Halal is a term that describes substances that are deemed ‘pure and clean’ which Muslims are
allowed to consume according to Islamic law. The industrialization of food processing in the
20th and 21st centuries has exposed Muslims community to various ingredients such as blood
plasma, transglutaminase and gelatin introduced in meatballs and surimi product. Muslims
are facing difficulties to ascertain which products are permitted or not under the Islamic law.
Thus, this paper is to give knowledge of non-halal ingredients being introduced in meatballs
and surimi products for consumers, researchers and policy makers. Local halal logo issued by
Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM) is needed to imply that all ingredients
used in the food production and processing are Syariah compliance. The scientific evidence
to substantiate any claim on Halal issue was developed based on several methods including
PCR-based methods with different mitochondria and chromosomal DNA (MtDNA and cDNA)
primers, real-time PCR with different probes and DNA binding agent, loop-mediated isothermal
amplification (LAMP) with different primers developed, PCR- RFLP, ELISA and etc.