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From: rib@pyuxmm.UUCP (RI Block)
Newsgroups: net.religion.jewish
Subject: Re: Kosher Meals
Message-ID: <508@pyuxmm.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 22-Feb-84 23:04:59 EST
Article-I.D.: pyuxmm.508
Posted: Wed Feb 22 23:04:59 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 23-Feb-84 06:20:18 EST
References: <1815@cbscc.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Piscataway
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A Kosher meal is one whose ingredients satisfy at least the following criteria:
	1 - No prohibited item is used (more about this later)
	2 - No prohibited mixture of permitted items
		a) meat must be separate from dairy
		b) fish is not eaten *together* with meat
	3 - No contact with non-Kosher vessels (for our purposes liken
		this condition to sterility. Once a vessel contacts
		something non-Kosher, it remains non-Kosher until rectified.
An additional condition is that the preparation is under the control of
someone who is in a position to verify that the "Kosher audit trail"
is intact.

What ingredients are Kosher?
	1 - Fruits & Vegitables (but not the insects that sometimes accompany
		them)
	2 - Meat from permitted animals (chew cud + split hoof) PROVIDED THAT
		a) the animals were properly slaughtered and inspected
		b) prohibited fats and sinews are removed
		c) blood is removed in a manner prescribed by Jewish law
	2a - Fowl (very similar conditions to meat)
	3 - Milk from permitted animals and dairy products made from that milk
	4 - Fish (fins + scales)

What constitutes adequite supervision? It depends on the product supervised
and how difficult it would be to determine if Kosher integrity was compromised
In order of stringency:
	1 - Common knowledge of production technique (Sugar/Salt/Tea)
	2 - Official (Government) supervision (Milk)
	3 - Spot Check  (Most non-meat products)
	4 - Continuous surveilance (Meat, side-by-side Kosher/Non-Kosher)

Note: there is no correlation between Kosher and *jewish* food.