What does it mean that Hispanagar's food agars are Kosher certified?

Thu, 11/03/2021 - 12:00

Hispanagar's food agars have been Kosher certified for more than 20 years. Let's see what this certificate means and how to obtain it. The Hebrew word "Kosher" means fit, suitable or appropriate. Kosher foods are foods that meet the dietary law requirements as set forth in the Torah and Talmut. These laws are known as the laws of Kashrut, and regulate mainly two aspects: the foods that can be eaten and the way in which they can be prepared.

Knowing all the rules requires years studying the sacred texts, but let us look at an excerpt to understand what this certification means. The only mammals approved for consumption are those that chew their cud (ruminants) and have cloven hooves. When animals are slaughtered, death must be as painless as possible, and the procedure is carried out by people who have been cleared by rabbinical authorities.

Another food group to consider are eggs and dairy products. Eggs are kosher if they come from a kosher animal, but dairy is a much more complex group. Of course, kosher milk must come from kosher animals, but meat and dairy products should not be mixed, i.e. they should not be eaten at the same time, served at the same time or prepared on the same surfaces or with the same utensils. Vegetables and legumes are also regulated: they cannot be treated with insecticides or be transgenic, and they cannot come from trees less than 3 years old.

Finally, let us talk about processed foods, the group encompassing Hispanagar's food agars. All kosher processed foods must be made from kosher raw materials, and their production process must meet a series of hygiene and equipment requirements.

When a food has a kosher certificate, it fulfills all the precepts. The kosher certificate is obtained through a kashrut agency that checks if food production or processing complies with the specifications. In order to obtain the certificate, one of the requirements that Hispanagar had to fulfill was that a rabbi visited our facilities and verified the food agars manufacturing processes one by one, before giving his approval to the audit.

Food agar is a vegan product; therefore, it is easier for agar to comply with kosher standards. It does not contain animal by-products in raw materials nor in auxiliary elements. Furthermore, Hispanagar's factory is laid out in such a way that the agar production lines are exclusively dedicated to manufacturing this product, ensuring that no element that could contravene Kosher touches its surfaces.