Halal Cheese?

here halal chicken:

http://www.islamicity.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1467& ;get=last#11807

Asalaam 'Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatahu:

Actually, that's why I'm asking - I wonder if anyone already knows which cheeses are acceptable to eat in the United States.  If so, please let me know as at this time I haven't had the time to research.

Asalaam 'Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatahu,

Sumayyah Umm Sadiqah wa Asma

Nausheen wrote: Auzubillahi minash shaitan ir rajeem, Bismillah ir rahman ir rahim, Assalamualaikum wa rahmatullah Is Cheese Halal or Haram? The Question of Rennet  Rennet is the component in cheese which if is from pig, then the cheese is not halal. If kraft as you say is not halal, you may check on the the label from other companies if the source of rennet is specified. Or as we are doing, choose a cheese which does not have rennet ... here in Canada we find a couple of brands that do not contain rennet, it should be similar in US. If not, the last option for you would be to call the companies individually and ask them. If you care to make cheese at home, indian paneer is really easy to make from whole fat milk. All you need to do is add something to make it sour, like lemon juice, then boil the whole thing till the cheese separates out. Seive it through a clean cotton cloth, and that is about it   Wish you all the best. Maa salaama, Nausheen

If I synthesize these pig-derived enzymes in a lab test tube, then use them in the cheese, would the cheese be non-halah?

AlSalam 3alaikom,

muslimbychoice,

thanks for asking this question because i had no idea that there was even halal cheese.

So, I looked it up and came across this article:

  "We are grateful to Ellen Schwarzbach of Kraft for taking the time to give us such a thorough explanation.

"Thank you very much for asking if Kraft cheese products contain any animal derivatives. Our comments here apply only to products produced in the United States. Many cheese products produced in the United States do contain a coagulating enzyme derived from either beef or swine. The process of changing fluid milk into cheese consists of coagulating the milk by one of two commonly used methods, each resulting in cheese having distinct characteristics.

The most common method of coagulating milk is by the use of an enzyme preparation, rennet, which traditionally was made from the stomachs of veal calves. Since the consumption of calves for veal has not kept pace with the demand for rennet in the preparation of cheese, a distinct shortage of this enzyme has developed. Consequently, a few years ago it became a common practice to mix the rennet extract from calves' stomachs with a pepsin enzyme derived primarily from the stomachs of swine. These enzymes convert the fluid milk into a semi-solid mass as one of the steps in the manufacture of cheese. This mixture of calf rennet and pepsin extract is quite commonly and widely used within the United States."

So, just stay away from produts that contain "rennet".

Peace