What is the ruling on consuming foods and beverages that contain preservatives denoted by the letter E followed by a number, which — according to chemistry — are esters often manufactured by a reaction between a specific alcohol and a specific organic compound?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
The basic principle regarding foods and drinks is permissibility. Nothing is forbidden except what has been explicitly prohibited by an authentic text.
Accordingly, there is no harm in consuming foods that contain preservatives, even if they include a percentage of alcohol, as long as it is not proven that it has not undergone a transformation. This is because the default principle is permissibility unless there is evidence that shifts it away from this original ruling.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/135863
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 135863
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy