Is kosher food safer?

[Malleus_Incus_Stapes]

@SleepyDuck

Well this thread isn’t quite a zombie, so I hope this revival is kosher (I crack myself up, that’s all that counts).

Anyway, I thought I’d share this article from Slate since it addresses some issues raised in this thread.

Thanks. The link to the eco-kosher movement is interesting, too.

[Mr.Excellent]

@psychonaut

Just because the process is more intensely scrutinized doesn’t necessarily mean that it results in safer food. You need to keep in mind what the process is being scrutinized for: in the case of kosher, the oversight is to ensure that the food is being sourced and handled in a manner consistent with religious superstitions which have nothing to do with safety, except in some cases by happy coincidence. For example, to be certified as kosher, the food needs to be sourced from certain ritually “clean” animals, such as cattle, and not “contaminated” by contact, even indirectly, with “unclean” ones, such as pigs. (I am using the quotation marks here to make it clear that this particular kosher concept of cleanliness has nothing to do with actual sanitation or hygiene.) Also, the animals have to be killed in a certain manner, though again this is done in accordance with religious doctrine and not because non-kosher slaughter methods are any safer. Certain kosher foods need to be prepared by Jews only; unless you actually believe that Jews are inherently more hygienic than other people then this particular stricture isn’t going to have any effect on the safety of the food thereby produced.

That said, it’s entirely possible that the rabbis overseeing kosher food production may be keeping an eye out for actual hygiene, sanitation, and safety issues which happen to coincide with their religious laws, or even for ones which don’t but which are now regarded as common sense (like frequent hand washing). More people keeping an eye on safety is always a good thing, but whether those extra eyes belong to a rabbi or a government health and safety inspector makes no difference.

This raises some interesting questions. Say that an inspecting rabbi sees conditions that are clearly, blatantly unsanitary - but nonetheless kosher. Must he still certify that the meat packing plant in question is kosher?

Also - is this a full-time gig for rabbis, or something that they do in addition to their regular gigs at synagogues? Is it considered prestigious work, or is this where the underachieving rabbis end up?

[psychonaut]

@Mr.Excellent

This raises some interesting questions. Say that an inspecting rabbi sees conditions that are clearly, blatantly unsanitary - but nonetheless kosher. Must he still certify that the meat packing plant in question is kosher?

I don’t think any rabbi is under any obligation to certify something as kosher, even if it is. It’s not like you can walk up to a random rabbi on the street, demand that they stop whatever they’re doing to watch you slaughter a chicken, and then demand that they make a pronouncement as to whether you did so in accordance with Jewish law.

[boozilu]

I would expect that there are some that are “safer” and some that are not. I have heard 2nd-hand about a kosher baker who took serious shortcuts with cleanliness because he knew that people who want/need kosher had limited alternatives.

So as in anything, it all depends on how well you trust your butcher/baker/candlestick maker.