Kosher dairy?
What is kosher dairy?
I have spoken to the general manager/owner of a Florida based kosher dairy producer, Mr. Tzvi Halikman, and asked him that question.
Company name is Tevye Farms. Here is a brief description of what he had to say:
All foods derived from or containing milk are considered dairy, or milchig (Yiddish). This includes milk, butter, yogurt and all cheese – hard, soft and cream. Even a small amount of dairy in a food can cause the food to be considered dairy. All dairy products require kashrut certification. They must meet the following criteria in order to be certified kosher:
*They must come from a kosher animal.
*All ingredients must be kosher and free of meat derivatives. Non-kosher dairy products are often made with ingredients of animal origin. For example, hard cheese is made with rennet, yogurt sometimes contains gelatin, and butter may contain non-kosher additives.
*They must be processed on kosher equipment.
Many kinds of “non-dairy” creamers, candy, cereal and margarine really do contain milk derivatives, as do some low-calorie sweeteners. Dairy ingredients whose names appear on many product labels include caseinate, lactose and whey.
Commercial bread containing dairy ingredients presents kashrut problems. Consult an Orthodox Rabbi before purchasing or using any dairy bread.
Tevye Farms is a producer of Kosher Cholov Yisrael Milk.
Some pronounce is Cholov Yisrael, Yisroel, or Halav Yisrael.
What is it?
Cholov Yisrael is manufactured under the supervision of a rabbinical court of an orthodox community, from the moment of milking through the final packaging process. Exhaustive checks by quality control laboratories accompany the manufacture of Cholov yisrael. These begin with tests on the raw materials and packaging materials and continue throughout the entire process which is designed to adhere to the exacting international standards of ISO 9002 certification.
These tests and procedures assures the product is fully 100% cholov yisrael compliant.