Overview
Grape skin extract — registered as E163(ii) / INS 163(ii) under the broader anthocyanins category (E163 / INS 163) — is a concentrated polyphenolic extract obtained from the outer skin layers of red and purple grapes (Vitis vinifera). It is rich in anthocyanins (primarily malvidin-3-O-glucoside), proanthocyanidins (OPCs), resveratrol, and other polyphenols. Commercially, it is widely used as a natural red-purple food colourant for beverages, jams, confectionery, dairy desserts, and baked goods, and increasingly in dietary supplements and cosmetic/topical products for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
Source
Grape skin extract is 100% plant-derived — from the skins of Vitis vinifera (red/purple grape varieties). However, the origin of those skins critically divides the halal question:
- Fresh-pressing origin: Skins separated from fresh grape juice before fermentation. These have never been in contact with alcohol. This is the cleaner, less-contested source.
- Winemaking byproduct (pomace / marc): The most commercially prevalent and economical source. After red wine is produced, the leftover press cake — called pomace or marc — consists of fermented grape skins, seeds, and sometimes stems. During alcoholic fermentation, the skins absorb and are saturated with ethanol (khamr). This is the dominant industrial source for commercial grape skin extracts and is at the heart of the mushbooh concern.
Extraction solvents further complicate matters. Industrial processes typically use:
- Water or acidified water (ethanol-free): universally accepted
- Ethanol (alcohol) or ethanol-water mixtures: common for maximising anthocyanin yield; the ethanol is removed post-extraction but residual traces may remain
Islamic Ruling — Scholarly Differences Exist
Grape skin extract derived from fresh, unfermented grape pressing, extracted with water, raises minimal halal concern. The mushbooh status arises principally because the dominant commercial supply chain uses wine pomace (fermented, khamr-saturated skins), and because ethanol is a standard extraction solvent, and because product labels rarely disclose either.
Madhahib Perspectives
Hanafi School: Grape-derived wine (khamr) is uniquely and absolutely prohibited even in trace quantities — stricter than other intoxicants, which are forbidden only in intoxicating amounts. However, Hanafi jurists allow for istihalah (complete transformation): if a prohibited substance undergoes a fundamental change in nature such that it no longer possesses the characteristics of the original substance, the resulting product may be considered permissible. Some contemporary Hanafi scholars apply this to grape pomace extracts — arguing that once the skins are dried, washed, and processed such that no alcohol and no wine character remain, the resulting anthocyanin concentrate may be halal. The use of ethanol as a volatile processing aid that fully evaporates is also tolerated by some Hanafi authorities. However, this is not a unanimous position, and many Hanafi scholars require verified halal certification before accepting such products.
Maliki School: The Maliki school generally accepts the concept that a small amount of a prohibited substance absorbed into a large permissible substance (istihlak) may not render the whole impermissible. However, for khamr specifically, most Maliki scholars maintain strict standards. If the final product contains no residual alcohol and no wine characteristics, Maliki jurists tend toward permissibility, especially when the extract is used in trace quantities as a colourant. Nonetheless, source verification remains required.
Shafi'i School (more restrictive — emphasised): The Shafi'i school holds that khamr (grape wine) and anything contaminated by it is najis (ritually impure) in a way that cannot be removed by mere physical processing. Shafi'i scholars are generally more reluctant to apply istihalah to wine pomace, because they do not regard the evaporation of alcohol or its extraction as constituting a complete transformation of the underlying najis substrate. For Shafi'i followers, grape skin extract sourced from wine pomace carries a significant risk of being impermissible regardless of alcohol removal, unless the source is definitively non-pomace and the extraction is alcohol-free. Shafi'i-following consumers should treat commercial grape skin extract as mushbooh and seek certified alternatives.
Hanbali School (more restrictive — emphasised): The Hanbali school shares the Shafi'i view on the najis character of khamr and is similarly cautious about istihalah applying to wine-derived products. Hanbali scholars typically require strong evidence that no wine-contaminated material was used before accepting such extracts. Wine pomace-derived extracts would generally be treated as impermissible unless subjected to rigorous halal certification that verifies the source. The Hanbali default for unlabelled or non-certified grape skin extract is avoidance.
Important Considerations
- Source disclosure is absent on most labels: Commercial grape skin extract products rarely state whether the skins originate from fresh pressing or wine pomace. In the absence of this disclosure, the more cautious ruling (mushbooh) applies.
- Extraction solvent matters: Products certified halal by credible bodies (e.g., SANHA) are certified on the basis that the final product is free from prohibited substances. Some certifications do not audit the raw pomace origin. Consumers should confirm the scope of any certification.
- SANHA ruling: The South African National Halaal Authority (SANHA) lists E163 (Anthocyanins) — which includes grape skin extract — as Halal, citing grape skin and red cabbage as sources. This applies to products that have passed their specific certification process.
- When in doubt, avoid: The four madhahib unanimously agree that khamr (grape wine) is haram and najis. Given that the most common commercial source of grape skin extract (wine pomace) involves direct, prolonged contact with khamr during fermentation, and that source provenance is rarely disclosed, the precautionary principle (ihtiyat) recommends avoiding non-certified grape skin extract, particularly for followers of the Shafi'i and Hanbali schools.
- Cosmetic/topical use: Many scholars distinguish between ingestible and topically applied products. While the same impurity concerns apply in Shafi'i/Hanbali fiqh, some scholars permit external application of grape-derived cosmetics even when the internal ruling is uncertain.
References
- SANHA — E163 (Anthocyanins)
- HalalCodeCheck — Is E163 Halal?
- Pickle & Bee — Is Vitis Vinifera Halal?
- IslamWeb — Fatwa on using hair dye containing Vitis Vinifera
- IslamQA — Why is Grape Wine Haram and Grapes Halal? (Hanafi)
- NATCOL — Anthocyanins (INS 163 / E 163)
- PMC — Anthocyanidins and Anthocyanins: colored pigments as food/pharmaceutical ingredients
- PMC — Extraction of Antioxidants from Winemaking Byproducts
- Frontiers — Strategies for Reuse of Skins Separated from Grape Pomace
- Bagnarese — Grape Skin Extracts: Benefits and Use
This analysis combines research with AI verification. This is NOT a fatwa. Scholars genuinely differ on this issue. Please consult qualified Islamic scholars for religious rulings specific to your situation and madhab.