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Community of Interest for Kosher Foodstuffs
The IGfKL is, alongside the CCK, one of two commissions providing kosher services under the umbrella of the SIG. It controls foodstuffs, makes the necessary enquiries with the producers and disseminates the resulting information.
The IGfKL was founded in 1990 and has been a regulated commission of the SIG since the beginning of 2023. Before the foundation of the IGfKL, only rudimentary kosher lists had been drawn up by individual Jewish communities. Anyone wishing to obtain information about additional products often had to enquire directly with the producers, without necessarily knowing which aspects of the dietary laws of «kashrut» might give rise to concern. Such enquiries by laypersons placed a considerable administrative burden on producers while still failing to provide the level of assurance required for compliance with the rules of kashrut.
Two commissions for different communities
Today, the SIG’s kosher services are organised through two commissions. Alongside the IGfKL, there is also the Commission for Community Kashrut CCK. Both commissions operate under the administrative umbrella of the SIG but differ in their inspection standards and in the communities they represent.
The IGfKL currently comprises Jüdische Gemeinde Agudas Achim Zürich, Israelitische Gemeinde Basel IGB, Communauté Israélite Orthodoxe de Genève «Machsikei Hadass», Israelitische Kultusgemeinde Endingen and Israelitische Religionsgesellschaft Zürich IRG.
High testing standards
From its foundation onwards, the IGfKL has maintained high standards both in the scientific and technical examination of products and with regard to halakha, the Jewish legal tradition. These standards reflect the needs of the communities represented within the IGfKL. They ensure that products available on the general market can be assessed for their suitability in a kosher household. This reduces costs for consumers while also sparing rabbinates and producers from having to deal with numerous individual enquiries.
Community kosher lists
After defining priorities regarding the selection of products to be tested, the IGfKL carries out the necessary enquiries and examinations. The responsible rabbi then approves the reports for the individual products. Responsibility is subsequently passed on to the rabbinates of the individual communities, which are free to decide which products to include on their own kosher lists and how to inform their members. The kosher lists are also an important resource for tourists and business travellers who wish to maintain a kosher diet.
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