Kosherizing food....

[Marduk]

Today I stumbled upon the topic of kosher foods through the methods that discussions tend to meander. Specifically on how meats are made kosher. It was explained that the meat has to meet certain checks which include a blessing by an authorized source. Now my question is: How do they bless the mass produced meat? Does a guy stand at a spot along the conveyor belt and mumble the words? Or does he go from vat to vat of the stuff and bless it there? Or does he bless it while its still alive? What?

[elfbabe]

A couple of helpful things from http://jewfaq.org/kashrut.htm -

(note: IANAJ, I just remember websites. And sorry for the massive quoting!)

General Rules

Although the details of kashrut are extensive, the laws all derive from a few fairly simple, straightforward rules:

1. Certain animals may not be eaten at all. This restriction includes the flesh, organs, eggs and milk of the forbidden animals.
2. Of the animals that may be eaten, the birds and mammals must be killed in accordance with Jewish law.
3. All blood must be drained from the meat or broiled out of it before it is eaten.
4. Certain parts of permitted animals may not be eaten.
   …

Kosher slaughtering

The mammals and birds that may be eaten must be slaughtered in accordance with Jewish law. (Deut. 12:21). We may not eat animals that died of natural causes (Deut. 14:21) or that were killed by other animals. In addition, the animal must have no disease or flaws in the organs at the time of slaughter. These restrictions do not apply to fish; only to the flocks and herds (Num. 11:22).

Ritual slaughter is known as shechitah, and the person who performs the slaughter is called a shochet, both from the Hebrew root Shin-Chet-Tav, meaning to destroy or kill. The method of slaughter is a quick, deep stroke across the throat with a perfectly sharp blade with no nicks or unevenness. This method is painless, causes unconsciousness within two seconds, and is widely recognized as the most humane method of slaughter possible.

Another advantage of shechitah is that ensures rapid, complete draining of the blood, which is also necessary to render the meat kosher.

The shochet is not simply a butcher; he must be a pious man, well-trained in Jewish law, particularly as it relates to kashrut. In smaller, more remote communities, the rabbi and the shochet were often the same person.

Those are the things that are MOST relevant to what you ask, but there’s a lot more on dietary laws on jewfaq.org.

[zev_steinhardt]

*Originally posted by Marduk *
** It was explained that the meat has to meet certain checks which include a blessing by an authorized source. Now my question is: How do they bless the mass produced meat? Does a guy stand at a spot along the conveyor belt and mumble the words? Or does he go from vat to vat of the stuff and bless it there? Or does he bless it while its still alive? What? **

Regarding the blessing: To make food kosher, a rabbi does not need to “bless” the food. Food simply needs to adhere to Jewish law regarding kashrus to be kosher. This includes making sure that animal items come only from permitted animals, that permitted parts of the animal are used (i.e. no blood), that milk and meat are not mixed, that the animal does not suffer from certain defects (a hole in the lung, for example), etc.

There is a blessing that is said before an animal is slaughtered, just as a blessing is recited before most of the commandments are performed (i.e. I recite a blessing before attaching a mezzuzah to my doorpost, or before putting n tefillin in the morning.) If there is no slaughter (i.e. vegetable matter and fish), no blessing is required.

So, to answer your question, a blessing is recited before meat is slaughtered. However, I’m fairly certain (but I’ll double check when I get home) that if the blessing is not recited, the meat is still kosher ex post facto.

Zev Steinhardt