Kosher Diet

Kashrut or kashruth, kashrus (Hebrew: כַּשְרוּת, kašrûṯ ) or "keeping kosher" (Hebrew: כָּשֵר, kāšēr) is the name of the Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha (Jewish law) is termed kosher in English, from the Hebrew term kashér, meaning "fit" (in this context, fit for consumption by Jews according to traditional Jewish law). Some Jews may not eat non-kosher food (but there are no restrictions for non-dietary use, for example, injection of insulin of porcine origin. The Islamic equivalent for Muslims is halal food, which overlaps considerably with kosher, but is not identical. Food not in accord with Jewish law is termed treif, trafe (Yiddish: טרייף from טְרֵפָה ṭərēp̄āh, "torn"); the Hebrew term refers to animals (from a kosher species such as cattle or sheep) which had been either incorrectly slaughtered or mortally wounded by wild beasts and therefore were not fit for human consumption. Among Sephardim, it typically only refers to meat that is not kosher. Sometimes, non-kosher food in general may be dismissed with the colloquial term chazir-treif, which literally means "as unfit as pork", the pig having become perhaps the most notable symbol of the non-kosher animal.

Many of the basic laws of kashrut are in the Torah's Book of Leviticus, with their details set down in the oral law (the Mishnah and the Talmud) and codified by the Shulchan Aruch and later rabbinical authorities. Many varied reasons have been offered for these laws, ranging from philosophical and ritualistic, to practical and hygienic; see below for examples and explanations.

The word kosher has been borrowed by many languages, including English. In its strictest meaning it means "fit", but as in Yiddish it also generally means legitimate, acceptable, permissible, genuine or authentic in a broader sense.


Principles
There are many rules and details of kashrut, not all of which can be detailed in an article. Among different branches and communities of Orthodox Judaism there are differences of detail and nuance.

Key principles of kashrut are:

Restrictions on permissible foods (See Kosher foods):
Land animals must be mammals which chew their cud (ruminate) and have cloven hooves.
Birds of prey are prohibited.
Fish must have fins and scales, and other seafood is prohibited.
All insects are forbidden, except for certain species of Kosher Locust.
Meat and milk (and anything made with dairy and meat products) cannot be served in the same meal, or cooked using the same dishes or utensils, or stored in a way that could cause them to intermingle. Observant Jews have separate dishes for meat and milk.
Kosher slaughter of animals and birds. Kashrut requires all animals (and birds) to be slaughtered by a trained individual (a shochet) using a special method of slaughter, shechita. Among other features, shechita slaughter severs the jugular vein, carotid artery, esophagus and trachea in a single cut with an unserrated, sharp knife.
In the case of birds or land animals, the body must be checked post-slaughter so as to be certain that the animal had no medical condition that would have caused it to die of its own accord.
Blood from a bird or land animal is forbidden to eat, while blood from a fish is kosher.
Blood must be thoroughly removed from all meat, using one of several methods such as soaking and salting, or broiling.
Utensils (and whole kitchens) which are used with non-kosher foods are generally considered to have been rendered non-kosher, and will transfer that non-kosher status to kosher foods. Alternatively, such utensils may be made kosher again by one of several methods appropriate to the utensil and circumstances. These methods include immersion in boiling water, heating, and other methods.
Food cannot have been prepared by Jews in a manner which violates the Shabbat (Sabbath).
On Passover, special rules prohibit leavening (chametz). These rules include prohibitions on certain grains susceptible to leavening, the products of such grains, and similar products. Any utensils which were used in preparing and serving chametz are also forbidden on Passover. Observant Jews traditionally have separate sets of meat and dairy utensils for Passover use only. The prohibition against chametz on Passover is much more stringent than the year-round laws of kashrut.
Certain foods must have been prepared in whole or in part by Jews, including:
The following are observed universally in Orthodox circles
Wine (Kosher wine)
Certain cooked foods (bishul akum)
Cheese (gvinas akum)
The following are not universally observed even in Orthodox circles
Bread (under certain circumstances)[1][2][3]
Certain dairy products (cholov Yisroel)[4][5][6]
Biblical rules control the use of agriculture produce: for produce grown in the Land of Israel a modified version of the Biblical tithes must be applied, including Terumat HaMaaser, Maaser Rishon, Maaser Sheni, and Maaser Ani (untithed produce is called Tevel); the fruit of the first three years of a tree’s growth or replanting are forbidden for eating or any other use as Orlah [2]; produce grown in the Land of Israel on the seventh year is Shviis, and unless managed carefully is forbidden as a violation of the Shmita (Sabbatical Year).
The following rules of kashrut are not universally observed:

The rule against eating new grain (Yoshon) outside the Land of Israel
In addition, some groups follow various eating restrictions on Passover which go beyond the rules of kashrut, such as the eating of gebrochts or garlic.[3]

Conservative Judaism follows a number of leniencies, including:

Permitting kashering with less than boiling water under certain circumstances (which permits a dishwasher to be used for meat and dairy dishes, although not at the same time, provided the dishwasher will not absorb particles of the food)
Classifying various chemical additives derived from non-kosher meat products as nonfood and permissible (for example, permitting rennet from cow's stomachs to be used in cheese and horse-hoof gelatin in foods)
A variety of additional details.[specify]
Although Reconstructionist Judaism and some perspectives within Reform Judaism encourage individuals to follow some or all aspects of the kashrut rules required by the more traditional branches, these branches do not require their observance and do not maintain their own sets of required rules.


Types of foods
For more details on this topic, see Kosher foods.
Foods are kosher when they meet all criteria that Jewish law applies to food and drinks. Invalidating characteristics may range from the presence of a mixture of meat and milk, to the use of produce from Israel that has not been tithed properly, or even the use of cooking utensils which had previously been used for non-kosher food.


Identification of kosher foods

Kosher meat dishes in the Jüdisches Museum (Berlin)- 18th and early 20th century.
Dairy dishes in the Jüdisches Museum (Berlin)- 19th centuryFor more details on this topic, see Hechsher.
Store-bought foods can be identified as kosher by the presence of a hechsher (plural hechsherim), a graphical symbol that indicates that the food has been certified as kosher by a rabbinical authority. (This might be an individual rabbi, but is more often a rabbinic organization.) One of the most common symbols in the United States is the "OU", a U inside a circle, standing for the Union of Orthodox Congregations (or "Orthodox Union"). Many rabbis and organizations, however, have their own certification mark, and the other symbols are too numerous to list.

A single K is sometimes used as a symbol for kosher, but as a letter cannot be trademarked (the method by which other symbols are protected from misuse) in many countries, it only indicates that the company producing the food considers it to be kosher.

The hechsheirim of certain authorities are sometimes considered invalid by certain other authorities. [citation needed]

It is not sufficient to read the list of ingredients on a product label in order to determine a food's kosher status, as many things are not included in this list, such as pan lubricants and release agents (which may be derived from lard), flavorings ("natural flavorings" are more likely to be derived from non-kosher substances than others) and others. Reading the label can, however, identify obviously unkosher ingredients.

Producers of foods and food additives can contact Jewish authorities to have their products certified as kosher: a committee will visit their facilities to inspect production methods and contents, and issue a certificate if everything is in order. In many cases constant supervision is required.

For various reasons, such as changes in manufacturing processes, products which were kosher may cease to be so; for example, a kosher lubricating oil may be replaced by one containing tallow. Such changes are often coordinated with the supervising rabbi or organization to ensure that new packaging, which will not suggest any hechsher or kashrut, is used for the new formulation. But in some cases existing stocks of preprinted labels with the hechsher may continue to be used on the now non-kosher product; for such reasons, there is an active "grapevine" among the Jewish community, as well as newspapers and periodicals, identifying which products are now questionable, as well as products which have become kosher but whose labels have yet to carry the hechsher.