Holiday Ayo - Recently, a snack from China known as stik Latiao has become viral all over the world including in Indonesia. Latiao, which is made from wheat flour, vegetable oil and spicy seasonings, has been a hit among spicy food enthusiasts and is popular on social media.

The product is not yet sold freely in Indonesian supermarkets. Because of this, many content creators buy through e-commerce. But before buying it, you should know more about this snack, especially about its halal status.

1. What is Latiao?

As cited from asia.nikkel.com, latio is a typical Chinese snack made from wheat flour or grain flour and chili oil. This product is made by mixing flour and ingredients such as water, salt, sugar, natural pigments, and several other ingredients. After that the flour will be extruded at high temperatures.

Then the flour will be mixed with chilies and other seasonings, including preservatives whose components meet Chinese government standards. But many also reveal that latiao is actually beancurd or tofu skin that is rolled up and then seasoned with chili.

Latiao itself has a long shape like a stick with a red color that comes from the spicy chili oil.

This snack is known for having an elastic texture with a strong chili flavor. Apart from being spicy, some Latiao products are also known to have a savory taste. The combination of ingredients is what often makes many people addicted to this one snack.

2. Origin of latiao

Latiao is a snack that has been a favorite of the Chinese people since the 1990s. The spicy stick is known to have come from Henan Province, China. In its home country, latiao is usually enjoyed with a glass of beer.

Although latiao used to be a favorite snack of young people in China, in recent years, its presence has caused controversy over product safety standards.

Latiao is indeed widely produced by factories in China. But one of the most popular ones comes from the Wei Long brand which is now also being sold online in Indonesia.

Unfortunately the Chinese authorities found that in these products there are additives that can harm health. In 2018, the Shanxi provincial food safety agency also revealed that the latiao of the Wei Long brand did not meet safety standards.

They are made with sorbic acid and dehydroacetic acid which can be used in several foods. Several television shows also expose unhygienic latiao factories.

3. Is latio halal? 

Judging from the product description, Latiao does not use questionable ingredients. This product is simply made by mixing wheat or grain flour and chilies. However, does this ensure that latiao is halal?

Actually, the halal status of Latiao products is still questionable. When viewed from the e-commerce platform, some sellers claim that this product is halal. This may be based on the description of the ingredients which are considered safe for consumption by Muslims.

Most sellers include the word 'halal' on latiao products that come from the WULAMA brand. According to the product description, this snack has the following composition; soybean flour, kinako, water, vegetable oil, sugar, salt, chili powder, sesame, cumin, pepper, and flavoring.

Meanwhile, the halal status has not been recognized by LPPOM MUI. If we look at the search on the official website for checking halalness at LPPOM MUI, there are no halal verified Latiao products yet. Therefore, the halalness of latiao is still questionable.