Each religion has its own interesting peculiarities and oddities - among the Jews, this includes kosher.
Why is this information useful to us too?
The kosher sign - (U) indicates that the product meets all the requirements of kosher (in Hebrew - suitable), that is, a set of ritual rules, Jewish laws on the use of the product (no pork, no contact of a dairy product with meat, etc.). The right to use this mark is granted by the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America (UOJCA), also known as the Orthodox Union (OU).
Ehsher (or action) is a special sign, graphic or text, which confirms the kosher of the product and the highest quality of workmanship. This mark is a registered trademark and is protected by applicable law. The action text is usually written in Hebrew. Only the rabbi who confirmed the kosher of a particular product (mashgeh) should be allowed to install an ehsher. Organizations that are allowed to put such signs undergo rigorous quality checks and compliance with the rules for the production of products.
An ehsher requirement is a requirement for the quality of the product and, accordingly, for the quality of raw materials. Therefore, the line on which such a product is planned to be produced is forcibly cleaned. So as to exclude the possibility of even the smallest proportion of foreign substances entering (cleaner production). If the equipment cannot be cleaned, then the product cannot be produced - more precisely, it will not have a corresponding sign on it.
According to the rules, all food is divided into 3 types: meat, dairy and "neutral", called parve. The echsher sign alone does not mean hypoallergenic. Except for products marked "neutral": these products do not contain any proportion of products made with dairy or meat ingredients.
There are many organizations for the production and certification of ehsher products. The most common sign is U or OU (Orthodox Union). It can be found on Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Jim Beam, Heinz and other products. The type of product is indicated by a small letter to the right of the sign:
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OU - does not contain meat or milk, "neutral" product
OU-D - dairy product
OU-M (OU-Glatt) - contains meat or meat ingredients
OU-F - with fish ingredients
Sometimes this sign looks like a funny face - like a blurry smile in the circle of the face. But if you look closely, you can see two English letters OU, with the second letter embedded in the circle of the first. This pair of letters smiles from packages, cans, boxes, bottles, bags and crates around the globe.
This is not a code or a sign of a mysterious Masonic lodge. It is the trademark of the largest Jewish orthodox organization in the United States and Canada, the Orthodox Union, which unites nearly 1,100 synagogues in North America. Created over 80 years ago, this umbrella structure today represents and supports the interests of Orthodox Jewry as the only superpower.
Over the decades of its activity, OY has managed to realize an ambitious goal: wherever a believing Jew is on planet Earth, he can find kosher food everywhere with a stamp of two laughing letters. To date, more than 400,000 product names have been declared kosher under the auspices of the OY.
Recently, the food range of OYO has expanded due to the massive flow of Chinese products to the North American market. There has even been a special unit called OYu China to adapt Chinese delicacies to food standards that are allowed to obeying Jews. In principle, any manufacturer of food and related products can apply to the OJ office from their home country to request kosher for their products. The purpose of this step is quite clear: whoever wants to successfully advance in the American market thinks about the kosher stamp.
Why? Because every year the number of Americans buying exactly kosher foods in supermarkets is growing. And it is not Jews who make up the majority of these buyers! Jews make up 2.5 percent of the US population, and according to the latest market research, 15 percent of American shoppers consistently purchase kosher. Another 58 percent of survey participants said they buy kosher goods “from time to time”. Bottom Line: Almost 20 percent of Americans - 40-50 million people - prefer kosher-certified food.
Thus, OJ serves not only Jews, but also a huge part of American society. Many vegetarians choose kosher dairy, fish and vegetable products, trusting Jewish food standards. They say that believing Jews will definitely not have cheese with meat components, and the salad will be thoroughly cleaned of bugs. Another striking point is that 16 percent of kosher buyers are Muslims who rely on the strict principles of kosher. Where else can a poor Muslim be sure that he will not be porked under the guise of turkey meat, if not in the kosher section of the supermarket ?!
Translated from Hebrew, "kosher" means "permitted." The set of rules that determine the kosher of something, in turn, is called kosher. “In principle, literature, behavior, and much more can be kosher, but it just so happens that basically this term is used in relation to food,” explains Avroom Arshinov.
There are a lot of kosher rules. Some of them may look somewhat strange to the uninitiated: for example, meat neither in a saucepan, nor on a plate, nor in the stomach should "mix" with milk. And if cows, sheep, moose, mountain goats, subject to all other conditions, are initially kosher, then pigs, camels, tigers, elephants and frogs are not. The source of all the laws that determine what is allowed and what is not is the Torah, that is, the five books of the Old Testament prophet Moses.
“In fact, kashrut is built not only on religiosity. If it were so, then it would not have received such wide distribution. It's just that many researchers, primarily American ones, prove that kosher food is healthy. It is on this basis that the kashrut industry has grown in the world. Nowadays, most large companies have kosher divisions in their structure. There is not a single store in the United States that does not sell kosher products,”says Avroom Arshinov.
The structure of the kosher industry is the same in all countries. A company that is going to produce the "correct" product sends it to a kashrut laboratory for certification. If everything is in order, then the product gets the right to have the so-called "action" - a special badge by which the apologist of the kosher lifestyle recognizes the goods allowed for eating in the store.
Many products, such as the legendary Marshmallow Fluff creamy marshmallow, have this mark on their labels. The sweetness loved by Americans and many Russians annually undergoes strict control and certification by the Orthodox Union of the USA and Canada.
Who might benefit from this information?
People who are allergic to milk or meat. A product marked "neutral" can be safely eaten and at the same time be completely confident in its safety for health.
Those who are on a diet or are actively involved in sports. This type of food will be an excellent addition to the diet.
For those who just want to make sure they are buying top quality wholesome food.
By the way, there is an interesting story associated with this society
The chairman of the Jewish community gambled money from members of the community - almost a million dollars - at the London Stock Exchange and initiated his own kidnapping. Scandal in the Kharkiv Jewish community "Orthodox Union". Its chairman Dmitry Shuval was detained in Dnepropetrovsk.
According to the SBU and the police, his father informed law enforcement officers about the disappearance of Dmitry Shuval. Like, a week ago they were supposed to meet near one of the banks where Dmitry wanted to transfer money to his father - 100 thousand dollars. But he did not find his son either at the meeting place or in the bank. The only thing that we managed to find was Shuval's car, which was nearby.
According to the statement, the police opened a criminal case - a version of kidnapping, robbery and even murder was considered. After all, Dmitry did not get in touch all the time, and his mobile phone did not answer, but on the fourth day, according to the SBU press center, law enforcement officers found a living and healthy Shuval in Dnepropetrovsk, in one of the apartments in a residential area.
According to investigators, the man himself staged his abduction, as on the eve he lost on the London Stock Exchange almost a million dollars, which he received from the bank on the security of 6 apartments, which are the property of his own religious community. So I wanted to avoid financial claims.
Now, according to law enforcement officers, he is already giving evidence. But in the Orthodox Union community itself, any comments on this matter are avoided. In fact, the community office is always open, now it is closed - the workers refuse to communicate with journalists.
The Orthodox Union community, according to Kharkov Jewish organizations, appeared in the early 1990s. It exists at the expense of sponsors from America and Israel, and is quite isolated even from the synagogue and others, including the Orthodox communities of the city. Basically, her activities are focused on the functioning of the "Shaalavim" Lyceum.
In Russia and the CIS countries, the ehsher of the Chief Rabbi of Russia, Berl Lazar, is very common. It's also easy to read. Also in the circle are the letters KR (Kosher Russia) written one under the other. Products are produced under its kosher, incl. in the CIS countries.