I. INTRODUCTION:
II. KOSHER AND NON-KOSHER MEAT, POULTRY, AND FISH
III. KOSHER SLAUGHTERING
IV. MEAT AND MILK IN THE KOSHER KITCHEN
V. BAKERIES, BAKED GOODS, BREADS, ROLLS, PASTRIES AND BAGELS
VI. DAIRY PRODUCTS
VII. NATURAL AND HEALTH FOODS
VIII. WINES AND GRAPE PRODUCTS
IX: TRAVELING KOSHER

I. INTRODUCTION

The Hebrew word kosher means proper as it relates to dietary (kosher) laws. It means that a given product is permitted and acceptable.

A Kosher symbol means that the organization providing that symbol, stands behind the product and guarantees to the best of their ability that the product is kosher. The sources for the laws of kashruth are of Biblical origin and expounded in Rabbinic legislation, through which the Rabbis interpreted, or added preventative measures to the Biblical regulations. These laws are codified in the book called "Code of Jewish Law", and are discussed in the ancient, medieval, and contemporary writings of the Rabbis.

The laws of kashruth can get complex and extensive. The intention of this guide is to acquaint the reader with some of the fundamentals of kashruth and provide an insight into their practical application. Given the complex nature of the laws of kashruth, one should consult an observant Rabbi when a question involving kashruth arises.

Though an ancillary hygienic benefit has been attributed to the observance of kashruth, their ultimate purpose and rationale is simply to conform to the Divine Will as expressed in the Bible.

Not too long ago, most food products were made in the family kitchen, or in a small factory or store in the community. It was easy to inquire if the product in question was reliably kosher. If rabbinical supervision was required, it was attended to by the rabbi of the community, who was known to all. Today, industrialization, transcontinental shipping and mass production have created a situation where most of the foods we eat are treated, processed, cooked, canned or boxed commercially in industrial settings which are likely to be located hundreds or thousands of miles away from home. Furthermore, it is often impossible to tell from the label what ingredients or processes have actually been used. This last assumption is based on the following facts:

A. The law does not always require listing ingredients or all ingredients used, especially when used in relatively small amounts or in amounts less than the law requires to be listed on the package.

B. The consumer has no way of knowing if the ingredients listed are derived from non-kosher animals or other non-kosher sources, or if the machinery used was not kosher because it was also used to process non-kosher products.

C. The technical name of the ingredients printed on the label may not be adequate to inform the consumer of what is actually being used, and if it is or is not kosher. (See Guide to Common Food Ingredients)

D. The use of general ingredient terms such as 'spices', 'flavors', is as good as no information at all.

Because we all have the tendency to take for granted that certain products are kosher even if they do not carry reliable kashruth supervision, the consumer is urged to be mindful that:

1. Because of the complicated and intricate nature of food production, foods which we consider "obviously kosher" may not be kosher at all, and may require rabbinic supervision and approval.

2. Some ingredients which we might believe are simple, such as 'chocolate flavor' might be made up of over 30 separate ingredients.

3. Before eating ask yourself, "Is There a Kashruth Problem?"

II. KOSHER AND NON-KOSHER MEAT, POULTRY, AND FISH

A. Meat:
The Torah (Leviticus Chapter 11) lists the characteristics of permitted mammals and fish, and enumerates the forbidden fowl. The only mammals permitted are those which chew their cud (ruminants) and are cloven hoofed.

B. Poultry:
The Torah does not enumerate specific characteristics to distinguish permitted from forbidden birds. Instead, it enumerates 24 forbidden species of fowl. The Shulchan Aruch (Code of Jewish Law) states that we may eat only those birds for which there is an established tradition that the bird is kosher. In the United States, the only poultry prepared for the kosher market are chicken, turkey, duck and goose.

C. Fish:
The Torah establishes two criteria in determining kosher fish. They must have fins and scales (cycloid and ctenoid). All shellfish are prohibited. Unlike meat and poultry, fish requires no special preparation. One, however, should not eat fish with meat. Filleted or ground fish should not be purchased unless one is assured that it comes from a kosher fish. Processed and smoked fish products require rabbinic supervision, as do all processed foods.

III. KOSHER SLAUGHTERING

The processing of kosher meats and poultry requires that the animal be slaughtered in the manner prescribed by the Torah (Shechita).

A. Shechita:
Only a trained kosher slaughterer (shochet) whose piety and expertise have been attested to by rabbinic authorities is qualified to slaughter an animal. The trachea and esaphagus of the animal are severed with a special razor-sharp, perfectly smooth blade causing instantaneous death with no pain to the animal.

B. Bedika:
After the animal has been properly slaughtered, a trained inspector (bodek) inspects the internal organs for any physiological abnormalities that may render the animal non-kosher (treif). The lungs, in particular, must be examined to determine that there are no adhesions (sirchot) which may be indicative of a puncture in the lungs. If an adhesion is found, the bodek must examine it carefully to determine its kashruth status.

C. Glatt Kosher:
Though not all adhesions will necessarily render an animal treif, some Jewish communities or individuals only eat of an animal that has been found to be free of all adhesions. "Glatt" literally means smooth, indicating that the meat comes from an animal whose lungs have been found to be free of all adhesions. Of late, "Glatt Kosher" is used more broadly as a consumer phrase meaning kosher without question.

D. Nikkur:
There are special cutting procedures for beef, veal and lamb, called "Nikkur" in Hebrew. Many blood vessels, nerves, and lobes of fat are forbidden and must be removed; a costly and time-consuming procedure.

E. Koshering:
The Torah forbids the eating of the blood of an animal. The two methods of extracting blood from meat are salting and broiling. Meat once ground cannot be made kosher, nor may meat be placed in hot water before it has been "koshered".

- Salting:
The meat must first be soaked for a half hour in cool (not ice) water in a utensil designated only for that purpose. After allowing for excess water to drip off, the meat is thoroughly salted so that the entire surface is covered with salt. Only coarse salt should be used. In processing poultry, both the inside and outside of the slaughtered bird must be salted. All inside sections must be removed before the koshering process begins. Each part must be soaked and salted separately. If the meat had been sliced with a knife during the salting process, the surface of the cut must be soaked and salted as well. The salted meat is then left for an hour on an inclined or perforated surface to allow the blood to flow down freely. The cavity of the poultry should be placed open side down. After the salting, the meat must be thoroughly soaked and washed to remove all salt.

According to rabbinic law, meat must be koshered within 72 hours after slaughter so as not to permit the blood to congeal. If meat has been thoroughly soaked or rinsed, an additional seventy-two hours is granted for the salting process.

- Broiling:
An alternate means of "koshering" meat is through broiling. Liver may only be koshered through broiling, because of the preponderance of blood in it. Both the liver and meat must first be thoroughly washed to remove all surface blood. They are then salted slightly on all sides. Subsequently, they are broiled on a perforated grate over an open fire which draws out the internal blood. The liver must be broiled on both sides until the outer surface appears to be dry and brown. In addition, when koshering a liver, slits must be made in the liver prior to broiling. After broiling, they are rinsed off. Separate utensils should be used for the koshering of liver.

F. The Kosher Butcher:
Koshering and nikkur are usually the responsibility of the kosher butcher who must be a trained and reliable professional, as well as a man of integrity. In addition, the store must be under strict kashruth supervision.

G. Packaging:
From the time of slaughter, kosher meat and poultry must be properly tagged and labeled until it reaches the consumer. This requirement dictates that rabbinic supervision be maintained until the meat reaches the consumer. In the processing of meat, a metal tag called a plumba, bearing the kosher certification, serves as an identifying seal.

H. Caterers, Restaurants, Resorts:
Caterers, restaurants, and hotels should be supervised by a reputable Orthodox Rabbinic authority.

It cannot be assumed that kashruth is maintained simply because a kosher impression is created by an advertisement or by a statement, "we serve a kosher clientele." Too often, 'vegetarian' or 'dairy' restaurants are assumed to be kosher and beyond the need for supervision. Unfortunately, this is a prevalent misconception. For example, sea squab and sturgeon are non-kosher fish popular in many such eateries. Fish, baked goods, cheese, shortening, oil, eggs, margarine, dressings, and condiments are among the many foodstuffs requiring supervision in 'vegetarian' and 'dairy' restaurants. Even those food items that are kosher in their raw states, could be rendered non-kosher when prepared on equipment used for non-kosher food. In these restaurants, as in all other food serving establishments, reputable kashruth supervision is the best guarantee of kashruth.

IV. MEAT AND MILK IN THE KOSHER KITCHEN

The Torah forbids cooking meat and milk together in any form, eating such cooked products, or deriving benefit from them. As a safeguard, the Rabbis extended this prohibition to disallow the eating of meat and dairy products at the same meal or preparing them on the same utensils. One must wait at least three hours after eating meat products before any dairy products may be eaten. However, meat may be eaten following dairy products with the one exception of hard cheese (6 months old or more), which also requires a six hour interval. Prior to eating meat after dairy, one must eat a solid food and the mouth must be rinsed.

A. Utensils:
The kosher kitchen must have two separate sets of utensils, one for meat and poultry and the other for dairy foods. There must be separate, distinct sets of pots, pans, plates and silverware.

B. Washing Dishes:
In a sink used for both meat and milk dishes and products, dishes and utensils must be placed or washed on a rack. Separate racks are to be used for meat and dairy use.

C. Eggs:
The eggs or animal by-product of non-kosher birds or fish are not kosher. Caviar, therefore, must come from a kosher fish and this requires reliable supervision. Eggs of kosher fowl which contain a bloodspot must be discarded, and therefore eggs should be checked before use. Commercial egg products also require supervision.

V. BAKERIES, BAKED GOODS, BREADS, ROLLS, PASTRIES AND BAGELS

The display of the label has undergone strict changes due to government regulations. Not only must the label specify the type of shortening, i.e. vegetable or animal, but it must declare the actual source as well. Thus, it is commonplace to mention cottonseed oil, lard, coconut oil, and the like. The result of this explicit label display is that the consumer can easily detect what is blatantly non-kosher. However, the kosher status of a product containing vegetable shortening of any type can only be verified by reliable kosher certification. The reason for this is that manufacturers of vegetable shortening often process animal fats on common equipment. The vegetable product may be a pure one, however, halachically it is rendered non-kosher due to its being processed on non-kosher equipment.

Emulsifiers:
Emulsifiers are complex substances that are used in all types of food production. They can perform a number of critical functions, among them allowing incompatible ingredients to mix together These materials are listed on the ingredient label as polysorbates, mono and diglycerides, sorbitan monostearate, etc. These products are produced from both animal and vegetable sources and thus require careful supervision and controls. The special qualities of these products (acting as surfactants and making oil and water soluble) enable them to be invaluable basic components in many food items, such as margarine, shortenings, cream fillings, toppings, coffee creamers, whiteners, prepared cake mixes, donuts, and puddings. It must be emphasized that ice cream, frozen desserts, instant mashed potatoes, peanut butter, snack-pack foods, and many breakfast cereals also contain di-glycerides and, therefore, require kashruth certification. A product whose ingredient panel lists ‘emulsifiers’ or ‘emulsifier added’ indicates the use of glycerides and requires kashruth certification. Many chocolates and candies contain such glyceride emulsifiers.

Breads, Rolls, Challah, Bagels and Bialys:

These basic household staples present several kashruth problems and require kashruth certification.

1. The "Taking" of Challah:
The Torah requires that a portion of every batter of dough prepared for baking be set aside as 'Challah'. The Challah portion taken may be of any size and is to be burned. This ritual is obligatory only when the dough is of Jewish ownership and is made from the flour of five grains: wheat, oats, rye, spelt, and barley. When the flour used is a blend with other types of flour, e.g. corn, rice, etc., a Rabbinic authority is to be consulted.

2. If this mitzvah (commandment) has not been performed in the bakery, it may be performed in the home by placing all the baked goods in one room, breaking open all sealed packaged material, and removing and burning a small piece from one of the loaves. When some of the loaves are a combination of the five aforementioned grains challah must then be taken from each type of loaf. When one bakes at home and has used a minimum of 2 lbs. 10 oz. of flour in the making of dough, challah is to be taken from the dough before baking. In this case, a blessing is not recited.

When a minimum of 4 lbs. 15 1/3 oz. of flour is used, the blessing is recited before performing the Mitzvah.

3. Many breads are made with oils and shortenings. Basic ingredients of specially prepared dough mixes and dough conditioners are shortenings and di-glycerides. In bakeries, pans and troughs in which the dough is placed to rise, are coated with grease or divider oils which may be non-kosher. These oils often do not appear on the label; only specially prepared kosher pan grease may be used.

4. Dairy Breads:
It is Rabbinically prohibited to bake bread with dairy ingredients. Since bread is frequently eaten at all meals, the Rabbis were concerned that one might inadvertently eat dairy bread with a meat meal. There are two exceptions-if the bread is baked in an unusual shape or design indicating that it is dairy, or if the loaf is so small that it would be consumed at one meal.

5. Cake, Pastries & Doughnuts:
These products should be considered non-kosher unless certified kosher. The shortenings and other ingredients universally used in the manufacture of these items require expert supervision. Lard-based shortenings are often used in pie and other crust preparations because of lard's unique flaking quality.

6. Fillings and Cremes:
All fillings, cremes, and fudge bases must be certified kosher because they may contain fats, emulsifiers, and gelatin stabilizers.

7. Flavors:
A critical sector of the food industry is manufacturers of flavors. Flavors, whether artificial or natural, are components of nearly every product. Flavor production is highly complex and uses raw materials from every imaginable source. In addition, the flavor industry utilizes grape and wine derived ingredients in a wide array of products. For this reason, any product containing flavors requires strict supervision and control.

VI. DAIRY PRODUCTS

A. Cholov Yisroel:
A Rabbinic law requires that there be supervision during the milking process to ensure that the source of the milk is from a kosher animal. Following the opinion of many rabbinic authorities, most policys considers that in the United States, the Department of Agriculture's regulations and controls are sufficiently stringent to ensure that only cow's milk is sold commercially. These Government requirements fulfill the Rabbinical requirement for supervision.

B. Cheese:
All cheeses require kashruth certification, including hard cheeses (Swiss, cheddar, etc.) and soft cheeses (cottage, farmer, pot, and cream cheese). Rennet, processed from the stomachs of unweaned calves, is used in the production of cheese as a curdling and coagulating ingredient, and is also used in the production of sour cream, buttermilk, and some varieties of yogurt and yogurt-type desserts. The issue of a non-kosher coagulant renders the product non-kosher.

C. Sherbets:
According to government standards, any product labeled 'sherbet' or 'fruit sherbet' must contain milk and is, therefore, not pareve. Water ices should not be considered pareve unless endorsed pareve on the label.

D. Margarine:
Margarine contains oils and glycerides and, therefore, requires rabbinic certification. Margarine often contains up to 12% dairy ingredients. Unless the margarine is marked pareve, it should be considered dairy.

VII. NATURAL AND HEALTH FOODS

With the proliferation of natural and health food products in the United States, some clarification is in order with regards to their kashruth status. It should be noted that many of these products are natural but nevertheless non-kosher. Products containing pure vegetable oils could be problematic as many oil manufacturers produce animal tallow on the same equipment. Natural flavors could contain polysorbates, grape derivatives, beaver extracts, etc., all of which are natural but require supervision or are non-kosher.

Even if a product is sold in a natural or health food store, it requires supervision if it contains questionable ingredients.



VIII. WINES AND GRAPE PRODUCTS

All grape wines or brandies must be prepared under strict Orthodox Rabbinic supervision. Once the wine has been cooked, no restrictions are attached to its handling.

Grape jam is often produced from grape pulp and grape juice and may not be used.

Grape jelly is produced from grape juice and can be used only when produced from kosher grape juice under proper supervision.

Natural and artificial grape flavors may not be used unless kosher endorsed. Many grape flavors contain natural grape extracts and are labeled artificial or imitation because other flavoring additives are used in the formula.

Liqueurs, even though not possessing a wine base, nevertheless require supervision because of the flavorings used in these products.



IX: TRAVELING KOSHER

For the businessman or tourist traveling across the United States, kosher certified products are available almost everywhere, even in the smallest groceries in the most remote towns. However, it is much more difficult to obtain reliably kosher certified products in most foreign countries. A traveler bringing along frozen (T.V.) dinners which must be reheated in a non-kosher oven, must completely cover the frozen package with two layers of aluminum foil. If a microwave will be utilized then the food must also be double wrapped.

When traveling by plane, train or ship kosher meals should be ordered in advance. These meals are also heated in non-kosher ovens. The employees of the carrier are instructed to heat these meals in the same manner that they were received; totally wrapped in double foil with the caterer's seal and the Rabbinic certification seal intact. The traveler can ascertain by the intact seals that the dinners have not been tampered. Any dinner which is not properly sealed should not be eaten. The kosher certification only applies to the food in the sealed package.

Any other food (rolls, wines or liqueurs, cheeses, and coffee creamers or snacks) served loose by the carrier are not included in the kosher endorsement.