Understanding Kosher
What does kosher mean?
Kosher refers to the dietary requirements of Jewish law. These requirements determine which foods may be consumed and also govern how food is prepared, processed and manufactured.
In modern food production, the kosher status of a product depends on considerably more than its principal ingredients. Raw materials, processing aids, flavors, production equipment and other products manufactured on the same equipment may all affect its kosher status.
This is why industrial kosher certification involves both a review of the product and an assessment of the manufacturing process.
Ingredients and raw materials
Not every ingredient presents the same kosher concerns.
Some ingredients may be inherently acceptable, while others require reliable kosher certification or additional information concerning their origin and manufacture. Compound ingredients, flavors, emulsifiers, enzymes, processing aids and other materials can require particular attention.
While unprocessed vegetable matter is generally kosher suitable, processing this plant matter upstream may give rise to a risk of contamination, which is why many plant derived raw materials also need reliable certification.
As part of the certification process, Fidelity Kosher reviews the relevant ingredients and determines what documentation or certification is required.
Production equipment matters
A kosher food cannot be established solely on the basis of its recipe.
Equipment used for non-kosher production, or in certain circumstances for dairy or meat production, may affect the kosher status of subsequent production.
Depending on the circumstances, dedicated equipment may or may not be necessary. It may be possible to establish appropriate production arrangements or to perform a procedure known as kosherization, by which equipment is prepared for kosher production according to the applicable requirements.
The appropriate solution depends on the equipment, production process, products previously manufactured and required kosher standard.
Meat, fish, dairy and parve
For some categories of ingredients there are more stringent rules. Even reliably certified ingredients may not all be processed with one another. In particular, meat and dairy may not be processed on the same equipment and are generally not allowed in the same production department. Processing such raw materials can also affect the kosher status of equipment and of subsequent products manufactured on that equipment.
Meat and derivates
Kosher meat and meat-derived ingredients are subject to specific requirements concerning the species, slaughter, preparation and subsequent processing. Included in these requirements are chemically modified animal ingredients like gelatin and collagen.
Dairy and derivates
Milk and dairy ingredients are subject to their own kosher requirements. Many diary ingredients are powders, and an important aspect of the need of certification for such ingredients is to also ascertain the kosher status of any spray driers.
Parve
Foods that are neither meat nor dairy are known as parve. This category includes fruits, vegetables, grains, fish, eggs and honey, however an industrially manufactured product is not necessarily parve simply because its principal ingredients appear to be so.
Fish
Fish is easily interchangeable and often the flesh of one species is almost indistinguishable from another. Therefore, fish and fish derivates are subject to special requirements.
Grape Derivates
Although grape derivates may be of 100% vegetable origin, they are often not suitable for kosher on account of the highly symbolic status of wine and grape juice.
Eggs and Honey
Chicken eggs and bee honey are fundamentally kosher, but certification of these raw materials ascertains that they are processed in a way that does not compromise kosher status.
Shared Production Facilities
Many modern factories manufacture numerous products on shared production lines. This does not automatically prevent kosher certification.
During an assessment, we examine the relevant production flows, equipment, cleaning procedures, storage arrangements and production scheduling. Where necessary, specific procedures can be established to protect the kosher status of certified production.
What Does a Kosher Certificate Establish?
A kosher certificate identifies products or production that have been approved under a defined kosher certification program.
Certification is based on the relevant ingredients, manufacturing processes and agreed production conditions. Continued certification therefore also requires appropriate control of changes to ingredients, suppliers, recipes and production processes.
Would you like to know whether your products can be certified?
You do not need to determine the kosher status yourself. Send us some basic information about your products and manufacturing facility, and we can advise you on the appropriate next steps.
