Kosher: It's hip, it's hot, it's happenin'.
According to an article in this week's U.S. News & World Report, "New Taste for Kosher Foods," "kosher" is now the most popular claim on new food products, more popular than "organic," "all natural" or "no additives or preservatives." According to the article, sales of kosher foods have risen 15 percent a year for the past decade, and only 20 percent of kosher food buyers are Jewish. A sales figure like that should be sufficient to debunk the "Jewish tax" conspiracy theory nonsense, but I'm sure the people who believe in that nonsense will simply attribute the USN&WR article to the Jewish media conspiracy.
There are many reasons why people prefer kosher foods, some of which are valid and some of which are... less valid.
The biggest advantage to the kosher label is... it actually means something! A label like "organic" doesn't really mean anything: all food is "organic" ("of, relating to, or derived from living organisms"); it certainly isn't "inorganic"! Of course, we all have a vague sense that "organic" food is food that is grown in accordance with certain principles, but the word "organic" doesn't have a legal definition, so it's hard to know what you're getting when you buy "organic" foods.
Kosher, on the other hand, has a fairly clear meaning, and while different movements of Judaism and different rabbis may quibble about some of the intricate details, the basics are firm and consistent. Unfortunately, most people have no idea what kosher means, including, I'm sure, many who seek out the kosher label. Many people think "kosher" means that the food is cleaner, safer, healthier, or blessed by a rabbi. That's not what "kosher" means.
"Kosher" means that the product does not contain any food that Jews are forbidden to eat under Jewish law, most notably: no bugs and no meat from forbidden animals (pork, shellfish, etc.). If meat is from permitted animals (beef, chicken, salmon, etc.), then the animal was slaughtered in the method required by Jewish law and the meat was drained of blood and soaked and salted to remove any remaining blood. "Kosher" also means that the product does not combine items that cannot be eaten together: meat and dairy cannot be eaten in the same meal under Jewish law, so if the product includes even the slightest trace of a dairy ingredient, it cannot include any meat ingredient, and vice versa. In fact, meat and dairy must be so thoroughly separated that the manufacturer must thoroughly clean any ingredient that touched a dairy product before that equipment touches a meat product, and vice versa.
There are many organizations around the world that certify products as kosher. The best ones have a rabbi inspect the list of ingredients to make sure all ingredients are kosher, then inspect the facilities to make sure the process is kosher. The certifying organization will also periodically send a rabbi around to perform surprise inspections, making sure that the product is in fact made with the ingredients claimed and is in fact prepared in the method claimed.
The best kosher-certifying organizations have trademarked symbols (referred to as a hashgachah) that are placed on the products they certify as kosher. Examples of four of the best-known, most widely-accepted symbols are shown at right, but there are dozens of other well-respected symbols around the world. It is a violation of U.S. trademark law to place these symbols on a product without the permission of the trademark owner, that is, the certifying agency, so you know the product meets their standards.
So the presence of this symbol means that the product is carefully monitored to make sure that it satisfies the rules described above. Contrary to popular belief, however, the symbol does not necessarily mean that the product is any cleaner, safer or healthier than an uncertified product, though cleanliness and safety may be an unintended byproduct of kosher food production. For example, bugs are not kosher, which means that vegetables must be thoroughly cleaned to remove any bugs, which will of course promote cleanliness. The need to clean equipment as part of the process may also promote cleanliness. The soaking-and-salting process also has certain germ-reducing benefits, though it does not eliminate things like salmonella.
But the most significant genuine advantage to kosher certification is the ability to easily identify foods that do or do not have certain ingredients, for those who are sensitive to such things. If you are allergic to shellfish, you can be sure that no legitmately kosher-certified product will have any trace of shellfish in it, because shellfish is not kosher. If you are sensitive to dairy products, you can rest assured that a kosher product that is marked "pareve" or "parve" (neither meat nor dairy) or "meat" will not have the slightest trace of any dairy ingredient. In fact, you can rest assured that the product was not even made on equipment that ever had a dairy ingredient on it, unless the equipment was thoroughly cleaned first. If you wish to avoid meat and poultry, you can rest assured that any kosher product marked "dairy" or "parve" or "pareve" has no trace of meat or poultry. Vegetarians and vegans, however, should be aware that eggs and fish are considered to be pareve (neither meat nor dairy), so a product marked pareve or dairy could contain eggs or fish. As you can see, kosher certification is a useful shortcut for those who want to avoid certain foods and don't want to memorize every ingredient that contains unsuspected dairy, meat or shellfish derivatives.
For more information, see:
According to an article in this week's U.S. News & World Report, "New Taste for Kosher Foods," "kosher" is now the most popular claim on new food products, more popular than "organic," "all natural" or "no additives or preservatives." According to the article, sales of kosher foods have risen 15 percent a year for the past decade, and only 20 percent of kosher food buyers are Jewish. A sales figure like that should be sufficient to debunk the "Jewish tax" conspiracy theory nonsense, but I'm sure the people who believe in that nonsense will simply attribute the USN&WR article to the Jewish media conspiracy.
There are many reasons why people prefer kosher foods, some of which are valid and some of which are... less valid.
The biggest advantage to the kosher label is... it actually means something! A label like "organic" doesn't really mean anything: all food is "organic" ("of, relating to, or derived from living organisms"); it certainly isn't "inorganic"! Of course, we all have a vague sense that "organic" food is food that is grown in accordance with certain principles, but the word "organic" doesn't have a legal definition, so it's hard to know what you're getting when you buy "organic" foods.
Kosher, on the other hand, has a fairly clear meaning, and while different movements of Judaism and different rabbis may quibble about some of the intricate details, the basics are firm and consistent. Unfortunately, most people have no idea what kosher means, including, I'm sure, many who seek out the kosher label. Many people think "kosher" means that the food is cleaner, safer, healthier, or blessed by a rabbi. That's not what "kosher" means.
"Kosher" means that the product does not contain any food that Jews are forbidden to eat under Jewish law, most notably: no bugs and no meat from forbidden animals (pork, shellfish, etc.). If meat is from permitted animals (beef, chicken, salmon, etc.), then the animal was slaughtered in the method required by Jewish law and the meat was drained of blood and soaked and salted to remove any remaining blood. "Kosher" also means that the product does not combine items that cannot be eaten together: meat and dairy cannot be eaten in the same meal under Jewish law, so if the product includes even the slightest trace of a dairy ingredient, it cannot include any meat ingredient, and vice versa. In fact, meat and dairy must be so thoroughly separated that the manufacturer must thoroughly clean any ingredient that touched a dairy product before that equipment touches a meat product, and vice versa.
There are many organizations around the world that certify products as kosher. The best ones have a rabbi inspect the list of ingredients to make sure all ingredients are kosher, then inspect the facilities to make sure the process is kosher. The certifying organization will also periodically send a rabbi around to perform surprise inspections, making sure that the product is in fact made with the ingredients claimed and is in fact prepared in the method claimed.
The best kosher-certifying organizations have trademarked symbols (referred to as a hashgachah) that are placed on the products they certify as kosher. Examples of four of the best-known, most widely-accepted symbols are shown at right, but there are dozens of other well-respected symbols around the world. It is a violation of U.S. trademark law to place these symbols on a product without the permission of the trademark owner, that is, the certifying agency, so you know the product meets their standards.So the presence of this symbol means that the product is carefully monitored to make sure that it satisfies the rules described above. Contrary to popular belief, however, the symbol does not necessarily mean that the product is any cleaner, safer or healthier than an uncertified product, though cleanliness and safety may be an unintended byproduct of kosher food production. For example, bugs are not kosher, which means that vegetables must be thoroughly cleaned to remove any bugs, which will of course promote cleanliness. The need to clean equipment as part of the process may also promote cleanliness. The soaking-and-salting process also has certain germ-reducing benefits, though it does not eliminate things like salmonella.
But the most significant genuine advantage to kosher certification is the ability to easily identify foods that do or do not have certain ingredients, for those who are sensitive to such things. If you are allergic to shellfish, you can be sure that no legitmately kosher-certified product will have any trace of shellfish in it, because shellfish is not kosher. If you are sensitive to dairy products, you can rest assured that a kosher product that is marked "pareve" or "parve" (neither meat nor dairy) or "meat" will not have the slightest trace of any dairy ingredient. In fact, you can rest assured that the product was not even made on equipment that ever had a dairy ingredient on it, unless the equipment was thoroughly cleaned first. If you wish to avoid meat and poultry, you can rest assured that any kosher product marked "dairy" or "parve" or "pareve" has no trace of meat or poultry. Vegetarians and vegans, however, should be aware that eggs and fish are considered to be pareve (neither meat nor dairy), so a product marked pareve or dairy could contain eggs or fish. As you can see, kosher certification is a useful shortcut for those who want to avoid certain foods and don't want to memorize every ingredient that contains unsuspected dairy, meat or shellfish derivatives.
For more information, see:
- Kashrut: Jewish Dietary Laws at Judaism 101, a more in-depth discussion of Jewish dietary laws
- Kosher Symbols: Some Reliable Certifications from KosherQuest, an extensive list of respected kosher certification symbols you may see on products around the world, with contact information for the certifying agency that owns each symbol.
Comments
This comment has nothing to do with this specifc blog entry but I couldn't find an email address to email you privately. In general though, I just want to thank you for your work in maintaining this blog and the Judaism 101 site, as they are both extremely helpful in understanding Judaism.
I'm a non-Jewish woman trying to get in touch with my faith. I was raised Christian but have given up on that since the start of my college days. However, recently I'm doing some soul-searching and been revisiting theology and the scriptures. And in an attempt to understand where the teachings of Jesus--which I have been exposed to throughout childhood--are even coming from...have been doing a lot of reading from the old testament and trying to learn more about Judaism.
I just want to let you know that your sites are so informative and useful. They provide an excellent starting point for research and makes what can sometimes seem like a complex and unexplored world, a little less overwhelming. I'm still struggling with my role in faith and what I can do to be a righteous person in the eyes of
G-d but your sites have been so very informative for helping me understand the basis of Jewish traditions, which is very important to me since christians share many scriptures and yet, christianity upholds virtually none of the Jewish laws or observances, and sometimes does not even acknowledge or accept that they have any meaning to us or at least, have some valuable context. Your sites have been useful in helping me explore the value of Jewish laws, traditions, observances.
I think your sites are also very helpful in dispelling ignorance by providing an accessible resource for others to learn.
Thank you for your dedication. Love and peace!