Who determines the kosher status of "new" foods?

Question

Who determines the kosher status for "new" processed foods (e.g. Jell-O)? A few orthodox rabbis' approval? General consensus by the Jewish religious community? Certain kosher standards organizations? Or something else?

The reason I ask is, I've long heard that Jell-O gelatin dessert is not kosher because the gelatin within can be derived from non-kosher animals. However, the gelatin undergoes a chemical separation process that produces a new substance, muddying the waters, such that there seems to be some debate about whether it's truly treif.

Looking into the matter further, the makers of Jell-O gave this official explanation in 1998:

Is it Kosher and Pareve?

"JELL-O Brand gelatin is certified as Kosher by a recognized orthodox Rabbi as per enclosed RESPONSUM. In addition to being Kosher, Jell-O is also Pareve, and can be eaten with either a meat meal or a dairy meal."

The person asking the question then received a copy of the kosher certification given by 2 Orthodox Rabbis:

Included [in this response is a] sheet with a copy of "The Halachic Basis of our Kashruth Certification of Atlantic Gelatin and the General Foods Products containing this Gelatin" by Rabbi Yehuda Gershuni & Rabbi David Telsner. The upshot is that since the collagen has been taken apart by the chemical digestion and a new substance has been produced it meets the specifications of the Orthodox Dietary Laws and is Kosher and Pareve.

So basically, they are saying, "These 2 recognized Orthodox Rabbis, R. Gershuni and R. Telsner, certified our product is kosher and pareve. Therefore, we're putting the 'K' symbol on our product."

Is that enough to make something kosher? Who determines the kosher status of "new" foods like this?

Answer 1

Well, by US law, any manufacturer can put a plain K on its product. That just means "someone says it's kosher." If they put a plain K on a package of bacon, you'd have to sue them for false advertising, unless they could find someone who says bacon is kosher.

As for Jewish law, as new situations come up, rabbis who are regarded as experts on Jewish law address them, going back to prior precedent, as well as a precise conceptual understanding of the laws that can address this case (even if it hadn't been previously addressed). Sometimes there is a dispute among major experts (as has recently been the case with, say, how Jewish law views brain death).

In the case of conventional gelatin, the rulings of major authorities in the Orthodox world was that it's still not kosher. If you start with non-kosher hides (today gelatin can be made from hides; if it's only bones that's a different discussion), and the final product is edible, then the final product isn't kosher. This is the policy of the OU and similar kosher organizations.

Answer 2

The answers here address the controversy surrounding gelatin. However, the question was: who determines the kosher status of "new" foods?

While the vast majority of shomrei kashrus (those who follow the laws of keeping kosher) consume turkey meat today, the kashrus status of this New World bird was a major debate.

http://www.kashrut.com/articles/turkey/

Less controversial is the North American Bison. All agree that this animal (sometimes referred to as the buffalo) has the simanim of a kosher mammal. The question is, is it a behemah or a chayah? Must we do ksiui hadam? Is the back fat considered cheilev (and therefore forbidden to eat)?

I remember hearing that, in practice, kosher bison producers are machmir both ways - they do kisui hadam, as if it were a chayah (but without a bracha), but they do not eat the back fat (which would be classified as cheilev, if it were a behemah).

http://www.kashrut.com/articles/buffalo/

The most perplexing issues arise from New World starchy vegetables. For Ashkenazim, the question becomes, which of these vegetables should be considered kitnyios on Pesach, and which should not?

Corn (maize) became kitnyios because of a linguistic error. "Corn" in old English (and other European languages) means any type of grain. European explorers found this strange yellow cobs growing, and called the stuff "Indian corn" (i.e. Indian grain). When people asked their Ashkenazi rabbis if they could eat "Indian corn" on Pesach - the answer was "of course not! We don't eat any kind of corn on Pesach!"

So the New World maize became forbidden, but the New World potato survived the same challenge.

A more recent kitynios controversy surrounds quinoa.

http://www.oukosher.org/index.php/learn/article/quinoa/

So to answer the question - why do some newly discovered foods eventually become commonplace (turkey), and others don't?

Ultimately, it comes down to community standards. Different qualified poskim will render different decisions on new foods. Then, the marketplace ultimately rules.

That is why one finds many fewer "kosher for those who eat gelatin" products in Israel today, than a few decades ago. It's not worth the kosher candy store's effort to buy two different types of gummy worms. (one with treif-based gelatin, one with kosher fish or plant-based gelatin).

In some Jewish communities, people serve quinoa salad on Pesach without a second thought. In other communities, you couldn't have any yom tov company eat at your house if you served quinoa.

To summarize, a combination of the plurality of halachic rulings, and the free market in Jewish communities, determine which new foods are acceptable, and which are not.

Answer 3

Consensus of Orthodox Kosher Authorities in America is that gelatine is not kosher. However in Israel the situation is different.

From http://www.kashrut.com/articles/DryBones/

It should be noted, however, that other authorities, notably Rav Tzvi Pesach Frank zt"l, and yb"l Rav Ovadia Yosef and Rav Eliezer Waldenberg shlit"a permit the use of regular gelatin based upon one or more of the above arguments. On the basis of these opinions, the Rabbanut in Israel does allow the use of certain types of gelatin produced from non-Kosher sources (primarily from dried bones). However, none of the Mehadrin Kosher certifications in Israel allow the use of this product, and the Rabbanut itself requires that products containing such questionable gelatin be clearly labeled as "permitted only for those who allow the use of gelatin".]

The three reasons why Gelatin would be kosher are:

Rav Chaim Ozer zt"l wrote a famous Teshuva, in which he permits gelatin based upon three considerations: (a) The hard bones from which the gelatin is produced are not considered meat, (b) because gelatin is considered a new product totally dissimilar from the original starting material (Ponim Chadashos), and (c) because gelatin is rendered inedible for a period of time during its processing (Nifsal M'Achila).

These explanations were rejected by the Major Poskim of America for many different reasons, and so in America, the consensus of Orthodox Kosher Agencies is that Gelatin is not Kosher.

As far as "new status" goes, the article states that:

Rav Yechezkel Abramsky zt"l argues that gelatin is not even a "new creation", but merely an edible extract that had always been present. As such, the concept of Ponim Chadashos does not apply according to these Poskim

Answer 4

The kosher status of gelatin has been a subject of discussion for many years, and the consensus of Orthodox authorities is that it is non-kosher. See this article for an excellent summary of that issue.

With regard to the general matter of "new foods," there really aren't very many products whose status has not already been dealt with in the past. In the case of a truly new innovation (e.g. genetically modified substances), there would need to be discussion and debate among the halachic experts.