The Kosher Food Market

This is a 'how to" article about entering the kosher food market
which gets easier and more lucrative with each passing year. It's meant
for growers, producers, distributors and retailers - any food seller.

To become a supplier of kosher food you will need:

1. kosher raw materials
2. kosher production
3. kosher certification
4. distribution.

The name of the site is The Definition of Kosher and we can help
by defining all four requirements. This may help you decide if
entering the kosher food market is a realistic goal for you.

The Definition of Kosher

The word kosher refers to food that is permitted to Jewish people
by Biblical law. It would be best not to try to understand kosher
as an attribute of food. It has nothing to do with taste, nutrition
or ethnicicity. It's not a matter of spirituality or mysticism either.
The kosher laws are a set of individual, unconnected regulations with
only one thing in common. They are all found in the Jewish Bible and
followed by Jews who keep kosher. The laws govern:

• what species are permitted
• slaughter and processing of permitted animals and birds
• combinations of foods
• production facilities and utensils used with food

1) Kosher Raw Materials

Raw materials begin as either animal, vegetable or mineral.
The latter - vegetables and minerals, as is - are kosher. If you want
to supply them to the kosher food market carry on reading this article.

If your primary ingredient comes from the animal world - livestock,
poultry or seafood - there are two additional considerations:

1) Some species are not kosher and can never be kosher.
2) The ones that are permitted have special
slaughtering and processing requirements.

Commonly Used Permitted Species

1) Among the permitted animals are cattle, sheep, goats, bison and deer.
2) Permitted fowl are chicken, ducks and turkey.
3) Among fish many are permitted and many forbidden.
All shellfish are forbidden. As a general guideline only,
you can refer to this list of kosher fish.
The kosher certification agency which you
use will make an authoritative decision.

Kosher Slaughter and Processing

There is a rigorous set of regulations that apply to animals
and poultry (but not fish). They govern the health of the animal,
the slaughter and the removal of blood and other forbidden parts.
These kosher requirements - unlike others - are enough to
add an appreciable amount to the cost of the food.

Therefore if you produce, for example, frozen TV dinners,
you will need to purchase the meat and poultry from a kosher
supplier. You need also be aware that kosher slaughter and
processing of meat and fowl places you in a different type of
market with different - higher - expectations as to quality and price.

Please note also that:

1) Secondary ingredients - like oils and emulsifiers - usually
have a substitute. An alternative ingredient of
synthetic or vegetable origin can likely be found.

2) By-products like milk and eggs must originate from a kosher species.

Once you have established that your raw materials are kosher,
there are other regulations to meet. The good news is that the
cost relative to the benefit is very low. Even better, you may gain
improved access to many different segments of the food industry.

See why the kosher food market is not just Jewish consumers.

2) Kosher Production

Two additional regulations affect a
producer's ability to supply kosher food;

1. Mixtures of foods
2. Transfers of kosher status

1) The kosher dietary laws prohibit the cooking of milk
and meat together. The resulting mixture cannot be
consumed or used at all by anyone who keeps kosher.

2) Once a utensil has been used in cooking any food it
acquires the status of that food. It becomes a "dairy" stove
or a "meat" knife and so on. Status continues to transfer.
A meat oven cannot be used to bake dairy food. If it is,
both food and oven become forbidden because they acquired
mixed - forbidden - status from each other.

Production Equipment

Here, in practical terms, is how the preceding two facts will
affect a manufacturer who wants to supply the kosher food market.

1) All equipment - machines, mixers, ovens, proofers, utensils,
cutlery, sinks, work surfaces and containers - which comes into
contact with food must be kosher. This means that if they were ever
used for non-kosher purposes, they must be "koshered" i.e. made kosher.

Note that only some items can be koshered. How to kosher is the
subject of a separate discussion. For purposes here, I can advise
that it's mostly a one-time procedure and usually not complex.

2) If production equipment becomes dairy, it may no longer be used
for meat (unless it is koshered). Further any food that is produced
on that equipment acquires dairy status from the equipment itself.
This is true even if the food being produced has no dairy ingredient.

3) The most versatile type of food, to a kosher consumer, is "parve".
Parve means neutral i.e. having neither meat nor
dairy status. Such an item can be mixed with anything.

Overall these requirements create additional variables.
With awareness and planning they can be factored into production
plans. Thousands of companies of all sizes do so.

Other Kosher Regulations

The regulations listed above are not the only ones. They are just
the ones that most affect success in entering the kosher food market.

Other requirements may call for:

• Restrictions on production during the Jewish Sabbath and holidays.
• Presence of an inspector during parts of production
• Limitations on the use of various ingredients or mixtures
• Inspection of ingredients which may be contaminated.

None of them are so significant as to offset the benefits of kosher
production. An examination of the "fine print" will confirm this.

3) Kosher Certification

That brings us to the third necessity, which is certification
by a kosher agency. Implementation of all the kosher regulations
must meet the standards of an expert. The leading kosher certification
agencies are listed in this "Who says It's Kosher?" section.
The choice of agency is an important one and should
be based on a number of factors including:

• acceptability
• reliability
• geographic location
• cost
• knowledge (of technology, production methods, sources of ingredients).

The effects of the wrong choice can be difficult to overcome.
Changing certification agencies can be even more difficult.
If, to this point, you believe that entry into the kosher food market is feasable, you owe it to yourself - and your customers - to be
as well informed as possible. Use the Contact Us form to make an inquiry.

4) Distribution

Marketing of your product to kosher consumers is not accomplished
by certification alone. That simply removes the barriers between your
product and the target market. Success in the kosher food market
still requires the correct mix of promotion, product placement and price.

Knowledge of the habits and attitudes of Jewish and kosher consumers
will clearly affect your success. The choice of marketing method and
of a distributor is almost as important as the choice of a kosher
certification agency. Interested companies are invited to use the
Contact Us form at left to investigate these matters as well.

To Summarize

1) With a few exceptions most foods can be
produced to conform with kosher dietary laws.
2) Entry into the kosher food market
can be achieved at relatively low cost.
3) The rewards can be significant.
4) Making correct choices is critically important.