines the tests as being highly accurate, as it is capable to
detect traces of porcine up to 0.0002 nanograms.
for Halvec explains: “We ran two tests for the
bubble, a DNA test and the enzyme-linked
immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test. For
the DNA test, we’re looking more on the
contamination side while the ELISA test to
determine the porcine trace within the raw
ingredients and the processes.
“For the DNA test, we have to first
homogenise the samples. Th is is to separate
the cells since we’re looking for the pure
HALAL TESTING:
The team at Halvec
Laboratories tested
the bubble teas
through ELISA test and
DNA test to look for
traces of porcine.
DNA. This process is important as the
protein, starch, sugar and colouring can act
as a inhibitor when determining the DNA.
With the pure DNA, we are able to detect the
smallest trace of porcine; which is around
0.0002 nanograms,” she says. “We’ll use the
PCR machine and compare the result with
a specifi c sequence. If the samples match,
that means the sample is contaminated with
porcine DNA.
“Porcine detection via ELISA is used to
determine the presence or porcine trace in
protein form. Th is method has been verifi ed
and validated specifi cally for protein-based
analysis and it is used to fi nd any trace of
porcine inside the protein. Th e process targets
a specifi c protein to determine the trace of
porcine in the samples we have.
Free from porcine
According to Atiqah, the four samples
(brands) tested were free from any porcine-
based ingredients and contamination.
“After testing the samples brought to us,
we found the result to be negative. Meaning
that all the products we tested are safe for
consumption in terms of their ingredients.
Simply put, no porcine-based ingredients
were used in the making of the bubble. We
came to this conclusion when we could not
fi nd a trace of porcine from the bubble,” says
the lab analysis.
However, halal verifi ed does not make it
halal certifi ed.
“Halal verification and halal certifica-
tions are two different things. To be certified
halal, the company must go through the
right process as mandated by JAKIM. Our
speciality is to determine the ingredients
with clinically proven techniques to find
traces of porcine DNA by using our own
technologies and collective knowledge,”
says Atiqah.
She then says “since it is halal verifi ed and
not certifi ed, we implore the users to use
their own discretion when considering join-
ing in the bubble craze. We can’t disclose the
brands we tested. However, we can say all four
tested brands have ‘gone viral’ at one point or
another.” — Th e Health