This corn puff snack is popular all over the world. People who have tried it claim that there is something so tempting about it that it cannot be resisted.
Cheetos is a brand of the Frito-Lay company, which is part of the American multinational beverage, food, and snack corporation PepsiCo.
Cheetos are manufactured and distributed by: PepsiCo Americas Foods, PepsiCo Europe, Sabritas, Latin Americas Foods, PepsiCo APAC and AMESA.
PepsiCo Americas Foods manufactures, distributes, and sells Cheetos in the US and Canada.
PepsiCo Europe manufactures, distributes, and sells Cheetos in European countries such as Spain, Cyprus, and Poland.
In Mexico, Cheetos manufactures, distributes, and sells Sabritas.
Latin Americas Foods manufactures, distributes, and sells Cheetos in Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Venezuela, and Colombia.
PepsiCo APAC Chetos are manufactured, distributed, and sold in countries in the Asia-Pacific region, Australia, New Zealand, and China.
PepsiCo AMESA Chetos are manufactured, distributed, and sold in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia countries.
In the US alone, Cheetos are produced in twenty-one different varieties.
Cheetos are sold in nearly fifty countries worldwide and PepsiCo has expanded the range of this popular snack with new varieties that are adapted to regional and local tastes.
Cheetos are a very popular snack but are they halal?
Can Muslims eat Cheetos?
Are Hot Cheetos Halal?
Hot Cheetos are among the most popular types of Cheetos. They have been on sale since 1992.
Hot Cheetos are distinguished from other Cheetos by their distinctive taste and red color.
No type of Cheetos is halal, so Hot Cheetos are not halal either.
Hot Cheetos are haram because they contain ingredients with animal enzymes.
For Cheetos to be considered halal, they would have to meet the criteria prescribed by Islamic food safety law.
Halal is meat obtained from an animal that was slaughtered in accordance with the manner prescribed by Islamic customs.
The animal must be slaughtered painlessly and “Tasmiyah” must be recited during the slaughter.
For the meat of a slaughtered animal to be halal, it is necessary that all the blood has drained from the animal during slaughter.
All products derived from haram meat or ingredients derived from such meat are also haram.
Pork meat is haram regardless of the way the animal was slaughtered because pigs are among the prohibited animals in the Muslim diet.
It is haram to use the meat of the following forbidden animals: predators, vermin, scavengers, and birds of prey.
The American multinational beverage, food, and snack corporation PepsiCo, part of which is the Frito-Lay company that owns the Cheetos brand, stated in an official statement that all Cheetos flavors contain animal enzymes.
Among the ingredients containing animal enzymes, the most common are cheese and whey, but by analyzing the entire list of ingredients, it can be determined whether there are other ingredients that can be obtained from both animal and plant sources.
In the case of ingredients that can be obtained from both animal and plant sources, the exact source should be precisely determined, because such ingredients can be either halal or haram.
What are the ingredients in Hot Cheetos?
No matter in which factory in the world Hot Cheetos are produced, they do not have a halal certificate on the packaging.
Also nowhere on the label does it prominently state that Hot Cheetos contain animal enzymes.
To determine whether Hot Cheetos contain ingredients containing animal enzymes, check the ingredient list on the package.
The ingredients used in the production of Hot Cheetos are Cheese Seasoning, Wheat flour, Monosodium Glutamate, Dextrose, Artificial flavors, Citric Acid, Vegetable oil, Salt, Yeast Extract, Artificial Color, Dried Tomato, Maltodextrin, Spices, Sugar, Lactose, Onion Powder, and Garlic Powder.
Cheddar cheese is a haram ingredient used in the production of Hot Cheetos.
Cheddar cheese is obtained using animal rennet.
Although it is possible to replace cheese obtained using animal rennet with cheese produced using vegetable rennet, there is no information that any of the factories in the PepsiCo System around the world have made such a replacement in production.
Currently, the increasingly popular trend in the world is to use plant-based rennet in cheese production.
It is estimated that in the total world production of cheese, animal rennet is used for only five percent of the products.
Whey protein concentrate is haram if it is obtained from whey that was created using animal rennet.
Whey protein concentrate can be halal only if it is obtained from whey that was created using vegetable rennet.
To determine whether this ingredient is halal or haram, it is necessary to determine which rennet was used in the production of cheese in which whey was created as a by-product.
Buttermilk is a by-product of butter production.
Buttermilk is obtained if butter is produced traditionally and is the liquid that results after obtaining butter. This liquid contains fatty substances that are rich in fermentable proteins.
Buttermilk obtained as a by-product of the traditional way of obtaining butter is halal.
Buttermilk is usually produced in factories by injecting enzymes into the milk.
If these enzymes are of animal origin, then Buttermilk obtained in this modern non-traditional way is haram.
Wheat flour is a halal ingredient in the production of Hot Cheetos.
Wheat flour can be obtained in two ways: grinding with stone rollers and grinding with steel rollers.
Grinding with stone rollers does not generate heat, which adversely affects the composition of the flour while grinding with steel rollers generates heat, which results in the loss of some useful substances that Wheat flour contains.
Wheat flour is natural flour and is halal.
Monosodium Glutamate is an ingredient used in the production of Hot Cheetos to give these snacks an umami flavor.
Monosodium Glutamate depending on the source from which it is obtained can be a halal or haram ingredient in Hot Cheetos.
Monosodium Glutamate, which is obtained from a plant source, is completely halal and meets the nutritional safety requirements prescribed by Islamic law.
Monosodium Glutamate that is obtained from yeast that is grown on an animal source is haram.
Depending on the source from which this ingredient in the production of Hot Cheetos is obtained, it can be halal or haram.
Dextrose is a halal ingredient used in the production of Hot Cheetos.
Dextrose is derived from starch and is a completely plant-based ingredient. Dextrose is the sugar used as a sweetener in the production of Hot Cheetos.
Artificial flavors used in the production of Hot Cheetos can be halal or haram depending on how they are obtained.
If the artificial flavor is obtained from a plant source by fermentation, distillation, or some other method in a laboratory without the use of ethanol then it is halal.
Artificial flavors that are of animal origin are haram.
Artificial flavorings that are of herbal origin but are extracted with the help of ethanol are also haram because they contain alcohol.
Citric Acid is a halal ingredient in Hot Cheetos because it is obtained from a natural plant source.
Citric Acid is extracted from citrus fruits. Most often, limes or lemons are used to obtain this acid.
Citric Acid can be obtained from any citrus fruit.
Vegetable oil is a halal ingredient used in the production of Hot Cheetos.
Vegetable oil is obtained from plants such as corn, sunflower, palm, or soybean.
Palm oil is obtained from the fruit of the palm tree. This fruit is reddish due to the high percentage of beta-carotene it contains.
Crude palm oil is used in much smaller quantities in sacred production, because it is red and has a strong smell, so it could affect the quality of the products it is used for.
Refined palm oil has a weaker smell, a neutral taste, and a lighter color.
This natural oil obtained from plant sources is halal.
Sunflower oil is obtained by pressing sunflower seeds.
This is a natural oil and is halal.
Soybean oil is obtained by extracting from soybean seeds.
Soybean oil contains a low percentage of saturated fat and is rich in polyunsaturated fat.
Crude soybean oil has a pungent smell and taste.
Refined soybean oil has a mild odor and neutral taste, which makes it suitable for use in the food industry.
This is a natural oil and is halal.
All vegetable oils are halal, and all oils of animal origin are haram.
Onion Powder is a halal-certified product used as an ingredient in the production of Hot Cheetos.
Salt is a halal ingredient in Hot Cheetos. All types of salt are halal.
Yeast Extract is an ingredient in the production of Hot Cheetos that can be either halal or haram depending on the type of yeast used.
Baker’s Yeast Extract is halal and brewer’s yeast is haram.
Brewer’s yeast is a by-product of beer production.
Artificial Colors used in the production of Hot Cheetos have artificially obtained additives.
The Artificial Color used for Cheetos is important to ensure product type recognition.
Artificial Colors used in the production of Hot Cheetos are additives that are approved for use in the food industry.
Dried Tomato is a halal-certified product used to make Hot Cheetos.
Dried Tomato is obtained by drying ripe tomatoes. These dehydrated vegetables retain many of the beneficial properties that fresh vegetables have.
Dried Tomato is sold in packages with halal certificates.
Halal-certified dried tomato packages guarantee that it is a product for the production of which ingredients of animal origin or alcohol were not used.
Maltodextrin is a carbohydrate obtained from potato, rice, or corn starch.
Maltodextrin is a halal ingredient in the production of Hot Cheetos that is used as a sweetener.
Sugar is used as a sweetener in Hot Cheetos. This ingredient is halal.
Sugar is obtained by processing plants.
Most often, sugar is obtained by processing sugar beet or sugar cane, but it is found in the fibers of almost every plant.
Lactose may contain animal enzymes. Lactose which containing animal enzymes are haram.
Lactose can also be obtained from plant sources. In this case, this ingredient is halal.
Garlic Powder is a halal-certified product used as an ingredient in the production of Hot Cheetos.
Spices used in the production of Hot Cheetos are halal and natural.
Paprika is among the most important spices used in the production of Hot Cheetos, but also and many other natural flavors are used.
Conclusion
Hot Cheetos are not halal.
Hot Cheetos are haram because they contain ingredients with animal enzymes.
If you’re wondering if maybe the spicy version of Hot Cheetos is halal, the answer is that Flamin’ Hot Cheetos aren’t halal either.
The difference between Hot Cheetos and Flamin Hot Cheetos is the spiciness, but the other ingredients used to make other types of Cheetos are mostly the same, and among them are those ingredients that are haram.
Flamin Hot Cheetos are compared to cayenne pepper and on the Scoville scale, they come in at about fifty thousand Scoville heat units.
No type of Cheetos is halal.
People who want to replace Hot Cheetos with another snack often wonder if Chesters Hot Fries are halal.
It’s no coincidence that Hot Cheetos and Chesters Hot Fries have the same mascot on their packaging, as both brands are owned by Frito-Lay.
Chesters Hot Fries differ from Hot Cheetos and all other types of Cheetos in that they are not only made from corn but made from corn and potatoes.
What’s the same for Hot Cheetos and Chesters Hot Fries is that they don’t have halal certification on the packages.
Chesters Hot Fries are not halal because enzymes of animal origin are used in their production.
The American multinational beverage, food, and snack corporation PepsiCo, part of which is Frito-Lay, the company that owns the Cheetos brand, recommends salty snacks such as Ruffles Original, Lay’s Classic, Rold Gold Pretzels, Fritos, Original SunChips and Tostitos as an alternative to Cheetos.
These snacks do not contain cheese or whey, which greatly reduces the likelihood that they are not halal.
However, you should always look at the list of ingredients on the packages of these snacks offered by PepsiCo as an alternative to Cheetos.
If among the ingredients some contain animal enzymes or are obtained with the use of alcohol, those snacks that are offered as an alternative will not be halal.
Read also: Are Pringles Halal? / Are Doritos Halal?
