Victor Cohen
The observance of kashrut is a cornerstone of Jewish life, among the most important means by which we set ourselves apart from the rest of the world. We do not eat in the same restaurants as others, we do not buy the same foods as others, and we handle our dishes much differently.
Thankfully, our generation is blessed with numerous highly-competent organizations that we can trust to certify products and establishments as kosher. These include household names such as the Orthodox Union (OU), Star-K, and the Jersey Shore Orthodox Rabbinate (JSOR). These organizations, among others, allow us to purchase food and eat at restaurants confidently, knowing that the food we consume was prepared in compliance with kashrut laws.
Unfortunately, not everyoneunderstands the “ins and outs” of how certification works, and there are those who are not aware its necessity for certain foods or establishments. They may say, “I just eat cheese,” or “I just eat fish,” or “I just get salad.” They may further the question the purpose of certification if “it’s all kosher ingredients.”
The truth is that there is much more to kashrut than just the “kosher ingredients.” People need to realize that even if all the ingredients are 100 percent kosher, the product could still be halachically forbidden for consumption.
To gain a clearer understanding of the issues at hand, and to receive some practical guidelines for kosher consumers, I had the honor of interviewing Rabbi Hayim Asher Arking, Administrator of JSOR. He patiently explainedfor us in general terms how kashrut works, where potential misunderstandings may arise, and what the real issues at play are.
The Meaning of “Certified Kosher”
“Certification” is a broad term. It can apply to foods which must be prepared in a certain manner, to foods that can easily be substituted with a non-kosher alternative, or to the status of the utensils used in production.
Some foods or drinks are always considered kosher. Water, for instance, is always kosher,even water with electrolytes. The same goes for unflavored coffee, plain raw rice, flour, sugar, and fruits which are not prone to infestation. (It should be noted that Israeli fruits and vegetables do require supervision). Some foods change kashrut status depending on the circumstances, such as cooked rice, artichoke hearts which are prone to infestation, and others. There are also foods which always require certification, no matter what the ingredient panel states, because they must be prepared according to certain conditions. Rabbi Arking gave six examples of food categories that require certification despite their kosher ingredients:
- All cheeses
- All cooked foods (because of issues with bishul akum– products cooked by a gentile, the use of non-kosher utensils, and potentially problematic ingredients)
- Wine, brandy, cognac
- Fish
- Meat/Poultry
- Vegetables
Milk vs. Cheese
Many people are unaware of the important distinction between milk and cheese in regard to modern-day kashrut.Rabbi Moshe Feinstein ruled that here in the United States, commercially-produced milk does not require certification, due to the stringent regulatory restrictions of the FDA,whichall but guarantee that the milk we purchase came from a cow, and not a non-kosher species. Outside the USA, every location requires evaluation. Many hold to a higher standard and use onlyhalav Yisrael – which means milk which was produced under supervision, rather than being presumed to be permissible.
Cheese, however, is treated far more stringently, as the sages forbade consuming gevinat akum – cheese produced by a gentile. Thus, pizza or pasta with cheese from a non-certified restaurant is prohibited. Bringing one’s own cheese to a non-kosher restaurant is not a solution, as numerous halachic issues remain, such as the status of the utensils, gentiles preparing the food, added ingredients, and others.
Wine
The production of wine requires proper supervision throughout the entire process, and secure sealings of all barrels while aging. When you go to a liquor store and see a wine bottle bearing kosher certification, that means that a kashrut organization has guaranteed it reaches your hands under kosher conditions, by assuring that the numerous halachot relevant to wine were upheld. Consumers must be advised that if the label says “not mevushal,” then the wine becomes prohibited if it is handled by a gentile at any point after the seal was open.
Meat
Generally, even those who are less scrupulous in their kashrut observance recognize the need for kosher certification for meat. Most misunderstandings arise when it comes to fish, dairy products, and vegetables, which is why JSOR has made a concerted effort over the last several years to facilitate many kosher dairy restaurants throughout the Deal area, in order to promote kashrut observance.
Nevertheless, it is worthwhile to review the basic principles relevant to the kosher status of meat.
You are in the butchery, and in front of you are two steaks: Steak A and Steak B. Steak A is certified, and Steak B is not. What makes A kosher and not B?
The following guidelines must be adhered to for meat to be kosher:
- The meat must originate from a kosher species, such as a cow or sheep. Without valid certification, there is no guarantee that the meat was taken from an animal whose meat is permitted by the Torah for consumption.
- The animal must be slaughtered properly by a trained, certified shohet (“slaughterer”). The animal cannot be stunned through the slaughter period, and a certain kind of knife must be used.
- After slaughtering, the meat must be salted, certain veins and fats must be removed, and it must be handled properly.
Furthermore, meat in a non-certified restaurant may not be eaten even if it is otherwise kosher, because halachah forbids eating meat that was “concealed from view,” and not properly guarded. And, the law of bishul akum forbids eating even inherently kosher food if it was cooked by a gentile. Even utensils used by a gentile for cooking become forbidden, such that the food cooked in them by a Jew thereafter may not be eaten.
Thus, when a restaurant is certified kosher, this means that the kashrut agency ascertained that all the ingredients used by the restaurant are kosher, and all the food served in the restaurant is prepared according to halachic requirements.
Fish is…Fishy
Many people mistakenly assume that since fish has far fewer kashrut restrictions than meat, it does not require supervision. But this is not true.Alarmingly, many studies have found that“fish fraud” across the United States is at well over 30 percent, perhaps higher. It is incredibly easy to replace one fish with another – and this happens in stores, restaurants, and other establishments.
This means that if we buy fish without kosher supervision, we cannot know whether or not it originates from a permissible species. And when ordering fish in a non-certified restaurant, one also encounters the problem of bishul akum. We must emphasize that there are no halachic “loopholes” that can permit eating fish that does not have kosher supervision, and it must therefore be treated just as stringently as meat.
Vegetables
Vegetables are, in many ways, the most clear-cut category, though vegetables which are prone to infestation need to be checked before consumption. The checking is what makesthe produce kosher – and so it must be treated as non-kosher before it is inspected. The vegetables cannot be presumed to be checked, and thus salads in non-kosher restaurants are prohibited. Like with other foods, vegetables require certain procedures to become kosher, and unless these procedures are followed, they may not be eaten.
Needless to say, the laws of kashrut are intricate and complex, and in fact, some rabbis devote many years to the full-time study of these halachot. Additionally,the certification process is nuanced and complicated, with different agencies implementing different policies. Hopefully, though, this article offered the reader an informative and practical overview of how certification works, why it is needed, and how it applies to different food groups. If you have any specific questions about the status of a certain food, or of the validity of a particular agency’s certification, please direct them to your local rabbi.Baruch Hashem,over the past 50 years, our community has made significant strides in the area of kashrut. While some issues occasionally arise, new kosher restaurants continue to open, and people have become more aware of the need for supervision. Much of this is thanks to the work of the rabbinical, executive and operational teams at JSOR, who continue to facilitate the availability of kosher restaurants and products, which will positively impact halachic observance generally throughout our community.