What are Kosher Standards?

Judaism is one of the five major world religions. Similar to Muslim dietary laws (Halal), Jewish dietary laws, called “Kashrut,” 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 as well as 365 prohibitions and forms the first part of the Hebrew Bible.

The main dietary commandments at a glance:

1. food is generally divided into meaty, dairy and neutral. Only mammals that are ruminants and split hoofed (cattle, sheep, goats & fallow deer) are permitted as meat products. Poultry is kosher only if it has been bred. In addition, the meat must be slaughtered according to Jewish requirements.
2. meat and dairy must never be eaten in conjunction with each other. There must be at least 6 hours between eating the two types of food.
3. neutral foods are for example eggs, vegetables or fruits and they may be eaten with everything.
4. cookware and other utensils that come into contact with the (hot) food should only be used for one of the above categories at a time.

What does this mean for producing companies?

Companies that produce food and also want to tap into the significant 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 accordingly, an inspection of the production facilities is necessary, which is followed by certification. 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, the production of meaty and dairy products must be separated and kosher cleaning of the production facilities must be ensured. Slaughterhouses must have specially trained personnel to slaughter the animals.

Kosher certification

At Ebbecke Verfahrenstechnik in Bruchköbel, the kosher standard is also ensured 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 and raw materials used as well as finished products. If facilities have previously been used to manufacture non-kosher products, kosher sterilization is performed.

Comprehensive hygiene and kosher standards at Ebbecke Verfahrenstechnik

Process plants for the food and pharmaceutical industry, such as those used by Ebbecke Verfahrenstechnik, have to meet particularly high hygiene standards anyway. Our plants comply with all required rules and guidelines down to the last detail – from the selection of materials and individual components to surfaces and cleaning procedures. We would be pleased to inform you about the details in a personal meeting.