As a food manufacturer, you know the importance of only using quality food-grade oil in your products. But what are the minimum standards for quality you need to reach to stay competitive?
While mineral oil supplier certifications by the FDA and other agencies satisfy minimum safety standards, consumer demands often exceed them. This is particularly true in products that must take cultural considerations into account, such as kosher, pareve, and halal foods.
Consider these important cultural considerations and the following benefits to your business of utilizing a food-grade oil supplier that is certified kosher, pareve, and halal.
Food-Grade Oil for Kosher, Pareve, and Halal Foods
Products that are verified as kosher, pareve, or halal are in compliance with different religious restrictions placed on food and other products.
Kosher
Products are kosher if they do not contain any ingredients forbidden by Jewish biblical law, and do not violate any other kosher rules in their production. These rules forbid:
- Consumption of pork
- Seafood other than fish
- Combining meat with milk
- Other stipulations found in scripture
Kosher laws specifically apply to food, but if something like a food-grade oil is certified as kosher, it can be used in food or in food production without violating the end product’s kosher compliance.
It’s important to clarify that not all Jewish people decide to keep kosher; it can be quite a serious commitment to monitor and comply with all the kosher rules. Nevertheless, for many, it is an important part of their religion and cultural heritage.
Pareve
Pareve is also a food categorization used by the Jewish community. It designates a product that complies with kosher laws and is not meat or dairy. Pareve foods can then be combined with other kosher foods legally.
An important part of getting a certification involves inspection by a rabbi of the supply chain and equipment used in production. Handling must be properly separated from other non-kosher or non-pareve products, or at least properly cleaned between uses to avoid contamination.
Kosher and pareve certification can come from a number of authoritative rabbinical bodies. Renkert oil has met the rigorous requirements necessary to be certified by the Chicago Rabbinical Council, the largest kosher certifier in North America.
Halal
Halal is a classification mainly used by Muslims. In Arabic halal means “permitted,” and is opposed to haraam, meaning “forbidden.” As such, these categories apply a little more broadly to things like cosmetics and pharmaceuticals in addition to food.
These restrictions ban several items, including, but not limited to:
- Certain pork products
- Lard
- Alcohol
Like kosher and pareve above, halal restrictions apply to more than just raw ingredients used in a product. They also require a high standard of cleanliness throughout the entire production process so that nothing halal comes in contact with anything haraam.
Halal certification is also carried out by an auditing body inspecting the ingredients and production process of a company.
4 Benefits of Using a Kosher, Pareve, and Halal Certified Food-Grade Oil Supplier
There are many benefits of using an oil certified according to these strictures. Here are just a few of the most important ones.
1. Access to New Markets
Using a food-grade oil that is certified as kosher, pareve, and halal is a crucially important part of getting and maintaining those certifications for your own products. This will help you gain access to large and previously untapped markets.
This applies both to the sizable Jewish population in the US and Israel, as well as the fast-growing worldwide Muslim population, which at this point makes up about a fourth of the world’s population.
2. A Marker for Quality
Kosher, pareve, or halal certifications are not only noticed by Jewish or Muslim consumers, but are more broadly recognized as a marker for general food quality, accountability, and safety.
In fact, almost 80% of all kosher sales are made outside of the traditional Jewish market, and “Kosher” is the most frequently used claim on new food products. It outpaces “All Natural” and “No Additives or Preservatives,” demonstrating the label’s sales value outside religious contexts.
3. Staying Competitive
As more companies are becoming certified for cultural standards, others may fall behind.
Those using products that are not kosher, pareve, or halal in their production process will eventually lose significant market share to those who are certified in these standards.
4. Ethical Treatment of Animals
One of the reasons kosher and halal certifications continue to grow in influence is the perception that meat production is more ethical. In general, animals are expected to be treated humanely as they are raised and slaughtered within these traditions.
This competitive edge is especially relevant to halal meats, as the rules for halal are very specific about the requirements for how animals should be treated.
Make Renkert Oil Your Kosher, Pareve, and Halal Certified Food-Grade Oil Supplier
Regardless of what’s on your product line, there are many benefits to working with a supplier of high-quality, food-grade oil such as Renkert Oil.
You can depend on our selection of white mineral oils, which are independently tested for purity, quality, and cultural considerations.
Renkert Oil’s certifications include:
- SQF (Safe Quality Food)
- FDA
- NF (National Formulary) & USP (United States Pharmacopeia)
- REACH Registered (EU)
- NSF International Registered
- Pareve, Kosher and Halal
In addition to NF/USP, any food-grade oil from Renkert meets or exceeds pareve and halal standards, and is suitable for direct use in food, incidental food contact, and many other applications.
We maintain strict protocols in the production, storage, and transportation of food-grade oil to satisfy these cultural requirements and maintain quality.
Renkert’s oil consultants will help you select high-quality oils that are best suited to your operation. And as your trusted supplier, we’ll show you what makes us industry leaders in supply security.
Talk to us today to learn more about moving your business forward with Renkert Oil.