Kosher food is food prepared in adherence to the dietary laws of Judaism. The laws that govern kosher food deal with what foods may be eaten and how those foods must be prepared.
The Hebrew word Kasher (kosher) literally means fit or proper and these laws are Biblical in origin – the Jewish People have applied them to their daily diet for millennia. The Kashrut Authority offers a team of experts in modern food technology and its interface with all the detailed kosher regulations and requirements. They simultaneously embrace today’s world with these regulations, successfully merging ancient and modern needs.
The Kosher Certification process involves an examination of the food ingredients as well as the production and the preparation process. Kosher foods are generaly divided into three main categories: Meat, Dairy and Pareve.
Meat
For an animal to be kosher, it must have cloven hooves and chew its cud. Manufacturers must process the meat in a specific way to maintain the integrity of kosher production methods. Examples of kosher meat varieties include: beef, veal, goat and lamb. Birds and poultry (that are not birds of prey) are also kosher, including chicken, turkey and certain types of duck, quail, and geese.
Additionally, for meat to be kosher it must undergo the process of shechitah, the prescribed method of slaughtering animals and fowl for consumption — this is performed by a highly skilled specialist. Among the myriad of laws that surround this practice, we are ever mindful of the most effective and modern animal welfare techniques.
Dairy
All dairy products and derivatives (milk, cheese, butter etc.) must come from a kosher animal. Importantly, dairy products may not be consumed with meat or poultry.
Pareve
Pareve foods contain neither milk nor meat, that is, they are neutral. This category includes fruit and vegetables that must be insect – free, grains, juice, eggs from a kosher animal and fish that have both fins and scales. Importantly, fish may not be consumed together with meat.