Is Kit Kat Halal?

The short answer

US Kit Kat has no meat ingredients, and its whey is made with microbial rennet. However, it has no US halal certificate. So US Kit Kat is halal by its ingredients, but it is not certified.

Is the whey in Kit Kat halal?

The usual concern with a chocolate wafer is whey. Whey is a by-product of cheese making, and cheese is made with enzymes called rennet. Rennet can come from animals, which raises a question about the whey.

Nestlé states that the rennet used to make the whey in Kit Kat's wafer comes from a bacterial culture, also called microbial rennet. It does not come from animals. This removes the main doubt.

Why do we mark Kit Kat "depends"?

The ingredients in US Kit Kat include sugar, wheat flour, cocoa butter, milk, palm kernel oil, soy lecithin and PGPR. None of them are haram. However, the bar has no halal certificate in the United States. So the honest description is "halal by ingredients, not certified."

Is US Kit Kat different from Kit Kat in other countries?

Yes, it can be. Around the world, Kit Kat is a Nestlé brand. In the United States, however, Hershey makes it under a license. That means the recipe and ingredient sources can differ from other countries. Kit Kat is halal-certified in several Muslim-majority countries, but the US bars are not.

Common questions

Is US Kit Kat halal?

It is halal by its ingredients, and its whey is made with microbial rennet. However, it is not officially certified in the United States.

Is the whey in Kit Kat halal?

Nestlé says it uses microbial rennet from bacteria, not rennet from animals.

Is Kit Kat halal-certified?

Yes, in several countries. The US bars, which Hershey makes, are not certified.

Does Kit Kat contain gelatin or pork?

No. The classic Kit Kat bar contains no gelatin and no pork.