OK Kosher Certification facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Hechsher of Organized Kashrut Laboratories |
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| Certifying agency | Organized Kashrut Laboratories |
| Founded | 1935 |
| Headquarters | 391 Troy Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11213 U.S. |
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OK Kosher Certification is a big organization that checks if food products follow Jewish dietary laws, known as kosher. They are based in Brooklyn, New York. OK Kosher is one of the "Big Five," meaning it's one of the five largest groups that certify food as kosher in the United States. They also have a strong presence in Asia.
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What is Kosher Food?
Kosher food means it meets the rules of kashrut, which are Jewish dietary laws. These rules cover what foods can be eaten and how they must be prepared. For example, certain animals are not kosher, and meat and dairy products cannot be eaten together. A kosher certification agency like OK Kosher helps make sure that food companies follow these rules.
How OK Kosher Started
Founding the Organization
In 1935, a person named Abraham Goldstein started Organized Kashrut Laboratories, also known as OK Labs. He created it because the Jewish community in America needed a way to know which food products were kosher.
Growth Under New Leadership
In 1968, Rabbi Bernard Levy bought OK Labs. He had already been involved in checking food for kosher rules for several years. When he took over, OK Labs was certifying only a few companies. But under his leadership, the organization grew a lot and started certifying companies all over the world.
Rabbi Levy made important changes to how kosher checks were done. Before him, many ingredients were just assumed to be kosher without visiting the companies that made them. Rabbi Levy's new rule was to visit every company to see how the food was made firsthand. This often led him to check other companies too, especially if ingredients were made up of many smaller parts. As OK Kosher grew, Rabbi Levy's son, Rabbi Don Yoel Levy, joined to help expand the organization even more.
OK Kosher Today
Leadership Changes
After Rabbi Bernard Levy passed away in 1987, his son, Rabbi Don Yoel Levy, became the leader of OK Kosher. Rabbi Don Yoel Levy led the organization until he passed away in 2020. After that, a group called the Executive Rabbinical Council took over the responsibility of leading OK Kosher.
Global Reach and Impact
Today, more than 10 million people in the United States alone look for kosher products. The kosher food industry has grown very quickly in the last 20 years. OK Kosher now certifies over 140,000 products from more than 1,500 companies around the world. This includes big food companies like Kraft, Snapple, and ConAgra. OK Kosher employs over 350 rabbis worldwide who work as mashgichim (kosher supervisors).
Besides giving kosher certification, OK Kosher also helps teach people about kosher laws. They have books about the topic, and many popular kosher-approved recipes.
Locations and Events
OK Kosher's main office is in Brooklyn, New York. They also have offices in Europe and Israel. Each year, OK Kosher holds a conference for its mashgichim at the Jewish Children's Museum. In 2014, OK Kosher won the rights to use the ".kosher" internet domain name. In 2015, another kosher certification group called Kehilla Kosher from Los Angeles joined with OK Kosher. The agency often expands its supervision to more restaurants, especially in New York.
See also
