Halal & Kosher Protein Powder in the Fitness Community

Have you been looking for a protein powder that is Halal or Kosher? If so, you’re not alone.There seems to be a lot of confusion in the fitness community as to what protein powder is safe to consume that is Kosher Certified and has the Halal Blessing.

In an attempt to gain a clearer understanding and find a list of Halal and Kosher friendly protein powders, I contacted several protein powder companies. Out of a handful of companies I contacted, only Dymatize got back to me, here’s what they had to say:

Thank you for reaching out to us in regards of the certification of our products.” “All of our products count with the requirements to be halal certified, except for the Elite Primal.” “But as of right now we don’t count with the blessing/certification.” Although I was happy that Dymatize replied to me, this response left me a little confused.

Still confused by their response, I headed out of town and into my favorite restaurant at Planet Ozone, Tabuleh Café. While I was grabbing a bite to eat, I happened to notice a big chalk board sign that said, ‘Halal Certified’ and a detailed explanation of how the animals were slaughtered.

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Mike Hussein the owner of Planet Ozone was kind enough to speak with me, and he was able to provide me with a better understanding on the subject.

In order to be considered Halal, a facility can have no cross contamination, meaning no products such as chicken, beef, or lamb can come in contact with one another; the table must be re sanitized between each. And there must be no contact with pork products to be considered Halal 100%.

Lamb kabobs happen to be my favorite.

Next, we discussed the slaughtering of animals. I learned that ten minutes after an animal is slaughtered the heart stops working, blood stops circulating in the body and bacteria can begin to grow. Some studies indicate that this can be linked to cancer. Kosher meat is much safer because when an animal is slaughtered; they bleed all the blood out the animal posing less risk and delaying the process.

For the purposes of Halal, a sharp knife is used which makes a swift deep incision and then the blood is drained immediately from its veins. Mike explained that the blessing certification is okay for people who are Non-Muslim if they are only concerned about health aspects of it.

In Islamic and Jewish religions when an animal is slaughtered, it is blessed; the blessing part of it makes it Halal. It is the combination of the blessing and the process that makes it 100% Halal. If you’re still curious, head over to Mike’s page.

So what about our whey?

In whey protein, the milk comes straight from the cow and the milk is protected by the cow. For egg protein, the eggs are protected by the shells. Mike indicated, as long as it comes from a healthy animal and there has been no cross contamination in the facility, both whey and egg protein are considered Halal when it’s certified or Kosher.

6 COMMENTS

  1. Hi, may I know the question that you sent dymatize? I cannot seem to get a response from them, did you reach out via their main website?

    • Hi Lutfi,
      I asked if they were Halal/Kosher Certified. As I said their answer left me a little confused, but at least they responded. (: I felt they were kind to answer, but they didn’t really know themselves. After speaking with Mike on the subject I personally feel if this is something important to you, I would stick with an egg, plant or rice based protein powder.

      As for how I contacted them? If I recall, I contacted their main website, filled out a form and they got back to me.

      Hope that helps you some.

  2. Hey there,
    Just to share from what i read online, the rennet(derived from an animal source) and the flavouring(most flavour extract contains alcohol) used in the process is usually the reason why most whey proteins are not halal/kosher.

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