A video of a person explaining the E471 ingredient used in Amul ice cream is being shared on social media. In the video, he claims that Amul ice cream contains an E471 emulsifier which is manufactured from pig fat. He asks people not to consume Amul ice cream as it is Haram in Islam. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Amul ice cream contains an E-471 emulsifier which is manufactured from pig fat.
Fact: The E-471 emulsifier can be manufactured both from plant oils (soybean oil or palm oil) as well as from animal fats. In a press release, Amul clarified that they use the E-471 emulsifier manufactured only from plant oils. Amul ice-cream is Halal certified and is getting exported to various countries based on this certification. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
When we searched for the manufacturing details of the E-471 emulsifier, we found out that the E-471 emulsifier can be manufactured by direct esterification of glycerol with the fatty acids. E-471 is commonly known as Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids. This E-471 emulsifier can be manufactured both from plant oils (soya bean oil or palm oil) as well as from animal fats.
In a press release, Amul clarified that they use E-471 emulsifier manufactured only from the plant oils. It is mentioned that all the ingredients used by Amul viz. colours, stabilisers, emulsifiers, additives, enzymes in cheese, are of 100% vegetarian origin. Every Amul Product reportedly has a Veg. logo on the pack as per the mandate of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the food regulator of India. The green dot on the product indicates that the product is 100% vegetarian. Amul also mentioned their ice cream as Halal certified and provided the links of their certifications in the press release. They can be seen here and here.
R.S. Sodhi, the Managing Director of Amul clarified the same through a video. He reiterated that all the products from Amul are 100% Vegetarian. Amul shared this video on their Twitter handle. The news article published on Amul clarification can be seen here. From all these pieces of evidence, it can be concluded that the Amul ice cream uses the E-471 emulsifier produced only from the plant oils.
To sum it up, Amul ice cream utilises the E-471 emulsifier produced from plant oils, not from animal fats.
