Halal Food Checker: Scan a Barcode to Check Halal Status & E-Numbers

Checking whether a packaged food is halal in a Canadian or US grocery store often means squinting at a long ingredient list, wondering about an unfamiliar E-number, or trying to remember whether a product carries certification. SkanSure’s halal food checker runs in your browser — no app to install — and gives you the facts behind that decision in one scan.

Scan a barcode and SkanSure looks the product up in Open Food Facts, the open crowdsourced food database. First it checks for halal certification: when a recognized certifier is named on the record — for example HMA or IFANCA — the result says Certified Halal and names the certifier. Then it screens the full ingredient list against known haram ingredients such as pork and alcohol, and against doubtful (mashbooh) items whose origin matters. If a complete ingredient list screens clean but there is no certification, the result says exactly that: no haram ingredients found — not certified. Screening alone never clears an uncertified meat product.

The checker also flags E-numbers that commonly raise questions, such as E120 (carmine, a red colouring made from insects), along with ingredients like gelatin whose source is often unstated. When an ingredient’s origin can’t be determined from the record, the result is Doubtful and tells you why, rather than rounding it up to a pass. And when there simply isn’t enough data, the answer is Unknown. Every result names its source and shows when the product record was last updated; the full rule set is on our methodology page.

One boundary matters: SkanSure reports facts — ingredients found, E-numbers flagged, certification by name. It never issues religious rulings. Whether a doubtful ingredient is acceptable to you is a question for your own judgement or a scholar or certifying body you trust; SkanSure’s job is to make sure you can see what is actually in the product before you decide.

Scan a product now