Additives and their Halalness

Additives are added intentionally in a small amount apart from the main ingredients to produce certain effects. The additives are not commonly regarded as a food. These exclude fortifying-nutrients ,herbs and spices, air, water and others. The additives could be natural , nature-identical or artificial compounds. Additives should be strictly regulated and proven to be safe . Through long process of chemical studies to determine whether the substances could have harmful effects such as cancer and birth defects, the results is presented to FDA to determine how the additive used . Two categories of substances that exempt from testing are GRAS ( generally recognised as safe) which the extensive past use without harmful side effects and substances that are approved by FDA and USDA before 1958. the use of these substances should be declared on food labels using either chemical names or E-numbers. These numbers are used internationally to identify all additives internationally. Some additives which are unsafe for consumption are sodium nitrate , saccharin and some artificial colors. The main functions of additives are to increase the shelf-life of food as a preservative , prevent food from being a source for food poisoning , to aid in food manufacturing or processing and to improve maintain the food quality. There are several categories of food additives such as acids, anti-caking agents, anti-foaming agents,antioxidants, bulking agents, food colourings , emulsifiers , flavours, flavour enhancers , humectants , preservatives , stabilizers , sweeteners and thickeners. Examples are citric acid used as acids in many types of beverages and aspartame used a sweeteners. The foods are determined to be halal or haram according to the source , presence of najs and processing and handling which might contact with najs. Someof the issues regarding the usage of certain additives include gelatine, flavouring , enzymes, emulsifiers and glycerine. Gelatin is derived from animal connective tissue collagen . The main sources include pigskin, cattle hides,cattle bones and fish skin. The source of gelatin is not specified on food label thus it is better for a muslim to avoid food containing gelatine. Gelatin is commonly found in gummies, marshmallow, bars and ice cream as an gelling agent. The glycerine and emulsifiers used are not haram unless containing pork or non-halal sources. Enzymes obtained from animals should be from halal animals and the animals should be slaughtered according to halal way. Enzymes are used in various food industries such as fruit juice, cheese and baked products. In cheese-making, chymosin is used to coagulate milk , lipase is for ripening and lactase is to increase digestibility. The flavourings used could be dairy, natural or artificial. The process flavour like meat flavour from beef or pork could be used in formulation of seasonings. There are also hydrolysis of fats by lipase enzyme from animals . Alcoholic flavouring or fermentation by-products are also avoided. The alcohol powder or flavouring is commonly used in ice cream, beverages and chocolate. Some natural coloring from insects like cochineal should be avoided. Generally there is agreement among muslims regarding the additives made from plant and synthesized chemically but disagreements of the permissibility of animal sources which are not halal and not slaughtered according to halal way. there are generally two opinions on this, which are al-istihlak and al-istihalah. al-istihlak refers to a small amount of najs or prohibited materials is dissolved and assimilated in dominant subtances that none of the smell, taste or color of dominant subtances has changed, then it is permissible. For example a small amount of prohibited enzymes used in foods could be allowed according to above specifications. According to al-istihalah , if the najs and prohibited subtance has undergone through chemical reaction that transform it to a different substance with different properties and name, then it is permissible. For example like fat being broken down into glycerol and fatty acids. This transformation process is known as istihalah. For example, soaps that are made of pig fats that has gone through istihalal it would be permissible. There is also an opinion about gelatine which is not considered to undergo istihalal. This is due to the same chemical composition after processing the collagen into gelatine. It has only undergone partial chemical change. However, it is more important to check that collagen has switched to a new entity called gelatine so it is permissible. It is important for muslim to eat food according to principle Halalan thoyyiban which means foods that are wholesome and obeying the Shariah law .

MS1500

Malaysian Standard MS 1500:2009 is the second revision of the general guidelines on the production , preparation, handling and storage of Halal food. The Department of Standards Malaysia(STANDARD MALAYSIA) is the standard and accreditation body in Malaysia. Malaysian Standards (MS) are developed through consensus by committees which comprise balanced representation of producers, users , consumers and others with relevant interest and are adopted form International standards. Approval of a standard is governed by the Standards of Malaysia Act 1996 . The Malaysian Standard is reviewed periodically. STANDARDS MALAYSIA has appointed SIRIM Berhad as an agent to develop , distribute and sell Malaysian Standards. However , this standard does not contain all requirements which may be required for certification.

The content of MS1500:2009 also defines Shariah law as Islamic law based on Hadith , Quran , Qiyas and Ijmas accodring Mazhab Shafie , Maliki , Hanbali or Hanafi school of Thoughts or Fatwa that is approved by the relevant Islamic Authority. The term "Halal" is defined as things and actions that are permitted by Shariah law. Halal Foods are defined as foods and drinks permitted under the Shariah law . Animals used must be Halal and the foods should not contain najs .Najs includes dogs , pigs , non-halal contaminated halal food, non-halal contacted halal foods, anything that is discharged from orifices of human beings and animals including urine , blood , vomit , pus , placenta , excrement , sperm and ova of pigs and dogs , animal carrions of non-halal Slaughtering and also Khamar food. The Najs is divided into 3 categories which are Mukhaffafah(light) , Mutawassitah (medium) and Mughallazah (severe) cases. The foods should be safe for consumption .

Competent authority is the agency which is entrusted by the government to carry out specified work according to prescribed requirements. Premises are buildings , structure and land used in connection with the whole processing of Halal foods. The premises shall be designed and constructed to enable efficient process flow that minimizes the risk of contamination. The processing equipments and machines are ensured to be not contaminated. The MS1500 also specifies the hygiene , sanitation and food safety. The halal foods shall be processed , packed and distributed under hygienic condition according to Good Hygiene Practices (GHP) and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP). The requirements for the processing of Halal foods include suitable sources either animals from land or aquatic animals ,plants , mushroom and microorganisms , chemicals and minerals , drinks and genetically-modified foods. Animals that live both on lands and water , pigs and dogs , animals that use long pointed teeth and tusks to kill preys, predator birds , pests and poisonous animals , Islam-forbidden animals and repulsive animals are not halal . Animals fed with najs should be avoided.

The Malaysian Standards also describe the slaughtering act as the severing of Trachea , oesophagus , both carotid arteries and jugular veins to hasten the bleeding and death of animals. The requirements for slaughtering process should include the required identity of the slaughterman , certificate for halal slaughter, niyyah , conditions of animals at slaughtering, tasmiyyah , facing to the Qiblah, sharp and clean knife , the correct slaughtering position and the slaughtering should be done only once. The further processing, handling, distribution, storage , transportation , display , sale and servings of halal food is also specified to avoid contamination. The packaging, labelling and advertising have to include non-confusing information and also a halal certification mark . A muslim supervisor checks if the slaughtering is carried out according to Halal way.

The MS1500 also describes the general requirements for the use of stunning in slaughtering . But , stunning is not usually recommended. The stunning should not injure or kill the animals and avoid contamination of the animals.The last part of the MS1500 includes the method of ritual cleansing like seven times of washing . The water and soil for washing shall be mustamal and free form najs.

good chem website

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Bioenergetics and thermodynamics studies in biochemical reaction.

Bioenergetics is the studies of how organisms manage their energy resources and how energy is transformed in biological systems.it is the studies of the energy changes accompanying biochemical reactions.it provides the underlying principles to explain why some reactions may occur while others do not.

The change in free Gibb's energy or the Gibb's free energy is that portion of the total energy change in a system that is available for doing work.

if the change in free Gibbs energy is positive,the reaction is endergonic and non-spontaneous.
if the change in free Gibbs energy is negative,the reaction is exergonic and spontaneous.

at equilibrium,the change in free Gibbs energy is zero.

the first law of thermodynamics states that the total energy of a system including its surroundings,remains constant.However,the energy may be transformed or tranfered to another form of energy.

The second law of thermodynamics states that the total entropy of the system must increase for a reaction to occur spontaneously.Entropy is the measure of the degree of randomness and disorder of a system while enthalpy is the heat content of a system.Entropy is a portion of the enthalphy that is not available to do useful work.

Catabolism is an exergonic process releasing energy that involves the break down and oxidation of molecules.
Anabolism is an endergonic process requiring energy input that involves the building up of substances.
A metabolism consists of catabolism and anabolism.it is the sum of the chemical reactions of biomolecules in an organism.

blood clots!!!!

When bleeding from a wound suddenly occurs, the platelets gather at the wound and attempt to block the blood flow. The mineral calcium, vitamin K, and a protein called fibrinogen help the platelets form a clot.

A clot begins to form when the blood is exposed to air. The platelets sense the presence of air and begin to break apart. They react with the fibrinogen to begin forming fibrin, which resembles tiny threads. The fibrin threads then begin to form a web-like mesh that traps the blood cells within it. This mesh of blood cells hardens as it dries, forming a clot, or "scab."
Calcium and vitamin K must be present in blood to support the formation of clots.

bruise, or black-and-blue mark, is the result of a blood clot. Both scabs and bruises are clots that lead to healing.

Muscle contraction and nervous system

muscle fibre consists of thin and thick filament.Thin filament is made up of actin filament with troponin attached to it.The thick filament consists of the myosin filament .Myosin filament has a head and a tail.The myosin head contain ATPase enzyme.

For a muscular contraction to be carried out,the nervous system transmits nerve impulse to the neuromuscular junction.This causes the presynaptic membrane to release acetycholine to the synaptic cleft.This neurotransmitters enter the postsynaptic membrane and causes depolarisation of post synaptic membrane.Action potential is generated and nerve impulse is transmited to the sarcolemma and to the sarcoplasmic reticulum.This cause sarcoplasmic reticulum to release calcium ions to the sarcoplasm.The calcium ion binds to the troponin and causes the binding site of the actin filament to be exposed.calcium ion also binds to the myosin head and causes the ATP on the head to undergo hydrolysis to form ADP and P which are still attached to the myosin head.The myosin head is energised and it bind to the binding site of the actin filament to form actomyosin cross-bridge.The myosin head pulls the actin filament slide over the thick filament .Another ATP attaches to the myosin head and causes comformational change of the myosin head.The head detaches from the actin filament and is hydrolysed again.The attaching and detaching processes cause muscle to contract.After muscle contraction, the calcium ions detach from the myosin head and troponin.They are collected back into the sarcoplasmic reticulum.Acetylcholinesterase hydrolyses the acetylcholine.The neuromuscular junction returns to its resting state.the muscle is relaxed.

Phloem

There are 4 types of phloem tissues as well!!

~Sieve tube element

~Companion cells

~Phloem fibres

~Phloem parenchyma'

The sieve tubes and the companion cells are directly involved in the translocation of the organic substances. sieve tubes ,phloem parenchymam and companion cells are living tissues.Phloem fibre is dead tissue.

Sieve tube element:they are joined end to end to form a long tube.Their end walls are perforated with sieve pores to allow cytoplasmic connection between sieve elements and for flow of liquid.They are living cells with thin cellulose cell wall (not lignified) and protoplasm.It has few mitochondria to allow smooth flow of food.However,it has no nucleus ,ribosomes and golgi apparatus that have degenerate.Its metabolic need is supplied by the companion cells.

Companion cell: they can only be found in angiosperms.They are closely related to the sieve elements.Theyb have a nucleus , small vacuoles, cytoplasm, ribosomes and many mitochondrias.

They move sugars and amino acids through plasmodesmata to the sieve elements.

Phloem fibre : They are meant only for providing mechanical support.They are the only dead phloem tissues.

Phloem Parenchyma : They are packaging tissues.They are meant only for storage of organic foods.