Muslim Consumer Group
Encyclopedia
The Muslim Consumer Group (MCG) is a U.S. non-profit organization
founded in November 1993 by Syed Rasheeduddin Ahmed, based in Rolling Meadows, Illinois
. Its goal was to educate Muslims about Halal
foods and perform Halal certification, which was not done by any other organization in the United States at that time.
MCG first established its website
in 2000 to educate Muslims throughout the world about the Halal status of food ingredients, E-numbers and food products. Its web site is visited by Muslims in over 90 countries with over half a million hits every month. MCG has written a book, titled A Comprehensive List of Halal Food Products in U.S. and Canadian Supermarkets that lists food products and ingredients that are certified as Halal. MCG also visits mosques and religious centers in the United States to give educational presentations about food products, medicine, cosmetics
, and personal care products.
A major breakthrough in R&D was the discovery of the source of L-Cysteine
, which was being derived from human hair. Muslim dietary laws do not allow the ingestion of anything that is derived from the human body. It was found that there were several companies that were using this in their baked goods that varied from Naan
, which was being supplied to Muslim stores in major U.S. cities, to donuts made by Dunkin' Donuts
. A well known Halal food company, AlSafa uses L-Cysteine in their Chicken Nugget, Chicken Patties, and Chicken Strips. After MCG's publication of these findings, the source for the L-Cysteine was changed in a large part to chicken or duck feathers. It has not been confirmed that AlSafa uses chicken or duck feathers.
status of different edible and non-edible consumer products.
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
founded in November 1993 by Syed Rasheeduddin Ahmed, based in Rolling Meadows, Illinois
Rolling Meadows, Illinois
Rolling Meadows is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 24,607 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Rolling Meadows is located at ....
. Its goal was to educate Muslims about Halal
Halal
Halal is a term designating any object or an action which is permissible to use or engage in, according to Islamic law. The term is used to designate food seen as permissible according to Islamic law...
foods and perform Halal certification, which was not done by any other organization in the United States at that time.
MCG first established its website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
in 2000 to educate Muslims throughout the world about the Halal status of food ingredients, E-numbers and food products. Its web site is visited by Muslims in over 90 countries with over half a million hits every month. MCG has written a book, titled A Comprehensive List of Halal Food Products in U.S. and Canadian Supermarkets that lists food products and ingredients that are certified as Halal. MCG also visits mosques and religious centers in the United States to give educational presentations about food products, medicine, cosmetics
Cosmetics
Cosmetics are substances used to enhance the appearance or odor of the human body. Cosmetics include skin-care creams, lotions, powders, perfumes, lipsticks, fingernail and toe nail polish, eye and facial makeup, towelettes, permanent waves, colored contact lenses, hair colors, hair sprays and...
, and personal care products.
A major breakthrough in R&D was the discovery of the source of L-Cysteine
Cysteine
Cysteine is an α-amino acid with the chemical formula HO2CCHCH2SH. It is a non-essential amino acid, which means that it is biosynthesized in humans. Its codons are UGU and UGC. The side chain on cysteine is thiol, which is polar and thus cysteine is usually classified as a hydrophilic amino acid...
, which was being derived from human hair. Muslim dietary laws do not allow the ingestion of anything that is derived from the human body. It was found that there were several companies that were using this in their baked goods that varied from Naan
Naan
Naan is a leavened, oven-baked flatbread. It is typical of and popular in South and Central Asia, in Iran, and in South Asian restaurants abroad. Influenced by the large influx of South Asian labour, naan has also become popular in Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf states.Originally, naan is a...
, which was being supplied to Muslim stores in major U.S. cities, to donuts made by Dunkin' Donuts
Dunkin' Donuts
Dunkin' Donuts is an international doughnut and coffee retailer founded in 1950 by William Rosenberg in Quincy, Massachusetts; it is now headquartered in Canton...
. A well known Halal food company, AlSafa uses L-Cysteine in their Chicken Nugget, Chicken Patties, and Chicken Strips. After MCG's publication of these findings, the source for the L-Cysteine was changed in a large part to chicken or duck feathers. It has not been confirmed that AlSafa uses chicken or duck feathers.
H-MCG symbol
The H-MCG symbols are used by the Muslim Consumer Group to identify the HalalHalal
Halal is a term designating any object or an action which is permissible to use or engage in, according to Islamic law. The term is used to designate food seen as permissible according to Islamic law...
status of different edible and non-edible consumer products.