Are Swedish Fish Halal?

Mondelez, which sells Swedish Fish in the US, lists the ingredients on its Snackworks site. The classic Soft & Chewy assorted candy is made from sugar, invert sugar, corn syrup and modified corn starch. It also has small amounts of citric acid, white mineral oil, natural and artificial flavor, carnauba wax and the colors Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6 and Blue 1 ^[1].

The chewy texture comes from the starch, not gelatin. Carnauba wax is a plant wax from palm leaves, and white mineral oil is not an animal product. So the classic candy has no ingredient that is clearly animal-based ^[1].

Two open points remain. First, the product is not halal certified, and the page makes no halal claim ^[1]. Second, "natural and artificial flavor" does not say whether an alcohol carrier was used. Many scholars accept tiny traces of alcohol from flavor carriers, while some Muslims avoid them. See is alcohol (ethanol) halal? for those views.

Not every Swedish Fish product uses the same recipe. Swedish Fish Chews, a different texture sold under the same brand, list sugar, glucose syrup, palm oil and less than 2% of gelatin, plus glycerol and glyceryl monostearate ^[2]. The page does not say what animal the gelatin comes from ^[2].

Gelatin can be made from pork, from cattle or from fish. When the source is not stated and there is no halal mark, you can't confirm the gelatin is halal. Some scholars hold that gelatin changes so much in processing (istihalah) that its source no longer matters, while many others disagree. Read more on is gelatin halal?.

Glycerol and glyceryl monostearate can come from plant or animal fats. The Chews page does not say which ^[2].

Swedish Fish come in many sizes and flavors, including minis, tails and limited editions. Their recipes can differ, and recipes change over time.

• Read the ingredient list. If you see "gelatin", the source is not stated and the candy is not halal certified ^[2].
• Watch the product name. "Soft & Chewy" and "Chews" are different recipes ^[1][2].
• Look for a halal logo. We found no halal certification on Mondelez's US pages ^[1][2].
• Ask the maker. For flavors and wax sources, contact Mondelez consumer relations and ask directly.

Swedish Fish sold outside the US may use a different recipe, so check those labels separately.

If you are building a list of candies to check, these pages use the same method:

• Is Swedish candy halal?
• Are Sour Patch Kids halal?
• Are Skittles halal?
• Is Haribo halal?

The main things to look for in chewy candy are gelatin, carmine (a red color from insects), shellac or beeswax glazes, and alcohol-based flavors.