E392 Extracts of rosemary — is it halal?

Ruling: Mashbuh (doubtful)

Description

An antioxidant from rosemary leaves whose active principle is the phenolic diterpenes carnosic acid and carnosol. The raw material is plainly of plant origin; the questions lie in what it is extracted with and how. The EU specification admits four methods, and ethanol takes part in three of them, its residue being allowed up to 2% in the supercritical CO₂ method.

Basis of the ruling

Rosemary extracts are obtained from rosemary leaves, a plant raw material. The doubt lies in the solvent: three of the four methods permitted in the EU use ethanol — as a co-solvent in carbon dioxide extraction, as the main solvent, or as a second solvent after hexane — and a residue of it is allowed in the product.

Names: Экстракты розмарина · Extracts of rosemary · مستخلصات إكليل الجبل

Also known as: экстракт розмарина, экстракт листьев розмарина, rosemary extract, extract of rosemary leaf, 迷迭香提取物, مستخلص إكليل الجبل, E 392, INS 392, rosemary leaf extract, Rosmarinus officinalis extract

Category: Antioxidants

Regulatory source: EU 1333/2008

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