Kosher Certificate: A Complete Guide for Food Exporters

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Kosher Certificate: A Complete Guide for Food Exporters

Foods that adhere to Jewish dietary laws are known as kosher foods. The kashrut laws are applicable to food that comes from living things. They specify what foods are allowed, how to prepare them and how to handle them. A kosher certificate is an official certification from a kosher certification agency. 

It certifies that a product's ingredients and manufacturing procedures adhere to Jewish dietary laws. If you are an exporter planning to export kosher foods, then this blog post will serve as a complete guide for you!

What is Kosher Certificate?

In Hebrew, ‘Kosher’ means ‘fit’, ‘correct’ or ‘proper’, and refers to what is permissible for observant Jews to eat. A Kosher Certificate means a document issued by a kosher certification agency that officially certifies that the food ingredients, production process including all machinery, and/or food-service process, are kosher and comply with the standards of kashrut.

Kashrut refers to Jewish dietary laws that dictate which foods are permitted and how they must be prepared and consumed. These laws are derived from the Torah, and specify which animals can be eaten, the slaughter method for meat/poultry (i.e., shechita), blood’s removal from meat, the prohibition against combining meat and dairy and the inspection of fruits and vegetables for insects.

List of Kosher Foods

Here is a list of some kosher foods:

• Fish having both fins and scales are kosher, such as anchovy, bass, brisling, buckling, carp, cod, coley, dab, dace, flounder, grayling, haddock, hake, halibut, herring, kipper, mackerel, mullet, perch, pilchard, plaice, roach, salmon, sardine, sole, sprat, trout, tuna, whitebait and whiting.

• Pure unadulterated butter, milk and cheese void of non-kosher ingredients or additives.

• Fresh yoghurt void of gelatine, unspecified emulsifiers or stabilisers, which are non-kosher.

• Nuts like peanuts, almonds, cashews, etc.

• Pure honey void of non-kosher ingredients or additives.

• Wine (produced according to kosher guidelines).

• Fresh fruits and vegetables free from any contamination with non-kosher substances, such as insecticides, are regarded as kosher foods. However, it is important to note that insects are non-kosher, so there must not be any insects within the fruit or vegetables. 

• All pareve foods (i.e., foods containing neither dairy nor meat) are kosher. 

List of Non-Kosher Foods

Here is a list of some non-kosher foods:

• Except for fish having both fins and scales, seafood is generally non-kosher. Some non-kosher seafoods are cockles, eels, lumpfish, monk fish, mussels, shrimps, turbot, catfish, caviare, clams, crab, frog, lobster, octopus, oyster, scallops, skate, snail, snake, sturgeon and turtle.

• Cheeseburger containing meat and cheese is not kosher since mixing meat with dairy is not permissible under Jewish dietary law.

• Meat from animals that don’t chew their cud and do not have cloven hooves. Therefore, animals such as pigs, rabbits and horses are non-kosher.

• Meat from cud chewing animals having cloven hooves that have not been slaughtered according to Jewish slaughter method (shechita).

• Meat of predators or birds of prey.

• Meat of a hybrid between a kosher animal and a non-kosher animal is considered non-kosher.

• Insects except for some species of locusts.

Requirements for Kosher Certification

The kosher certification in India is a process that can only be done in a fruitful manner if you are adhering to all of the kosher requirements. The general requirements for kosher certification India are as follows:

• Only meats coming from animals with cloven hooves are permissible.

• The blood has to be properly removed from the animal along with the forbidden fats

• Birds like eagle, owl, swan, pelican, vulture or stork should not be prepared,

• The dairy products should only come from kosher animals. 

• Dairy products should not include kosher derivatives

• Milk and meat should not be combined in any form. If you are selling cheeseburger, which is a combination of beef and cheese, then it is not counted as kosher and selling it will deem you uncertifiable. 

• Kosher eggs are the ones that do not contain blood

• When it comes to seafood, fish with both fins and scales are allowed, but aquatic animals such as shrimps, crabs, mussels, lobsters are not allowed. 

• The entire plant family comes under kosher foods

• If the foods are coming from plants that have been planted in the past three years, then the food is not considered to be kosher.

• When it comes to wine, bull blood, gelatine and casein are not permitted.

These are most of the basic kosher requirements that are needed to be taken into account before the Kosher certification process in India. Make sure that you heed to them and heed to them well. 

Individuals/Entities Eligible for Kosher Certificate

The following individuals and entities are apply for a kosher certificate for food export:

• Food Growers

• Food Processors

• Food Packagers

• Food Storage

• Food Manufacturers

• Businesses Dealing in Food Additives

• Food Transporters

• Food Retailers

• Food Chemical Businesses

• Slaughterhouse

• Shochet (Kosher Butcher)

• Restaurants

• Food Carts

• Bakeries

Documents Required for Kosher Certification

To secure Kosher certification, the following documents are required:

• Company’s details

• Import Export License

• Factory License

• GST Registration

• ID proof of owner(s)

• Address Proof of Company

• FSSAI License

• Shop and Establishment License

• List of all raw materials used

• List of food product and ingredients

• Product approval’s request 

• Details of Production Plant detail

• Process of Production’s Details

• KYC Details of Company

• Sample of Labels

• Copy of Supplier NOC 

Kosher Certification Process

In order to get the Kosher certification in India, you need to make sure that the way you are preparing your meals are according to the Kosher rules. The process of this particular certification is pretty conventional and it includes the following steps:

• Application for the certification: You need to file the application of Kosher certification to the right certification bodies. These bodies are pretty stringent when it comes to certification. Therefore, you need to make sure that the application is filed in the right manner. Furthermore, you also need to make sure that the Kosher certification requirements in India are met properly. 

• Auditing: Much like the halal certificate, the auditors involved with kosher certification mirror the religious community of the applicant. They are going to check each and every aspect of your infrastructure, your food preparation and other matters to see if you are certifiable or not. 

• Certification: Finally, there is the matter of certification. Once the auditing is done, an audit report is made. Once that is done, this report is analyzed. If the report is satisfactory, you are going to get the certification.

Once you have gotten the certification, you are going to receive it in an email format. You can request for a hard copy as well, but email is a much better option. 

List of Kosher Food Agencies in India

Mentioned below are some kosher food agencies in India that issue kosher certificate for packaged food business:

• Orthodox Kosher Supervision India

• Kosher Inspection Service India

• Kosher Certification India 

• Kosher East

• EZ Kosher

• KCJ Kosher

Conclusion

A kosher certificate is essential for ensuring compliance with kashrut laws and to appeal to observant Jewish consumers. To secure this certificate, you must file a certification application with a kosher certification agency. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1. Are shrimps and prawns kosher?

A. No, shrimps and prawns are not kosher. When it comes to seafood, only fish having both fins and scales are regarded as kosher. Shrimps and prawns do not have any fins or scales. Therefore, they are treif/non-kosher.

Q2. Is it kosher to eat meat with dairy?

A. No, according to kashrut, mixing meat with dairy is forbidden and is considered non-kosher. 

Q3. Who is a Shochet?

A. A shochet is a kosher butcher who slaughters meat using the shechita method.

Q4. What is Sakin?

A. Sakin refers to the knife used during the kosher slaughter process (shechita).

Q5. What are treif foods?

A. Treif foods refer to foods that are not in accordance with Jewish law, and are therefore, non-kosher. 

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