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21 B. C. Envtl. Aff. L. Rev. 201 (1993-1994)
Are Kosher Food Laws Constitutionally Kosher

handle is hein.journals/bcenv21 and id is 211 raw text is: ARE KOSHER FOOD LAWS
CONSTITUTIONALLY KOSHER?
Catherine Beth Sullivan*
I. INTRODUCTION
Ten years ago, only 1,000 products bore a kosher seal of approval.'
In 1989, this figure was up to 17,500.2 Some kosher marketing experts
estimate that approximately six million Americans purchase kosher
food in the supermarket.3 Of these people, a mere 1.5 million are
Jewish.4 Most consumers of kosher products are people who believe
that the kosher designation means higher-quality food.5
An increasing number of non-Jewish consumers purchase kosher
food today because they perceive it as better quality and healthier.'
Because the Food and Drug Administration has its hands full with
steroids and drugs, many consumers believe that it does not ade-
* Executive Editor, 1993-1994, BOSTON COLLEGE ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS LAW REVIEW.
'See Caroline E. Meyer, Rabbis' Seal of Approval, Who's Keeping Kosher Now?, WAsHING-
TON POST, September 27, 1989, at El. The kosher seal of approval is a symbol placed on a food
label which informs the consumer that a product has been inspected by a supervising rabbi and
a large certifying organization. They endorse the product as conforming to the laws of kashruth.
The kosher seal may come in several different forms. For example, individual rabbis across the
country use the letter I' to indicate that a product has kosher supervision. However, because
the symbol K is a letter of the alphabet, and cannot be copyrighted, many rabbis question
buying products with a K symbol since anyone could print the letter I' on a label. Thus, in
addition to a letter K, there are at least eight other copyrighted symbols to designate
supervision. An 0 with a U at the center is the most common of these. Other symbols are
used to show that the product is kosher for Passover. Still other symbols appear on wine. See
id. at E1-E2; Ran-Dav's County Kosher, Inc. v. State of New Jersey, 579 A.2d 316,324 n.15 (N.J.
Super. Ct. App. Div. 1990), rev'd 608 A-2d 1353, 1366 (N.J. 1992).
2 See Meyer, supra note 1, at El.
3 Id. at E2.
4Id.
5Id.
6Id.

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