Halal Bakery and Cakes in the Netherlands: Stroopwafels, Gelatine and Which Shelf to Trust (2026)

The Netherlands has no state halal regulation and a scatter of private certifiers, and almost none of them appear on a supermarket bakery pack. So the Dutch bakery aisle comes down to two skills: reading the Dutch word for the gelatine species, and knowing which supermarket chain quietly switched to plant-based. Get those two right and most of the aisle sorts itself.

Which Shelf to Trust

The single most useful fact for Dutch cakes: the chains differ on gelatine.

• Jumbo replaced all its bakery gelatine with plant-based alternatives — the safest mainstream cream cakes.
• Albert Heijn and Plus still use beef gelatine in cream cakes — read each label.

Reading the Dutch Label

Dutch labels helpfully specify the species:

• rundergelatine — beef gelatine (not halal unless the slaughter is verified) — avoid
• varkensgelatine — pork gelatine — haram
• gelatine (no species) — treat as pork-risk
• plantaardig / vegan — the fastest gelatine-free proxy
• E471 / E470a of unstated origin — Mushbooh
• aroma — unspecified flavouring — a doubt trigger, not automatically haram

Bakery Brands in the Netherlands

Daelmans (stroopwafels) — the strongest positive

Daelmans’ FAQ states its stroopwafels are halal-suitable, with no additives of animal origin and E471 of plant origin. Not third-party certified, but the manufacturer statement plus a plant-source E471 make this the best positive in the set.

Verdict: Halal (manufacturer statement; not certified).

HEMA (cakes) — beef gelatine

HEMA’s own statement is that its cakes use beef (not pork) gelatine, which it describes as “not halal, not haram.” But beef gelatine from unverified slaughter is not halal under the mainstream Sunni position. HEMA’s separate vegan line is safe.

Verdict: Avoid gelatine cakes; vegan line halal-suitable.

Albert Heijn own-brand — read each label

Albert Heijn runs no blanket certification but discloses gelatine species per product — its Red Velvet cake lists rundergelatine (beef). Dry biscuits are often clean; cream cakes are Mushbooh-to-avoid depending on the species listed.

Verdict: Varies — read each label.

Bolletje, Peijnenburg, Verkade

• Bolletje — no cert or statement; plain beschuit and kruidnoten are ingredient-clean (plant oils, no gelatine), but some lines carry E471/E470a of unstated origin. Mushbooh / Varies.
• Peijnenburg (ontbijtkoek) — no statement; naturel variants contain no animal flesh but list glycerol (E422) and unspecified aroma; the gluten-free variant contains whey. Mushbooh (naturel leaning acceptable).
• Verkade (biscuits) — only a 2013 statement (pre-pladis) that animal gelatine appears in the Café Noir glaze and no animal fats are used. No current statement, so treat as historical. Mushbooh / Varies.

Halal Bakery in the Netherlands

Beyond the supermarkets:

• Turkish and Moroccan bakeries in Amsterdam (West, Nieuw-West), Rotterdam and Utrecht — many use plant-based or halal-slaughter ingredients; ask directly
• Vegan/plantaardig supermarket lines — a reliable gelatine-free route (HEMA vegan, Jumbo plant-based cakes)
• HVV/HFFIA (halal.nl) and HQC certify mostly B2B/export, so their logos rarely appear on retail bakery — don’t expect them on the shelf

Verdict Summary

Product	Brand / Chain	Verdict
Stroopwafels	Daelmans	Halal (manufacturer statement)
Cream cakes	Jumbo bakery	Halal (plant-based gelatine)
Cakes	HEMA	Avoid (beef gelatine); vegan line safe
Red Velvet & cream cakes	Albert Heijn	Varies (read species)
Beschuit, kruidnoten	Bolletje	Mushbooh / Varies
Ontbijtkoek	Peijnenburg	Mushbooh
Biscuits	Verkade	Mushbooh / Varies

To check any E-code on a Dutch label, use the E-codes database or scan the panel with the ingredient checker. See also How to Identify Halal Products in the Netherlands.

How we reached this verdict

• Daelmans: stroopwafels.com FAQ — halal-suitable, no animal-origin additives, plant-origin E471.
• HEMA: HEMA’s own statement that its cakes use beef gelatine (“not halal, not haram”).
• Albert Heijn: ah.nl product data — Red Velvet cake lists rundergelatine; gelatine species disclosed per product.
• Chain difference: Dutch trade coverage confirming Jumbo replaced bakery gelatine with plant-based while AH and Plus retained beef gelatine.
• Certification bodies: HVV/HFFIA (halal.nl) and HQC certify B2B/export; no supermarket bakery brand here holds a verifiable retail halal certificate.

Madhab note

Pork gelatine is haram across all four madhabs. Beef gelatine from unverified (non-halal) slaughter is not halal under the dominant Hanafi position and by precaution in the other schools — this is why HEMA’s beef-gelatine cakes and AH’s rundergelatine lines are excluded despite not being porcine. A minority of contemporary scholars accept istihāla (transformation) for gelatine; those following that view would treat beef-gelatine cakes differently. Daelmans’ plant-origin E471 and Jumbo’s plant-based switch satisfy the mainstream plant-source rule; “aroma” with no discernible alcohol trace is excused by the mainstream position.