Kosher certification agency

A kosher certification agency is an organization that grants a hechsher (Hebrew: הכשר‎‎, "seal of approval") to ingredients, packaged foods, beverages, and certain materials, as well as food-service providers and facilities in which kosher food is prepared or served. This certification verifies that the ingredients, production process, and/or food-service process complies with the standards of kashrut (Jewish dietary law) as stipulated in the Shulchan Arukh, the benchmark of religious Jewish law. The certification agency employs mashgichim (rabbinic field representatives) to make periodic site visits and oversee the food-production or food-service process in order to verify ongoing compliance. Each agency has its own trademarked symbol that it allows manufacturers and food-service providers to display on their products or in-store certificates; use of this symbol can be revoked for non-compliance.

A kosher certification agency's purview extends only to those areas mandated by Jewish law. Kosher certification is not a substitute for government or private food safety testing and enforcement.

As of 2014, there are more than 1,100 kosher certification agencies. These include international, national, regional, Israeli, specialty, and non-Orthodox agencies. Specialty agencies endorse ethical business practices, animal welfare, and environmental awareness on the part of the food producer. Non-Orthodox agencies accept leniences in certain aspects of food production and business operation (such as operating on Shabbat) that Orthodox agencies do not.

The largest kosher certification agencies in the United States, known as the "Big Five", certify more than 80 percent of the kosher food sold in the US. These five agencies are: the OU, OK, KOF-K, Star-K, and CRC.

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