Why China is Going Kosher
The kosher business is booming in China.
Kosher certifications by rabbis in China have doubled in the past two years, Bloomberg reports. The country’s exporters are looking not only to get a piece of the U.S. kosher market, but also to get a rabbinical seal of approval that may ease the fears of non-kosher consumers worried by reports of tainted Chinese food exports.
“When we certify a product, consumers know there is another pair of eyes,” Mordechai Grunberg, an American rabbi who leads a team that examines Chinese factories to ensure that the Jewish dietary laws are followed, told Bloomberg.
According to the New York-based Orthodox Union, more than 300 Chinese plants are now certified Orthodox, Bloomberg reports, and the group expects thousands more plants to get certified in the next few years.
A bit of cultural education has gone along with the growing interest. One manufacturer was turned down because he was asking for a kosher seal of approval for furniture. Another wanted to certify a food plant kosher, but the plant was smoking eels — sort of like asking for kosher approval of a bacon factory.
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