Community of Interest for Kosher Foodstuffs
The IGfKL is a commission of the SIG and assists in the development of the kosher lists of the Jewish communities. 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 IGfKL, only rudimentary kosher lists had been drawn up by individual Jewish communities. Whoever wanted information about further products had to enquire directly at the producers, often without knowing exactly what concerns there might be regarding the dietary laws of «kashrut». Such enquiries by laypersons added to the administrative burden of the producers, without providing any assurance that the kashrut rules were really and fully being observed.
High test standards
From the start, the IGfKL strived for high standards regarding both the scientific and technical enquiries about products and the «halakha» perspective, the Jewish legal tradition. This ensures the reliability of the tests with regard to the kosher nature of the products concerned. As a result, there is less of a financial burden on consumers, and rabbis and producers need to field fewer questions on the topic of kosher products.
Kosher lists prepared by communities
After defining priorities with regard to the selection of products to be tested, the IGfKL carries out the necessaries enquiries and examinations. In a next step, the rabbi responsible approves the test results for the individual products. Subsequently the responsibility lies with the rabbinate of the individual communities. It is up to them to decide which products to include on their community’s kosher list and how to inform the community members. The kosher lists are, moreover, very helpful for tourists and business travellers who wish to maintain a kosher diet.
-
Further information
-
Regulations of the IGfKL
(only in German and French)
Share