Kosher standards

What are kosher standards?

Judaism is one of the five major world religions. Similar to the Muslim dietary laws (halal), the Jewish dietary laws, known as “kashrut”, also require special handling of food. The Hebrew word “kosher” means “permitted/pure” and is part of the Jewish dietary laws. The laws are part of the Torah, which consists of 248 commandments and 365 prohibitions and forms the first part of the Hebrew Bible.

The most important nutritional requirements at a glance:

1. Food is generally divided into meaty, dairy and neutral. Only mammals that are ruminants and cloven-hoofed animals (cattle, sheep, goats & fallow deer) are permitted as meat products. Poultry is only kosher if it has been bred. The meat must also be slaughtered in accordance with Jewish requirements.
2. Meaty and dairy foods must never be eaten together. There must be at least 6 hours between eating the two types of food.
3. Neutral foods are, for example, eggs, vegetables or fruit and can be eaten with anything.
4. In addition, cookware and other utensils that come into contact with (hot) food should only be used for one of the above categories at a time.

What does this mean for manufacturing companies?

Companies that produce food and also want to tap into the important Jewish consumer market must be able to produce “kosher” food that complies with kashrut rules. Such foods must be clearly labeled for end consumers. In order to be able to offer kosher products in stores, the production facilities must be inspected and then certified. The company then receives a Hechscher or Kashrut seal. During certification, raw material details including suppliers, product groups, processes and recipes must be disclosed. In addition, a separation of the production of meaty and dairy products and kosher cleaning of the production facilities must be guaranteed. Slaughterhouses must have specially trained staff to slaughter the animals.

Kosher certification

At Ebbecke Verfahrenstechnik in Bruchköbel, the kosher standard is also guaranteed by continuous quality assurance.

Certification initially involves a consultation with the certifying institute. This is usually followed by a visit to the production facilities and an inspection of the equipment, raw materials used and finished products. If facilities have previously been used for the production of non-kosher products, kosher sterilization is carried out.

Comprehensive hygiene and kosher standards at Ebbecke Verfahrenstechnik

Process engineering systems for the food and pharmaceutical sectors, such as those used by Ebbecke Verfahrenstechnik, have to meet particularly high hygiene requirements anyway. Our systems comply with all the necessary rules and guidelines down to the last detail – from the selection of materials and individual components to surfaces and cleaning procedures. We would be happy to discuss the details with you in person.