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Comments (0)Ever wonder why most gummy products don’t have kosher certification? The answer: gelatin.
Gelatin is made from the boiled connective tissues found in the bones, skins and tendons of animals. It is derived from the Latin word “gelatus,” which means stiff or frozen.
Until recently, all conventional gelatins in the U.S. were made from the skin and bones of pigs or non-kosher beef. Several companies, however, have lately developed kosher gelatins. Kosher gelatin can be made with fish bones and/or beef skins of glatt kosher animals, animals that have undergone proper slaughtering, salting and checking procedures.
This gelatin is found in dairy products, as Rabbi Moshe Feinstein ruled, if clean hides were processed in a way rendering them tasteless, the product could be considered pareve. Others said that so long as less than 1/60 of the dairy product contained this meat gelatin, it would be considered acceptable. (Similar decisions were rendered regarding the use of fish-derived gelatin with meat products, since most kashrut certifiers hold that you cannot mix meat and fish.)
A product must contain proper kosher certification to confirm it was made with kosher gelatin. If not sure, check with a rabbi you trust. Nowadays you can also find vegan gelatin, though it is still less common in kosher products.