What is Kosher?

Kosher foods are those that conform to Jewish dietary law.

Introduction to Kosher Certification

There was a time when a woman did all her family's preparation in her own kitchen. Back then, it was obvious that pig's feet were not kosher, and ice cream was. In the past few decades, however, there has been a revolution in American eating. Almost 90 percent of our food is now processed before reaching our kitchens. With synthetic meats and exotic food additives, artificial pig's feet could be kosher, whereas the ice cream might not be.

These developments in the food industry have been paralleled by the growth of kosher certification organizations formed to assure consumers that appropriately processed foods can be bought with confidence. It has been estimated that approximately one third of all shelf products in our supermarkets are certified kosher, making the kosher industry in the U.S. a $30 billion a year business.

Kosher Certification Notes

• D — Dairy
• DE — Dairy Equipment (no actual dairy in ingredients; can be eaten after a meat meal, but not together with meat)
• P — Passover; Kosher for all year including Passover (Note: "P" NEVER designates pareve)
• Pareve — Non-dairy and non-meat
• Chalav Yisrael — Kosher supervised milk used in ingredients
• Pas Yisrael — Jewish baked goods
• Yashan — Not from current grain crop

When reliable kosher symbols appear on the outside, you can trust what's inside. The O/U, O/K, Star-K, and Kof-K are among the largest and most relied-upon kosher agencies in the world today.