The Kashruth of Gelatin

It has been argued that a Jew is not allowed to chew gum or to eat products that contain gelatin which lack rabbinic supervision. After an analysis of Jewish law, it will be proved that rabbinic supervision for the foodstuffs that may contain gelatin from prohibited sources is merely a stringency and/or a business venture. Wikipedia states, Gelatin is derived from pork skins, pork, horses, and cattle bones, or split cattle hides. The raw materials are prepared by different curing, acid, and alkali processes which are employed to extract the dried collagen hydrolysate. These processes may take up to several weeks, and differences in such processes have great effects on the properties of the final gelatin products. The following is a survey of the pertinent laws and their analysis of the case at hand. CHAPTER 15 Halacha 1 When a forbidden substance becomes mixed with a permitted substance of another type, [it causes it to become forbidden] if its flavor can be detected. When [a forbidden substance becomes mixed with a permitted substance of] the same type and it is impossible to detect [the forbidden substance] by its flavor, its presence becomes nullified if there is a majority [of the permitted substance]. The chemical composition of gum and similar foodstuffs does not have a gelatin content that represents the majority. The majority of the substance is actually a synthesis of artificial ingredients. The taste of the gelatin is not detectable in this mixture. Halacha 17 The measure for all of the other prohibitions of the Torah, e.g., the meat of crawling animals, teeming animals, fat, blood, and the like is sixty times [the original amount]. What is implied? When an olive-sized portion of the fat of the kidneys falls into sixty times the size of an olive of the fat from the fat tail, the entire mixture is permitted. If it falls into less than sixty [that amount], the entire mixture is forbidden. Similarly, if a portion of forbidden fat the size of a barley-corn, [the mixture] must contain permitted

substances the size of sixty barley-corns. Similar [laws apply] with regard to other prohibitions. If one were to analyze the amount of gelatin found in the chemical composition of gum, marshmallow, and other foodstuffs, it would be evident that the gelatin amounts to less than 1/60 of its composition. Halacha 25 It is forbidden to nullify a substance forbidden by Scriptural Law as an initial and preferred measure. If, however, one nullified it, the mixture is permitted. Nevertheless, our Sages penalized such a person and forbade the entire mixture. It appears to me that since this is a penalty, we forbid this mixture only to the person who transgressed and nullified the prohibited substance. For others, however, the entire mixture is permitted. According to Rambam, if it were the case that gelatin came from a non-kasher source and it was nullified, it would be allowed for those who did not produce the mixture, since it is only prohibited for the person that nullified the prohibited content. CHAPTER 4 Halacha 18 When a person eats the skin, the bones, the sinews, the horns, or the hoofs of a nevelah, a trefe, or a non-kosher domesticated animal or wild beast, from the nails of a non-kosher fowl in the places where blood would spurt through when they are cut off, or from their placenta, although this is forbidden, he is not liable. [The rationale is that] they are not fit to be eaten. They cannot be combined with meat [in the measure of] an olivesized portion. It has been stated above that the source of gelatin in many products is skin, cattle hides, and cattle bones. Here it is evident that one is not liable for those things which are not considered edible. Therefore, even though a foodstuff may contain gelatin that was produced from pork skins, the law states that one is not held liable. Evidently, there is no issue in terms of the kasher status of gum, marshmallow and other foodstuffs, for the laws stated herein. It appears that the heksher is needed for those Jews that hold a more stringent opinion that the Talmud. Those gums which bear a kasher heksher use kolatin (gelatin from a kasher animal that went through ritual

slaughter). There are, however, vegetarian alternatives listed on OChef.com, including "agar-agar (powder or flakes from a sea vegetable), arrowroot (a starchy powder from the tropical tuber of the same name), guar gum (the product of East Indian seed) xanthan gum (a corn extract), kudzu (a starchy powder from the plants tuber), and certain ground nuts and seeds. Most kasher gelatins are also vegetarian." Unfortunately, many kashruth companies thrive on the ignorance of people, since they do not know the law. Finally, the only benefit in having kasher supervision for products containing gelatin is for those who have allergic reactions to certain forms of gelatin or perhaps other products in the chemical composition. Our Sages teach, Seek a rabbi and remove yourself from doubt. Fortunately for the kashruth industry, most people prefer to stay in perpetual darkness, lest they be granted the freedom that comes with knowledge.

Yehonatan Elazar-DeMota Kisleu 2, 5774 New York