Editing Kashrut (section)

==Supervision and marketing==
===''Hashgacha''===
Certain foods must be prepared in whole or in part by Jews. This includes [[kosher wine|grape wine]],<ref>''Shulchan Aruch'', ''Yoreh De'ah'' 114</ref> certain cooked foods (''[[Bishul Yisrael|bishul akum]]''),<ref>''Shulchan Aruch'', ''Yoreh De'ah'' 113</ref> [[cheese]] (''g'vinat akum''), and according to some also butter (''chem'at akum''),<ref name="YD115">''Shulchan Aruch'', ''Yoreh De'ah'' 115</ref> dairy products (Hebrew: חלב ישראל [[chalav Yisrael]] "milk of Israel"),<ref name=YD115/><ref>Many rely on lenient rulings by Rabbi [[Moshe Feinstein]] in ''Teshuvot Igrot Moshe'', ''Yoreh De'ah'' 1:47 and other 20th century rabbinic authorities who rule that strict government supervision prevents the admixture of non-kosher milk, making supervision unnecessary. See {{cite web|url=https://www.koltorah.org/halachah/chalav-yisrael-rabbi-soloveitchiks-view-by-rabbi-howard-jachter |author=Rabbi Chaim Jachter |title=Chalav Yisrael&nbsp;– Part I: Rav Soloveitchik's View |access-date=December 2, 2007 }}</ref> and [[bread]] ([[Pas Yisroel]]).<ref>''Shulchan Aruch'', ''Yoreh De'ah'' 112, ''Orach Chayim'' 603</ref>

===Product labeling standards===
{{further|Hechsher}}
[[File:OUKosher.JPG|thumb|180x180px|The circled U means a product is certified as kosher by the [[Orthodox Union]] (OU). "Pareve" means no ingredients are derived from milk or meat.]]
[[File:Kosher labels.jpg|thumb|180x180px|Kosher labels on salt and sugar packages in [[Colombia]].]]

Although reading the label of food products can identify obviously non-kosher ingredients, some countries allow manufacturers to omit identification of certain ingredients. Such "hidden" ingredients may include [[lubricant]]s and [[flavoring]]s, among other [[Food additive|additives]]; in some cases, for instance, the use of ''natural'' flavorings, these ingredients are more likely to be derived from non-kosher substances.<ref>{{cite web|title=What foods are kosher?|url=http://www.oxfordchabad.org/templates/articlecco_cdo/aid/307920/jewish/Kosher-Foods.htm|publisher=Oxford Chabad Society|access-date=March 15, 2013}}</ref> Furthermore, certain products, such as fish, have a high rate of [[Seafood mislabelling|mislabeling]], which may result in a non-kosher fish being sold in a package labeled as a species of kosher fish.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/27/science/earth/27fish.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220103/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/27/science/earth/27fish.html |archive-date=2022-01-03 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Tests Reveal Mislabeling of Fish |last=Rosenthal |first=Elizabeth |date=May 26, 2011 |website=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=May 22, 2013}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Producers of foods and food additives can contact Jewish religious authorities to have their products certified as ''kosher'': this involves a visit to the manufacturing facilities by an individual rabbi or a committee from a rabbinic organization, who will inspect the production methods and contents and, if everything is sufficiently ''kosher'' a certificate would be issued.<ref>{{cite web|title=How to choose a kosher certification|url=http://www.kashrut.com/trade/trade_links/hechsher/|publisher=Kashrut.com|access-date=March 15, 2013}}</ref>

[[File:OK kosher D symbol.jpg|thumb|[[OK Kosher Certification]] (circled K) symbol with a dairy designation on a bag of [[chocolate chip]]s]]

Manufacturers sometimes identify the products that have received such certification by adding particular graphical symbols to the label. These symbols are known in Judaism as ''[[hechsher]]im''.<ref name="Hechshers">{{cite web|title=About this web-site|url=http://www.hechshers.info/about.htm|publisher=Hechshers.info|access-date=March 15, 2013}}</ref> Due to differences in ''kashrut'' standards held by different organizations, the ''hechsheirim'' of certain Jewish authorities may at times be considered invalid by other Jewish authorities.<ref>{{cite web|title=Kosher Certification|url=http://www.chabad.org/library/howto/wizard_cdo/aid/113474/jewish/Kosher-Certification.htm|publisher=[[Chabad]].org|access-date=March 15, 2013}}</ref> The [[certification mark]]s of the various rabbis and organisations are too numerous to list, but one of the most commonly used in the United States of America is that of the [[Union of Orthodox Congregations]], who use a ''U'' inside a circle ("O-U"), symbolising the initials of ''Orthodox Union''. In Britain, commonly used symbols are the "KLBD" logo of the [[London Beth Din]] and the "MK" logo of the Manchester Beth Din.<ref>{{cite web|title=MK Kosher|url=https://www.thejc.com/lifestyle/features/how-kellogg-s-keeps-the-corn-flakes-kosher-in-the-world-s-biggest-cereal-factory-1.36397|access-date=March 25, 2021|publisher=thejc.com}}</ref> A single ''K'' is sometimes used as a symbol for ''kosher'', but since many countries do not allow letters to be [[trademark]]ed (the method by which other symbols are protected from misuse), it only indicates that the company producing the product claims that it is kosher.<ref name="Kosherfest">{{cite web|title=Glossary of Kosher Terms |url=http://www.kosherfest.com/about-kosher/glossary-of-kosher-terms |publisher=[[Kosherfest]] |access-date=March 15, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130203160355/http://www.kosherfest.com/about-kosher/glossary-of-kosher-terms |archive-date=February 3, 2013 }}</ref>

[[File:Stempel potwierdzający koszerność, MŻ 44d.jpg|thumb|Stamp for identifying food as kosher. Collection of Auschwitz Jewish Centre]]

Many of the certification symbols are accompanied by additional letters or words to indicate the category of the product, according to Jewish law;<ref name=Kosherfest/> the categorization may conflict with legal classifications, especially in the case of food that Jewish law regards as ''dairy'', but legal classification does not.

* D: Dairy
* DE: Dairy equipment
* M: Meat, including [[poultry]]
*''Pareve'': Food that is neither meat nor dairy
* Fish
* P: [[Passover]]-related (''P'' is not used for ''Pareve'')

In many cases constant supervision is required because, for various reasons such as changes in manufacturing processes, products that once were kosher may cease to be so. For example, a kosher lubricating oil may be replaced by one containing [[tallow]], which many rabbinic authorities view as non-kosher. Such changes are often coordinated with the supervising rabbi or supervising organization to ensure that new packaging does not suggest any ''hechsher'' or ''kashrut''. In some cases, however, existing stocks of pre-printed labels with the ''hechsher'' may continue to be used on the now non-kosher product. An active [[Grapevine (gossip)|grapevine]] among the Jewish community discusses which products are now questionable, as well as products which have become kosher but whose labels have yet to carry the ''hechsher''. Some newspapers and periodicals also discuss ''kashrut'' products.<ref>{{cite web|title=Kosher Supervision|url=http://www.ok.org/Content.asp?ID=116|publisher=[[OK Kosher Certification]]|access-date=March 15, 2013}}</ref>

Products labeled [[kosher-style]] are non-kosher products that have characteristics of kosher foods, such as all-beef [[hot dog]]s,<ref name="zeldes">{{cite web | last = Zeldes | first = Leah A. | title = Know your wiener! | work = Dining Chicago | publisher = Chicago's Restaurant & Entertainment Guide, Inc. | date = July 8, 2010 | url = http://www.diningchicago.com/blog/2010/07/08/know-your-wiener/ | access-date = July 31, 2010 | archive-date = July 10, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110710093609/http://www.diningchicago.com/blog/2010/07/08/know-your-wiener/ }}</ref> or are flavored or prepared in a manner consistent with [[Ashkenazi]] practices, like [[dill pickles]].<ref name="pickle">{{cite web | last = Zeldes | first = Leah A. | title = Origins of neon relish and other Chicago hot dog conundrums | work = Dining Chicago | publisher = Chicago's Restaurant & Entertainment Guide, Inc. | date = July 20, 2010 | url = http://www.diningchicago.com/blog/2010/07/20/chicago-hot-dog-yellow-mustard-neon-green-relish#pickle | access-date = July 31, 2010 | archive-date = July 10, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110710130712/http://www.diningchicago.com/blog/2010/07/20/chicago-hot-dog-yellow-mustard-neon-green-relish/#pickle }}</ref> The designation usually refers to [[delicatessen]] items.

===History of kosher supervision and marketing===
[[File:Kosher McDonald's, Abasto Shopping, Buenos Aires.jpg|thumb|Kosher [[McDonald's]] in [[Buenos Aires]], [[Argentina]]]]

Food producers often look to expand their markets or marketing potential, and offering kosher food has become a way to do that. The uniqueness of kosher food was advertised as early as 1849.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/10938449/early_mention_of_kosher/|title=Early mention of kosher|date=1849-03-15|work=Public Ledger|access-date=2017-05-12|page=2|via=[[Newspapers.com]] {{open access}}}}</ref> In 1911 [[Procter & Gamble]] became the first company to advertise one of their products, Crisco, as kosher.<ref name="Heinze1992">
{{cite book| last = Heinze| first = Andrew R.| title = Adapting to Abundance: Jewish Immigrants, Mass Consumption, and the Search for American Identity| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=0QRmrxJfP44C&pg=PA176| access-date = March 15, 2013| date = 1 August 1992| publisher = Columbia University Press| isbn = 978-0-231-06853-6| page = 176 }}</ref> Over the next two decades, companies such as [[Lender's Bagels]], [[Maxwell House]], [[Manischewitz]], and [[Empire Kosher|Empire]] evolved and gave the kosher market more shelf-space. In the 1960s, [[Hebrew National]] hotdogs launched a "we answer to a higher authority" campaign to appeal to Jews and non-Jews alike. From that point on, "kosher" became a symbol for both quality and value. The kosher market quickly expanded, and with it more opportunities for kosher products. Menachem Lubinsky, founder of the [[Kosherfest]] trade fair, estimates as many as {{Nowrap|14 million}} kosher consumers and {{Nowrap|$40 billion}} in sales of kosher products in the U.S.<ref name="Kosherfest-history">{{cite web|title=The History of Kosher |url=http://www.kosherfest.com/about-kosher/the-history-of-kosher |publisher=Kosherfest |access-date=March 15, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130321023402/http://www.kosherfest.com/about-kosher/the-history-of-kosher |archive-date=March 21, 2013 }}</ref>

In 2014 the [[Israeli Defense Forces]] decided to allow female kosher supervisors to work in its kitchens on military bases, and the first women kosher inspectors were certified in Israel.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://forward.com/articles/190635/idf-to-allow-female-kosher-supervisors-to-work-on/|title=IDF To Allow Female Kosher Supervisors To Work on Military Bases|date=9 January 2014|work=The Jewish Daily Forward}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sdjewishworld.com/2014/05/08/first-women-kashrut-inspectors-certified-israel/|title=First women kashrut inspectors certified in Israel - San Diego Jewish World|work=[[San Diego Jewish World]]|date=8 May 2014 }}</ref>

===Legal usage===
{{Main|Civil laws regarding Kashrut}}

Advertising standards laws in many{{quantify|date=August 2014}} jurisdictions prohibit the use of the phrase ''kosher'' in a product's labeling unless the producer can show that the product conforms to Jewish dietary laws; however, different jurisdictions often define the legal qualifications for conforming to Jewish dietary laws differently. For example, in some places the law may require that a rabbi certify the ''kashrut'' nature, in others the rules of ''kosher'' are fully defined in law, and in others still it is sufficient that the manufacturer only believes that the product complies with Jewish dietary regulations. In several cases, laws restricting the use of the term ''kosher'' have later been determined to be illegal religious interference.<ref>{{cite web|last=Popovsky|first=Mark|title=The Constitutional Complexity of Kosher Food Laws|url=http://www.columbia.edu/cu/jlsp/pdf/Fall%202010/Popovsky.JLSP.44.1.pdf|publisher=[[Columbia University]]|access-date=March 15, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130922093707/http://www.columbia.edu/cu/jlsp/pdf/Fall%202010/Popovsky.JLSP.44.1.pdf|archive-date=September 22, 2013}}</ref>

===Costs===
In the United States, the cost of certification for mass-produced items is typically minuscule<ref name=Snopes>{{cite web |url= http://www.snopes.com/racial/business/kosher.htm |title= The Kosher Nostra |access-date= 2006-10-23 |last= Mikkelson |first= Barbara |author-link= Urban Legends Reference Pages |date= May 24, 2002 |publisher= [[Urban Legends Reference Pages]]}}</ref><ref name = Brunvand>{{cite book | last = Brunvand | first = Jan Harold | author-link = Jan Harold Brunvand | title = Encyclopedia of urban legends | orig-date = 2001 | edition = Reprint | date = November 2002 | publisher = [[W. W. Norton|W. W. Norton & Company]] | location = [[New York, NY]] | pages = [https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofur00janh_0/page/222 222–223] | chapter = The Jewish Secret Tax | isbn = 978-0-393-32358-0 | lccn = 2001000883 | chapter-url-access = registration | chapter-url = https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofur00janh_0 | url = https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofur00janh_0/page/222 }}</ref> and is usually more than offset by the advantages of being certified.<ref name=Brunvand/> In 1975 ''[[The New York Times]]'' estimated the cost per item for obtaining kosher certification at 6.5 millionths of a cent ($0.000000065) per item for a [[General Foods]] frozen-food item.<ref name=adl/> According to a 2005 report by [[Burns & McDonnell]], most U.S. national certifying agencies are non-profit, only charging for supervision and on-site work, for which the on-site supervisor "typically makes less per visit than an auto mechanic does per hour". However, re-engineering an existing manufacturing process can be costly.<ref name="B&M">{{cite journal |last1=Morris |first1=Lisa |last2=Hays |first2=Jim |last3=York |first3=Elaine |year=2005 |title=Obtaining Kosher Certification: The Engineering Implications for Food Processing |url=https://www.burnsmcd.com/~/media/files/insightsnews/insights/tech-briefs/2005-issue-3/obtaining-kosher-certification/articleobtainingkoshercertification05.pdf |journal=TECHBriefs |publisher=Burns & McDonnell |volume=2005 |issue=3 |pages=1–3 |access-date=October 13, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171207084547/https://www.burnsmcd.com/~/media/files/insightsnews/insights/tech-briefs/2005-issue-3/obtaining-kosher-certification/articleobtainingkoshercertification05.pdf |archive-date=December 7, 2017 }}</ref> Certification usually leads to increased revenues by opening up additional markets to [[Jew]]s who keep kosher, [[Muslim]]s who keep [[halal]], [[Seventh-day Adventists]] who keep the main laws of Kosher Diet, [[Vegetarianism|vegetarians]], and the [[lactose-intolerant]] who wish to avoid dairy products (products that are reliably certified as ''pareve'' meet this criterion).<ref name=adl>{{cite web|url=http://www.adl.org/special_reports/kosher_tax/print.asp |title=The "Kosher Tax" Hoax: Anti-Semitic Recipe for Hate |access-date=2006-10-23 |date=January 1991 |publisher=[[Anti-Defamation League]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061023233658/http://www.adl.org/special_reports/kosher_tax/print.asp |archive-date=2006-10-23 }}</ref><ref name=ou>{{cite web | url = http://oukosher.org/blog/news/the-kosher-tax-fraud/  | title = The "Kosher Tax" Fraud | access-date = 2006-10-23 | last = Luban | first = Yaakov | publisher = [[Orthodox Union]]| date = 2004-07-18 }}</ref><ref name=bw>{{cite web| url = http://www.boycottwatch.org/misc/koshertax1.htm| title = Dispelling a rumor - there is no kosher tax or Jewish tax| access-date = 2006-10-24| date = December 22, 2003| publisher = Boycott Watch}}</ref><ref name=Levenson2>{{cite book | last = Levenson | first = Barry M. | title = Habeas Codfish: Reflections on Food and the Law | year = 2001 | publisher = [[University of Wisconsin Press]] | isbn = 978-0-299-17510-8 | quote = Adherents to other faiths, including Moslems and Seventh-Day Adventists, look to kosher certification for a variety of reasons (including making sure the product is pork free). | page = [https://archive.org/details/habeascodfishref0000leve/page/188 188] | url = https://archive.org/details/habeascodfishref0000leve/page/188 }}</ref> The [[Orthodox Union]], one of the largest ''kashrut'' organizations in the United States, claims that "when positioned next to a competing non-kosher brand, a kosher product will do better by 20%".<ref name = "OU20percent">{{cite web |url = http://oukosher.org/kosher-overview/why-go-kosher/|title = Why Go Kosher |author= <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |year= 2014|publisher= [[Orthodox Union]]|access-date= October 13, 2014}}</ref>

In some European Jewish communities, kosher supervision of meat includes a "tax" used to fund Jewish education in the community, which makes kosher meat more expensive than the cost of supervision alone would imply.<ref>{{cite web 
|title= Brussels call for lower kosher tax 
|author= Gold, Asher 
|url= http://www.rce.eu.com/contentManagment/uploadedFiles/hnase_vehanishma/JET003.pdf 
|publisher= Rabbinical Center of Europe 
|date= October 29, 2009 
|access-date= October 13, 2014 
|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140428051845/http://www.rce.eu.com/contentManagment/uploadedFiles/hnase_vehanishma/JET003.pdf 
|archive-date= April 28, 2014 
}}</ref>