Kosher Food Market Continues to Expand

Despite the economic downturn, the kosher food market is soaring, reports the LA Times. And it's not because the Jewish community is growing, but because non-Jews increasingly view kosher food as a higher-quality product, marketers say. Sales of certified kosher foods have risen 64 percent in the past five years, earning a total of $12.5 billion in 2008. Some 28 percent of new food and dairy products launched in the U.S. last year were certified kosher. Kosher foods must confirm to Jewish laws dictating methods of slaughter and prohibitions against mixing certain foods, like meat and milk, and must be approved by a rabbi. Thus kosher food factories may have more stringent manufacturing regulations than non-kosher factories. "Kosher food has gained the reputation of being more carefully produced and thoroughly inspected than non-kosher food," says Marcia Mogelonsky, an analyst at the market research firm Mintel, which tracks food trends. The kosher meat industry, though, has not been without its share of scandal - Agriprocessors Inc., the country's larget kosher meatpacking company, was exposed last year for having illegal and unsanitary conditions in its Iowa facility.

Do you look for the kosher label when you buy food?

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