Articles

By Rabbi Dovid Cohen, Administrative Rabbinic Coordinator

Q. Do hashgachos pay any attention to food safety?

A. The basic attitude of most hashgachos is that the local Department of Health has the expertise to determine whether food is safe, and that is not something that the Rabbis need to get involved with.  One exception is that although smoking and vaping are legal, most hashgachos will not certify cigarettes, cigars, or vape juice, because they do not want to be seen as endorsing those practices which are known to raise health concerns.  Similarly, recreational THC/marijuana is legal in certain states, but most hashgachos will not certify them for the same reason that they would not certify cigarettes.  Nonetheless, they would – and do – certify marijuana intended for medical use.  [Vape juice and marijuana are made with kosher-sensitive ingredients.]

However, there are several places where the halacha has its own concepts of which food-related items are dangerous, and hashgachos definitely keep those in mind when granting certification.  The most well-known of that is the Shulchan Aruch’s ruling that it is dangerous to eat meat (or poultry) and fish together.  For this reason, if a sauce contains anchovies (a type of fish), or a marshmallow is made with kosher fish gelatin, there would be a “fish” designation next to the kosher logo, so that consumers know not to eat this food with meat.  [Most assume that if the fish is batel, then the food may be eaten with meat, and that is why some sauces etc. contain fish but are still labeled as pareve.]

A second issue is that the Gemara says that one should not leave peeled or cracked eggs (or garlic or onions) overnight.  Hashgachos who follow the Gemara as stated will not certify peeled or liquid eggs.  Many hashgachos assume that since this ruling is not recorded in Shulchan Aruch, it is not relevant nowadays, and they will certify any of those products.  There are also certifying agencies which take a middle-ground between these extremes: some allow liquid or peeled eggs if other ingredients are added, with different approaches of how much must be added, and Iggeros Moshe rules that the Gemara (basically) only applies in a home setting, but not for foods produced commercially.

One last case worth noting is that the Gemara says that a person cannot drink water that was left uncovered, due to fear that a snake may have put venom into it.  As relates to this halacha, Shulchan Aruch rules that since there are no venomous snakes in the areas where we live, we no longer have to be concerned about this issue.  Some scrupulous individuals choose to nonetheless follow the Gemara’s directive, but most people – and all certifying agencies – follow Shulchan Aruch and do not insist that water never be left uncovered.

This article first appeared in the Let’s Talk Kashrus column, Yated Ne’eman, November 8, 2024.