Why Us Kosher certification
Greekexports is the exclusive partner of Balkan Kosher since 2017 and the local office in Greece, Cyprus, Egypt and the Balkan area. GrX team provides consultance and full guidance throughout the certification procedure. At the same time outreach activities are organized for the kosher certified companies in cooperation with the Balkan Kosher.
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Kosher certification - your key to expand in USA, Russia, Canada and other kosher markets
Kosher certification What is it
Kosher certification is a religious certification and its primary objective is to assure the kosher quality of the products in accordance with Jewish law. Kosher products are devided into three categories: parve, dairy, meat. This categorization should be displayed on the packaging of the certified products to increase awareness among consumers.
- For Jews, the consumption of kosher products is a neccasity as it complies with the saying of Tora.
- Kosher productions oftenlty required special procedues as well as supervision by the Rabbi.
- Raw material should be kosher certified.
- Kosher parve products should not be contaminated with dairy traces.
- Special requirements applies when exporting to Israel.
- A significant percentage of Mulsims consums kosher certified products.
Kosher certification The certifier
Balkan Kosher as a certification body https://www.balkankosher.com provides certification services for a decade now. The Kaplan family arrived in Thessaloniki the year 2009 having support by the Rohr institution, Merkos Chabad and the engourancment of Rabbi Shlomo Amar (former Chied Sephardic Rabbi of Israel) and Rabbi Moshe BenTov, Sephardic Kabbalist.
Their mission was to revive the Sephardic-Ladino heritage and develop infrastructures appropriate to host the Jew comminity in the Balkans.
The founding of Balkan Kosher was one of the first projects of Rabbi Kaplan towards the developments of such infrastructures.
One of the objectives of Balkan Kosher is to support the local economy by creating opportunities in Greece and the Balkan area for exports to Israel, the USA, Europe, Asia and more. Leading efforts to enhance kosher production in the Balkans, facilitating the supply of kosher products worldwide. The certification body that is the Balkan Kohser, classifies as a non-governmental branch of charitable organizations of the Jewish Communities of the Balkans, dedicated among other things to laying the foundations of Jewish life in the Balkan area, but also supporting local businesses.
For more info click here (link to BK website)
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Kosher certification What is it
The term "kosher" is about the religious rules written in Torah about nutrition that Jews follow.
More specifically, the following are allowed:
- uminant animals that have hooves
- fish that have scales and fins
- specific birds mentioned in the Torah
- honey that come from flowers and not nectar
- fruits, vegetables, legumes, dry nuts, fungi, etc
- dairy products
Whereas, the following are forbitten:
- to eat meat and dairy products together at the same meal
- honey derived from galls
- insects and all their by-products (e.g. flour)
- birds of prey
- amphibians
- molluscs and shellfish
- wine that has not been produced under full rabbinical supervision
- cheese not produced under full rabbinical supervision
Some other oftenly used tems: ""cholov yisrael ή super kosher"", ""passover"", ""bishul yisrael"", ""pat yisrael"" . The GrX team is always available to inform you about all kosher related topics, so you should not hesitate to contact us.
Significance Why is it Important
Religious certifications are important as they both addressed to specific religious communities and populations around the world, but also to the everyday consumers.
Companies that are kosher certified and supply products bearing the kosher logo, are basically showing great respect to the Jews and are earning trust of even small Jewish communities in the USA, Europe, Canada.
Of course, it's not a coincidence that approximately 35% of the products that are on market shelfs in the USA are kosher certified. Consumers surveys have shown that many non-jewish Americans choose to consume those products that are kosher certified as the term "kosher" is interwoven with pure and healthy.
It's a fact that markets as the USA, Canada, Russia, Israel and even France demand to import kosher certified products, either for the Jewish consumers or for non-Jewish people who are in favor of kosher products for religious (e.g. Mulsims) or health reasons (e.g. people who are lactose intolerant prefer kosher-parve products).
Frequently Asked Questions
- olives - olive oil
- snacks - cookies
- antipasty
- dough and pastry
- dairy products
- coffee
Kosher certification is actually a passport to exports. In the USA, 35% of products found on market selves are kosher certifies. Importers and hypermarkets in Canada, the USA, France, Russia, Australia and of course Israel are seeking for kosher certified products. Abundance of products in Wholefoods, Trade Joes and other hypermarkerts bear the Balkan Kosher logo.
The scope of certification refers both to end products and intermediate mixtures or ingredients. Kosher certified means that all ingredients are checked for their kosher suitability, as well as the production sets. So the kosher certificate is about the product-material and also for the production site.
The duration of the certification cycle is estimated from 2 to 8 weeks, depending mostly on the time that the company will need to gather all the necessary documents - kosher certificates of the raw materials.
In order to give an answer to this specific question, the Rabbi should firstly get the whole picture of your production facility and examine whether there is a heating treatment to be followed or the step of "kosher-ization" (meaning special cleaning step) is needed.
Please fill out the application form to get an offer.
Balkan Kosher operates in the field of certifications since 2009 and the BK logo is recognized in the biggest kosher markets. In fact, the biggest retailers such as Walmart, Trader Joes, Wellbee's, Metro, etc. are using the BK (Balkan Kosher) logo on their private label products.The highly qualified staff of Greekexports in collaboration with the Rabbis are always at your disposal to advise and guide you through the steps of certification and to suggest solutions when necessary. The main goal is to assure the high quality of kosher certified procuts and at the same time your immediate service.
Through the certification, you will also have the opportunity to participate in outreach activities organized by Greekexports in collaboration with Balkan Kosher in order to expand to kosher markets.
The Chief Rabbinate of Israel has many different requirements when it comes to kosher protocol for imported goods.For example, dairy products should be "cholov yisroel" and baked products should be "pat yisroel". Such requiremets lead to a series of extra terms on various categories. Moreover, importers often assign Israeli certification bodies to attend the productions of those kosher products intented to import. Greekexports has developed collaborations with well-known kosher certification bodies of Israel in order to facilitate such demanding exports activities.