Understanding Kosher Food Labeling

By anyone's standards, modern food labeling is a complicated business. There are multiple commercial and legal rules to follow. Add to these requirements another level of rules required for kosher food certification, demanded by a "higher authority," and the regulations for labeling are staggering. Proper designation of kosher foods involves elements of scripture, tradition, edict, history and scholarship.

Kosher is English for kashrut which is a set of dietary laws derived from the Torah that have undergone centuries of Talmudic and rabbinical interpretation. Definitions, distinctions and discussions abound, but several principles emerge, forming the foundation of kashrut or kosher observance. Foods are designated by three categories: meat, dairy and "pareve" meaning neutral. Meat and dairy cannot be prepared or eaten together and their consumption must be separated by a prescribed waiting period, generally established to be six hours. Animals permitted for consumption are ruminants with split hooves, such as cows, sheep, goats and deer. Pigs and camels are forbidden. Acceptable kosher poultry includes chicken, goose, duck and turkey. Birds of prey are forbidden. The slaughter of animals must be in strict accord with Jewish law. Fish with fins and scales are allowed according to kashrut decree. Therefore, salmon, tuna and herring are on the menu but lobster, shrimp and clams are not. Fruits and vegetables are permissible foods.

Even families who may not adhere to kashrut principles throughout the year often do abide by kashrut requirements during Passover. However, mere kosher qualification of a food or food product does not automatically deem it kosher for Passover observation. The holiday forbids any leavening agents, such as yeast or baking soda, and many Jewish homes avoid soy, peanuts, peas, rice and corn. Additional food certification may be required for Passover purposes.

There are dozens, perhaps hundreds of organizations and rabbis providing certification services for kosher foods. They can be as regional as The Vaad Harabbonim of Flatbush or as broad as The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations. Each certifying entity has developed its own trademark. Many of these trademarks are seen on commercial food labels. With so many different entities issuing varying marks, kosher food labeling can be extremely confusing.

One of the most prevalent trademarks is a circle with a capital letter U inside. The so-called O-U (pronounced Oh You) is issued by the Orthodox Union, an organization that has been certifying kosher foods since the 1920s. The O-U now appears on more than 400,000 products. The Orthodox Union also issues information on specific products, such as Starbucks Coffee and Cream Liqueurs, for example, which have passed kosher certification but have not yet been labeled as such.

Another prominent trademark is a circle containing a capital letter K, known as the OK. This is the imprint of The Organized Kashrus Laboratories which was founded in 1935 and currently certifies more than 114,000 products.

Many products in the western region of the U.S. have a service mark with the capital letters KSA inside a rectangle. This is the designation of a not-for-profit organization called the Kosher Supervision of America located in Los Angeles. It is the largest Orthodox kosher certification agency in the west.

Other frequently seen trademarks are a half moon with a letter K, issued by the Kosher Overseers Associates of America or KOAOA from the west coast and a five-pointed star with a letter K, issued by Star-K Kosher Certification from the east coast.

All of these service marks may be followed by additional lettering which conveys more specified meaning. The letter D indicates the presence of a dairy ingredient. The thoroughness of kosher inspection is evident, for example, with a powdered coffee creamer. Even though the product is labeled non-dairy and non-lactose, it may get a kosher D designation for containing caseinate, a milk derivative.

The letter F indicates the presence of fish ingredients. Kashrut law allows fish to be eaten before or after meat without the prescribed waiting period, but it prohibits eating fish and meat together. However, fish and dairy may be prepared and eaten together.

The letter P can have two meanings. It can designate a pareve, or neutral product that can be consumed with either meat or dairy. It can also convey that the product is kosher for Passover as well as for all year round.

Kashrut food labeling is a veritable alphabet soup of designations, certifications and trademarks. Just make sure your soup is kosher.