Ready for Export
Producers striving to meet a set of religious requirements that are not so well-known in this part of the world can enjoy some unexpected benefits. By Sally Subhapholsiri

What happens when a manufacturer sees an opportunity to expand his market - as long as he manufactures under a set of rules unfamiliar not only to him but to his suppliers and, in fact, the entire culture he operates in?

To the surprise of Chaiporn Wangnitayasuk, General Manager of Thai Union Manufacturing Company Ltd (TUM), now that his company has arranged for production to be certified kosher, production has seen some unexpected benefits.

Kosher food sales in the US are now US$33 billion a year, more than double sales of a decade ago, according to a January 1995 NYT News Service report. The kosher food industry estimates that only 25 per cent of kosher products are Jewish.

Apart from people who follow the religious practices, some people are reassured by the healthful qualities that are more or less a side benefit of what has developed from religious reasons. "There is an increase in demand for this type of product," says Rabbi Schmuael Stern from the Kasruth Division of the Orthodox Union Jewish Congregations.

When US importers began sourcing outside the US a few years ago, local tuna canneries found that the three top US canned tuna brands, followed by smaller owners of private labels, required co-packers to be certified kosher to maintain the niche for kosher tuna the brands had established in the US market.

One can imagine local canners thinking, "The customer wants kosher, the customer gets kosher - but what is kosher, anyway?" A complex set of dietary laws in the Jewish religion, 'kosher' is not man-made," says Rabbi Stern. "It is based on God-given laws that cannot be tampered with." It Moses that these laws have developed to classify certain species as kosher, specify their preparation and forbid the mixing of kosher with non-kosher.

For example, a land animal is kosher if its hooves are split and it chews its cud. Thus, cows are kosher, but pigs are not. Fish have to have fins and scales. Thus tuna, salmon and sardines are in, while shrimp, crab and shellfish is not kosher. Thus, swordfish is out. Vegetables, fruits and grains are kosher. Wines have an additional special rabbinical law that requires them to be made by Jewish people; therefore, brandies, cognacs and some liquors are non-kosher.

Preparation should be done in a kosher manner on kosher equipment. Milk and meat should be taken separately.