Kosher food has enjoyed a reputation for being “clean” and “healthy.” Is this true? Certain standards of kosher food processing might suggest it. Consider the following:

Washing – In order to be eaten, all vegetables and fruits must be washed and checked to ensure that there are no bugs and worms hiding within them. (Bugs and worms are not kosher, not even the tiny ones.) There are even authorities who recommend that all drinking water be filtered in case there are bugs in the water!

Internal Inspection – After an animal is slaughtered, the organs are inspected for irregularities and holes that would render the animal “treif” (literally ‘torn’) , making it inedible to the kosher consumer. Indiscernible diseases may be discovered in this inspection, unique to the kosher industry.

Salting and Soaking – Raw meats must be salted to remove all blood and soaked in water to remove other external impurities.

Checks and Balances – In order to be certified as kosher, the plant and the process of preparation must undergo thorough supervision. A kosher consumer may therefore have confidence that nothing “extra” was added to the product.

While there is nothing uniquely healthier or cleaner about kosher food, kashruth supervision raises the bar on the final product before it reaches the consumer.