{"id":17625,"date":"2021-07-02T09:00:20","date_gmt":"2021-07-02T13:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/?p=17625"},"modified":"2021-06-17T10:10:41","modified_gmt":"2021-06-17T14:10:41","slug":"kosher-gelatin-update-for-vegetarians-and-vegans-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/2021\/07\/02\/kosher-gelatin-update-for-vegetarians-and-vegans-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"Kosher Gelatin Update for Vegetarians and Vegans [2021]"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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By Jeanne Yacoubou, MS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nVRG received an inquiry about pig-derived kosher gelatin. Our reader wondered\nif there were any updates to our 2008 article<\/a> titled Gelatin:<\/em>\nSometimes Kosher But Still not Typically Vegetarian<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At that time we interviewed several leading kosher certifying agencies who unequivocally stated that pig-derived gelatin could never be kosher. In April 2021, we contacted two leading kosher certifying agencies, Star-K and the Orthodox Union, to see if their positions had changed. Again, representatives on both of their consumer telephone lines said without any<\/em> hesitation that \u201cgelatin from pigs is never kosher.\u201d For more, see:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/oukosher.org\/blog\/consumer-kosher\/gelatin-revisited\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

www.star-k.org\/articles\/kashrus-kurrents\/1404\/getting-into-continued-on-page-4-the-thick-of-things-gelatin\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rabbi\nAmiel Novoseller of the kosher certifying agency, Ko Kosher Service<\/a> , did not agree\nwith that stance in 2008 when we last spoke with him. In his opinion, porcine\ngelatin is kosher. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\ncaught up with him in 2021 to see if there were any updates to his viewpoint.\nRabbi Novoseller told us that his stance \u201chas not changed at all.\u201d Here is his\njustification (reprinted from our 2008 article): <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c…gelatin is not a food. At one time\nduring its processing, when the bones and hides of animals are treated with\nacid during the gelatin extraction process, gelatin was not a food. In fact, it\nwas “inedible even to a dog,” referring to a commonly known Jewish\ntest of what is or is not a food. According to Jewish dietary laws, “If\nsomething is not a food, it cannot be non-kosher.” Therefore, according to\nRabbi Novoseller, gelatin is<\/strong> kosher, regardless of animal species and\nslaughter method.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gelatin\nused as a processing aid in food and beverage products and in pharmaceuticals<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

During\nour discussion in April 2021, Rabbi Novoseller provided added insight to the\nissue of gelatin in food products. He stated that sometimes gelatin may be used\nduring the processing of a food because it performs well during certain\nfiltration or suspension stages, unlike other substances. In these cases,\ngelatin is not in the final food, and, so, would not appear on the label. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vegetarians\nand vegans, in these cases, could not know if gelatin were used as a processing\naid unless they contacted the food product company directly about unlabeled\nprocessing aids. For tips on how to get ingredient information from food\ncompanies, readers may find our article<\/a> on this topic\nhelpful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rabbi\nNovoseller also pointed out that gelatin of any source, used for medicinal\npurposes, could be considered permissible for consumption under Jewish law on\nthe basis of \u201cpreservation of life\u201d whether the gelatin had been certified\nkosher or not. This includes porcine gelatin in pharmaceuticals used during\nmanufacture or in the final product. He noted, however, that kosher\nalternatives, if they exist, are always preferred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If\nconsumers are unsure of what to ask companies specifically<\/em> about gelatin\nused as a processing aid in food or beverage products or in pharmaceuticals\nthat they wish to consume, they should consult with the kosher agency that\ncertified the product in question for more information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rabbi\nNovoseller declined to provide names of specific products or companies using\nporcine gelatin that he certifies. He noted that there are at least 4-5 other\nrabbis\/kosher certifiers who consider porcine gelatin as kosher. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\nalso pointed out that since several of these certifiers as well as pig gelatin\nmanufacturing plants exist, we can conclude that kosher and non-kosher porcine\ngelatin are currently in many food and beverage products and pharmaceuticals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rabbi\nSheldon Goldsmith on porcine gelatin<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another\nkosher certifier of porcine gelatin is Rabbi Sheldon Goldsmith who spoke with\nThe Vegetarian Resource Group in May 2021. Rabbi Goldsmith’s position is that\npig-derived gelatin is not a meat byproduct, and, so, can be considered both\nkosher and pareve. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\nlater wrote to us:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe production of the gelatin starts with the refinement of collagen-bearing tissues of any animal that has been raised and slaughtered for food purposes. The principal collagen-bearing tissue used is hide trimmings. These materials are carefully soaked in alkalis and\/or acids and washed in clean water to remove almost all non-collagen constituents, including meat. During this soaking period the collagen is converted to gelatin. The treated materials are then cooked gently in pure water to extract the gelatin, which is further refined by filtration. The gelatin extract is then evaporated and dried to produce gelatin of the highest grade. (Contrary to common belief, gelatin is not manufactured from horns or hooves or meat of animals, for these do not contain the necessary collagen.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is interesting to note that during manufacture of gelatin, chemical changes take place so that, in the final gelatin product, the composition and identity of the original material is completely eliminated. Because of this, gelatin is not considered a meat food product by the United States government. The [manufacturing] plant is under supervision of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. If the government considered gelatin a meat food product, the plant would operate under the Meat Inspection Branch of the Department of Agriculture.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rabbi\nGoldsmith provided a summary of the Halachic principles used to justify his\nview:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026When by chemical processes, the\nelements are separated and a new substance is produced\u2026 since it cannot be\nattained unless the original material is dried and spoiled, even if later, by\nchemical processes, it is given a good taste, it is considered a new\nsubstance…Kosher and Pareve. Thus, by all standards Gelatin may be classified\nas a new substance regardless of its origin<\/strong> prior to the various\nchemical treatments and processes preceding the product called gelatin.\u201d [Note:\nBold accent added by The VRG.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NOTE FROM\nTHE EDITOR: When relying on kosher, vegetarian, vegan, animal welfare, organic,\nor any other certification on a label, you should investigate the criteria of\nthe certification and how it matches your needs. Each certification most likely\nwill have somewhat different approaches and interpretations. 
\n
\nThe contents of this posting, our website, and our other publications, including\nVegetarian Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice.\nMedical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We\noften depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It\nis impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have\ndifferent views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgment about\nwhether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or\nconfirmation on your own.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Jeanne Yacoubou, MS The VRG received an inquiry about pig-derived kosher gelatin. Our reader wondered if there were any updates to our 2008 article titled Gelatin: Sometimes Kosher But Still not Typically Vegetarian. At that time we interviewed several leading kosher certifying agencies who unequivocally stated that pig-derived gelatin could never be kosher. In […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17625","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17625"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17625\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17628,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17625\/revisions\/17628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}