kosher gelatin

[Guest guest]

Hi All,

 

This is from VRG's new book Vegan & Vegetarian FAQ

(http://www.vrg.org/catalog/faq.htm)

 

 

Kosher gelatin can be made from fish bones, beef, Japanese

insinglass, agar agar, carrageenan, and Irish moss. According to the

September/October 1989 issue of Viewpoint, a magazine from the

National Council of Young Israel, " a tiny minority of rabbis permit

pork gelatin as a kosher product! " Contrary to assumptions, it is

also considered kosher to use animal-derived gelatin with dairy

products. Unless it is specified as being derived from a non-animal

source, such as agar agar and carrageenan, it is very possible that

kosher gelatin is animal-derived.

 

The general meaning of " pareve " refers to foods that are neither milk

nor meat, and many people assume this means that the product is

vegetarian. However, pareve certified ingredients can contain animal

products, such as fish and eggs. Kosher law is very complex and the

bones and hides used in gelatin production, even if they are not

kosher slaughtered, can be considered pareve by some kosher

certifying agencies. " Getting Into the Thick of Things, Which Gelatin

is Kosher? " an article from the February 2001 issue of Kashrus

Magazine, explains the many complexities surrounding kosher gelatin.

According to the article,

 

" [Horav Moshe Feinstein] writes that hides are not considered meat

(to prohibit its mixture with milk) by Torah Law, but they are

prohibited by Rabbinic Law. If they are dried and processed, the

gelatin that comes out is not included in this Rabbinic prohibition.

Therefore, gelatin produced from the hides of kosher-slaughtered

animal may be intentionally used with milk, provided that the hides

are cleaned to remove any meat residue. "

 

 

Davida

List Moderator

[Guest guest]

There are several different brands of kosher gelatin, few of them are the

" same old gelatin " , Kojel and Carmel are the most common in the US I think.

Kosher gelatin is usually made of seaweed derivatives like caragenan and is

vegan, but some (more all the time) are made from fish cartilage. Kosher

" rules " don't consider fish to be meat because fish do not have red blood.

 

 

Phil

 

" It's easy to say, 'It's not my child, not my community, not my world, not my

problem'. Then there are those who see the need and respond. I consider those

people my heroes. " - Fred Rogers

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Kosher gelatin is made from 'clean' animals like cows rather than pigs.

Kosher for Passover gelatin is made from seaweed carageenan and is vegan.

Emes makes Kosher for Passover gelatin.

 

Gelatin creeps into a lot of prepared foods, such as vegetable lasagne and

nearly all yogurt; you have to read the labels regularly because some brands

that didn't use it now do, and even some flavors of the same brand will have

it, while others won't.

---

Be kind. Be of good cheer.

Dick Ford