Can we eat food that has gelatin?
Products that contain gelatin can only be consumed in the following circumstances:
1) The source of gelatin is non-animal based.
2) The source of gelatin is from an animal that has been slaughtered according to the Islamic conditions.
3) The transformation (Istihalah) of the gelatin during the production process of the product can be proven to have taken place.
4) The product that is being consumed is the only one available of its kind and is considered a necessary medical/medicinal treatment.
Sayyid Sistani states generally that “It is permissible to eat gelatin if one doubts whether it has been extracted from an animal or vegetable. But, if it is known that it was derived from an animal, then it is not permissible to eat without ascertaining that the animal was slaughtered according to sharí‘a.” As concerns the West specifically, given it is commonly understood that gelatin used in foods here is almost always from an animal source then it is not permissible to consume it unless one of the four conditions (above) is verified.