According to PepsiCo’s Consumer Relations Representative, not all Dorito Chips are Halal. This is because they contain animal enzymes. This includes the famous Nachos cheese flavor.
Similar to our recent article, are cheetos halal, we took the same approach here and decided to contact PepsiCo (the owner of the Doritos brand).
We wanted to find a concrete answer as to whether Doritos are halal or not. So we sent them an email saying:
Hello,
Hope Your day is going well.
I wanted to know if any of the Doritos Chips are halal? if not, what’s the ingredient used that does not qualify it to be halal?
Thank you, much appreciated!!
Halal Guidance Team
PepsiCo responded promptly saying:
Hi,
Thank you for contacting PepsiCo Foods. All our Doritos flavors, have animal enzymes except Doritos Bold BBQ and Doritos Sweet Chili Heat.
If you want to avoid these enzymes, you might want to avoid our snacks that list “cheese” and “whey” as ingredients. Only a few snacks have animal flavours and they will be listed on the ingredient statement, not hidden under “natural flavours.”
Our non-seasoned, salted-only snacks, such as Lay’s Classic, Ruffles Original, Fritos, Tostitos, Original SunChips and Rold Gold Pretzels, do not have enzymes of any kind.
Thank you again for choosing Frito Lay snacks. We will continue to provide the information you need to make safe, great-tasting choices.
PepsiCo Consumer Relations Representative
Animal Enzymes Is What Makes Doritos Chips Questionable
As per our research, animal enzymes which are also known as animal rennet, is an an enzyme the food industry uses to prepare cheese by curdling milk. Rennet is extracted by the stomach of a calf or any other animal (source).
Two things make Rennet a non-halal substance:
1- Rennet Can Be Extracted from Pigs
Rennet can be extracted from cattle or pigs. As most people know, consuming pork products or any product containing any remains from pigs is classified as haram.
Therefore, when looking at an ingredient list of any food, pay attention to the source of the animal enzyme. If it is not listed, then it is not safe to assume that the ingredient is halal. Similar to Gelatine.
2- Slaughter Of Animals Must Be Halal
While many people pay attention to eating beef derived Gelatin, it’ss easy to lose sight of the extraction of rennet and if it was done in a halal way. It is generally agreed that for the consumption of any meat to be considered halal, the slaughtered animal must be done in a halal manner.
Therefore, it is not safe to assume that the rennet extracted, used in Doritos chips, is extracted and used from an animal that has been slaughtered in accordance to Islamic guidelines.
List of Halal & Non-halal Doritos Chips Sold in Canada & US
Since there are many Doritos Flavors in the market, we created a list below identifying which Dorito flavors are halal or not.
| Dorito Flavor | Halal or Not | Why? |
|---|---|---|
| Spicy Sweet Chili Flavored Tortilla Chips | Halal | Does not contain any cheese or animal enzymes |
| Doritos Salsa Verde Flavored Tortilla Chips | Halal | Does not contain any cheese or animal enzymes |
| Doritos Flamin’ Hot Cool Ranch | Not Halal | Contains cheese which contains animal enzymes |
| Flamin’ Hot Nacho Flavored Tortilla Chips | Not Halal | Contains cheese which contains animal enzymes |
| Doritos Flamin’ Hot Limón Flavored Tortilla Chips | Not Halal | Contains cheese which contains animal enzymes |
| Doritos Nacho Cheese Flavored Tortilla Chips | Not Halal | Contains cheese which contains animal enzymes |
| Doritos Cool Ranch Flavored Tortilla Chips | Not Halal | Contains cheese which contains animal enzymes |
| Doritos Dinamita Chile Limón Flavored Rolled Tortilla Chips | Not Halal | Contains cheese which contains animal enzymes |
| Doritos FLAMAS® Flavored Tortilla Chips | Not Halal | Contains cheese which contains animal enzymes |
| Doritos TAPATIO Flavored Tortilla Chips | Not Halal | Contains cheese which contains animal enzymes |
Alternative Chips Can You Consume That Do Not Contain Rennet?
According to the response we received from PepsiCo, the following chips do not contain animal enzymes. However before purchasing any of these chips, we do recommend that you do your due diligence and research the ingredients on any of the chips below to make sure you’re ok with consuming any of the ingredients (most of these flavors contain a few ingredients so it will be easy to check)
1- Doritos Sweet Chilli Heat
As per the email we received from PepsiCo’s Consumer Relations Representative, Doritos Spicy Sweet Chilli flavor contains no animal rennet or any other animal-based ingredients and therefore is permissible for Muslims to eat.
Check out Doritos Spicy Sweet Chilli on Amazon (link to Amazon) to have it delivered to your home.
2- Lay’s Classic
Check out Lay’s Classic on Amazon (link to Amazon)
3- Ruffles Original
Check out Ruffles Original On Amazon (link to Amazon)
4- Fritos
Check out Fritos Original on Amazon (link to Amazon)
5- Original SunChips
Check out SunChips Original on Amazon (link to Amazon)
6- Rold Gold Pretzels
Check out Fritos Original on Amazon (link to Amazon)
Frequently Asked Questions About Doritos Being Halal
Are Doritos Sold in Canada Halal?
Most Doritos sold in Canada include identical ingredients from those sold in the US. Therefore, the only halal Doritos chips found in Canada would be Spicy Sweet Chili Flavored Tortilla Chips & Doritos Salsa Verde Flavored Tortilla Chips.
Is Doritos Nachos Cheese Halal?
Doritos Nachos cheese sold in North America (US & Canada) are not halal because they contain animal enzymes (it is unknown if it is pork or cattle enzymes used). Furthermore, for chips to be completely halal and contain animal products, they need to contain animal products and those animals must have been slaughtered in accordance to Islamic law (This of course excludes pigs).
Final Thoughts
Some people will not eat Doritos regardless of the response from PepsiCo’s spokesperson, because they don’t see a halal certification label. While others may choose to resort to alternative products that do not include animal enzymes (rennet). The final decision is up to you. Do your due diligence, do your research, and from there you can determine whether you deem Doritos to be permissible to eat.
Everyone has a different threshold to what’s considered halal or not, and we completely respect that.
An important thing we wanted to mention is that when looking into whether Doritos is halal or not, we’re primarily focusing on the US and Canadian markets. Other muslim countries have laws that only allow the serving of halal products.
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