Foods may be rendered non-kosher for a variety of reasons: species of animal, improper slaughtering or processing procedures, mixing of meat and dairy ingredients, use of ingredients derived from non-kosher sources, preparation of food with non-kosher utensils or equipment.

Kashrus, the word used to describe the concept of dietary laws, pertains to the types of food permitted for consumption and their preparation. Each category of food is subject to certain of these laws.

Some Common Reliable Symbols:

"Star-K" Kosher Certification	The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations
The Organized Kashrus Laboratories	"KOF-K" Kosher Supervision
Kosher Supervision of America	Igud Hakashrus of Los Angeles
Montreal Vaad Hair	Chicago Rabbinical Council

The Brave New World of Kosher foods Exert a Growing Appeal That Isn't Just for Jews ... The smorgasbord of Kosher foods jockeying for attention at Kosherfest '96 is dizzying. From Kosher-for-Passover unleavened taco shells to kosher bonbons made in Belgium. Kosher baby food made in France, Kosher Ravioli, Kosher vitamins, Kosher gumbo, Kosher gazpacho and Kosher faux caviar... ...8,100 companies now make 36,100 Kosher products for 7 million Americans who regularly buy Kosher. Those consumers spend roughly $3 billion a year, and the annual growth of the Kosher market in the last five years has been 11 percent, compared with just 1 to 2 percent for the food industry in general... ..."Kosher is attracting more and more attention" says Norma Ghez, a food industry analyst with Goldman, Sachs. Sara Lee and Conagra, two leading vendors of processed meats, acquired Kosher meat companies. "This sure tells us something", Ms. Ghez says... ... Kosher refers to a set of dietary laws, originating in the Old Testament, that govern both the selection and preparation of food... A Kosher kitchen must include separate sets of cookware and dishes for meats and milks products. Kosher goods, whether sold by large companies or corner butchers, must carry the certification of a rabbinical organization that has overseen the production and can vouch for its purity... ...Associated primarily with Judaism, Kosher restrictions, in varying form and by varying names, are also followed by Muslims an Seventh-Day Adventists...Although statistics on the subject are slippery, Jews are thought to account for 29 percent of Kosher consumers today, while Muslims and a few other religious groups account for an additional 19 percent. the remaining consumers buy Kosher for reasons that have nothing to do with religion, market analysts say... ... Many of these people, impressed by the rules and rabbinical supervision involved in the production of kosher goods, assume that Kosher poultry is less likely to suffer micro-biological contamination, that kosher packaged goods contain fewer preservatives and that Kosher products are purer and safer... ..Companies large and small have scurried to take advantage of it. They have learned that in the case of many products that are almost inherently kosher, it requires little if any change in the production process, along with the modest fee for rabbinical oversight, to receive a Kosher certification...