Is my fasting invalidated if I taste the food to check as a part of my job?

- I work at a catering company and I check the quality and taste of the food. Is fasting invalidated if one tastes the food?

Dear Brother / Sister,

It is makruh for a person who is fasting, whether it is a nafilah or fard fasting, to taste something in a way that the food will not dissolve in the mouth and will not go to the throat. However, if there is an obligation, it is not makruh.

It is not makruh for a fasting woman whose husband is bad-tempered to taste the food in order to check its salt and flavor. The same thing is valid for cooks; it is not makruh for them to taste the food they cook.  

If a fasting person who wants to buy something to eat or drink fears that he will be deceived or that what he wants to buy will harm him, it is not makruh for him to taste it.

Besides, it is makruh to chew something without an excuse but it is not makruh when there is an excuse. For instance, if a fasting person who wants to give some food to her baby and cannot find anyone who is not fasting to chew it, it is not makruh for her to chew it. (see Jazari, Dört Mezhebe Göre İslam Fıkhı, Oruçluya Mekruh Olan Ve Olmayan Şeyler Bölümü)

Accordingly, if there is not a person who is not fasting to taste the food you cook and if you are responsible for it, it is not makruh for you taste the food you cook as a necessity of your job but you must not swallow it.

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