How to Know If Food Is Kosher

How to Know If Food Is Kosher

A guide on how to easily identify kosher foods in the supermarket by reading product labels, recognizing certification symbols, and understanding dietary sub-categories.

Perhaps now, more than at any other time in history, it is easy to determine which foods in the supermarket are kosher. With pre-printed packaging, it is as simple as reading the label!

1. Know what "kosher" means. Kosher food is prepared according to the Jewish dietary laws outlined in the Bible. Kosher meats and poultry must be slaughtered in a specific manner and drained of their blood before preparation to be considered kosher. Meat and dairy may never be prepared together. Only certain animals—specifically those that chew their cud and have split hooves—may be eaten, and even then, only certain parts of the animals can be consumed.
2. Know the symbols. When an Orthodox agency has determined that a food is kosher, it affixes its symbol to the food packaging. By learning these symbols, you can determine if a food is kosher, as well as the standards and strictness to which the food and its preparation have been held.
   • For the past 50 years, a respected kosher certification agency has been the Chicago Rabbinical Council. Their symbol, CRC, indicates that the food meets the standards of one of the most highly respected nonprofit Orthodox agencies in the United States.
   • The OU symbol stands for the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations. If you see this symbol on your package, the product has been certified kosher according to very strict standards.
   • Other symbols include Kof-K, located in Teaneck, NJ; Triangle K, an organization run by Orthodox Jewish rabbis; and Star-K, whose organization boasts the highest technological advances in kosher food preparation today.
3. Know the sub-categories. This allows you to tell whether the food is meat, dairy, or neither meat nor dairy (Pareve).
   • The word "dairy" or the letter "D" means that the package contains some form of milk or dairy.
   • The word "meat," the letter "M," or the word "glatt" (smooth), if placed near the kosher symbol, means that the food package contains some form of meat.
   • If there is the letter "F" next to the kosher symbol, it means that the package contains fish ingredients.
   • If the word "Pareve," "Parev," or "Parve" is next to the symbol, it means that the package contains neither meat nor dairy.
   • If the letter "P" is placed next to the kosher symbol, or in conjunction with any of the letters mentioned above, it means that the product is kosher year-round, as well as specifically for Passover.

By knowing the symbols and letters on the food label, you can easily tell if a food package contains kosher or non-kosher items.