Is Lindt Chocolate Halal? (Here Is The Truth!)

Do you know if Lindt chocolate is Halal or Haram? Well, you are at the perfect place to find the answer to such a question.

With advertising for just about every product taking liberties with descriptions, determining if a product is truly halal can be an exercise in frustration. Case in point: Is Lindt chocolate Halal?

According to Lindt’s website, none of their products are certified Halal. While SOME chocolates in their line meet the basic proper standards in that they are animal and alcohol-free, many of their chocolates are indeed haram due to alcohol as a delivery method in certain flavors.

This deserves a closer look so that you can see the complete picture, so let’s talk about Lindt and the facts that you need to know if you are evaluating their products.

What is Lindt chocolate?

Lindt refers to Chocoladefabriken (chocolate maker) Lindt and Sprüngli, a Swiss chocolate company that has been in business since 1845.

They are based in Kilchberg, Switzerland, and famous all over the world for their truffles, chocolate bars, and many other delicious treats.

Unfortunately, while they’ve been around a little over 177 years, and even though Halal Certification Services in Rheingelden Switzerland is easily accessible, their products do not bear the distinctive stamp that everyone knows to look for.

Lindt does talk about not having a Halal status on their website and we’ll elaborate on this shortly but sufficed to say the lack of this simple label (after almost two centuries of doing business!) does not instill a lot of trust and is definitely a disappointment for Muslim chocolate fans.

Halal or Haram: A breakdown of Lindt Chocolate

While they don’t bear an official seal to designate the products as Halal, Lindt advises in their FAQ that as of the current date, none of their 12 production sites are Halal certified.

They do argue, however, that some of their products do TECHNICALLY meet the basic tenets. This is from an ingredient, standpoint ONLY so let’s break this argument down.

Chocolate is a plant-based product

Chocolate, as we know, is derived from the cacao bean, and thus it is a plant-based product. You might hear from time to time that there are no animal products used in chocolate, but that’s quite misleading.

After all, here are two common chocolate ingredients that come to mind instantly:

• Egg whites – Eggs are considered Halal, of course, and this applies to all eggs that are not harmful to you or others when consumed.
• Milk – Most mainstream milks, be they powdered, whole, or skim are considered Halal, but this this is NOT always the case. Due to the modern practice of infusing vitamins in milk and the fact that some milks use emulsifiers derived from pigs, we already have a problem with this ingredient as we don’t have an official statement from Lindt!

Some Lindt chocolate has alcohol

Lindt advises that many of their chocolates contain alcohol or flavors which use alcohol as a delivery method or ‘carrier’, but in these cases, the alcohol will be listed in their ingredients.

In such cases, the alcohol is generally used as a filling for products such as chocolate bars and is also part of their praline offerings.

Thankfully, as some people have allergies to alcohol, this sort of information is generally going to be reliable when you are dealing with global brands, but this is still a bit of a gamble without some more specific information.

Lindt does have some more specific recommendations

Anitha Haridas, who is a Consumer Service representative of Lindt & Sprüngli’s Canada branch tells us that for alcohol-free chocolates, the solid and the plain varieties (specifically their dark, white, milk, non-filled chocolates) do NOT contain alcohol.

You will see a listing for ‘flavors’ in the ingredients, and this is why concerned Muslims and other diet-conscious consumers were interested in elaboration. After all, ‘flavors’ could be anything!

Anitha advised that ‘flavors’ on their ingredients list referred specifically to vanilla (vanillin), although from a consumer perspective it is concerning that it doesn’t simply say ‘vanillin’ or ‘non-alcohol vanillin’, so we cannot say that this inspires a lot of confidence.

You can read the email that was shared on ‘Is it Halal or Haram’s website if you would like to as support for your final decision on the subject.

Suitable but not certified

What we have with Lindt chocolate is the sadly common scenario of ‘suitable… but not certified’. This is certainly disappointing, especially when you consider the prevalence of the Global Halal Food Market.

According to a November 2022 article from Global News Wire, in 2021 alone, the estimated value was US$1,977 billion and by 2028 it is expected to almost double to $3,907 billion by 2028.

The numbers speak for themselves – Around the world, Muslim consumers are paying attention to their diets in increasing numbers and the companies that realize this are adding Halal certifications from approved sources to help ensure our business.

Sadly, Lindt hasn’t done this yet, so while they can infer that their products ‘basically fit a Halal profile’, without that stamp there is no guarantee, and even if the current recommended products are ‘technically Halal’, what happens if an emulsifier or vitamin is added to those recipes at a later date?

Without an official Halal stamp, we simply cannot recommend Lindt chocolates at this time. Halal certification is a necessity and it’s your only defense against deceptive advertising, and hopefully someday Lindt will realize the importance of this to those following a strict Islamic diet.

The good news, however, is that with the market trends that we have shared, if Lindt doesn’t change their mind, then you will still have a growing range of products from businesses that appreciate our patronage and will cater to our needs.

Some final words on Lindt chocolate

So, there you have it! Today we’ve taken a closer look at Lindt chocolates to give you a more complete picture of whether or not they are Halal.

Currently, of their 12 factories, none are considered to be certified for Halal production, and while chocolate is plant-based there is always the chance of vitamins, pig-based emulsifiers, or even the direct addition of alcohol, so the official ‘verdict’ would be ‘buyer beware’ with this product.  

Ultimately, the decision will be yours, so we hope that you will take the facts that we’ve shared with you today to make a decision that you can feel good about.

 Don’t worry – there is no shortage of Halal chocolate — but we do hope that one day Lindt will follow the marketing trends so that Muslim consumers may safely enjoy their products too!

References

https://isithalalorharam.com/lindt-chocolate/