Kosher gelatin--say what?

[Jerry Natowitz]

Kosher gelatin is agar-agar, a natural extract of a variety of seaweed.
It is, as far as I've ever heard, safe. It is available in sheet form
at natural and "health" food stores. It is also available as a dessert
mix like Jello, it is called Ko-Jel.
--
Jerry Natowitz (HASA - A division)
Bell Labs HR 2A-214
201-615-5178 (no CORNET)
ihnp4!houxm!hropus!jin
or ihnp4!opus!jin

Isn't it interesting how the beautiful little red flower in the forest
becomes so ugly when you discover it's a candy wrapper.

[Israel Pinkas]

In article <13...@drutx.UUCP> s...@drutx.UUCP (Sue Brezden) writes:
>
>I recently read a label on a container of yogurt which listed
>one of the ingredients as "Kosher Gelatin".
>
>The container itself had no other kosher markings.
>
>What exactly IS kosher gelatin?

I recently asked my rabbi (an orthodox one) what kosher gelatin is. His
response was 'Treffe' (not kosher). When an ingredient is listed as
kosher gelatin, it means one of two things:

a) It is gelatin made from a kosher animal. This is very rarely
the case. Putting this in yogurt is totally bogus as gelatin
is a bone and hoof derivative and mixing it in a milk product
makes it non-kosher.

b) It is regular gelatin. This is quite common. What is
happening here is that the rabbi giving the label Kosher
believes that gelatin is so far removed from its sources that
it can be considered a chemical and is not considered an
animal derivative.

I would also like to point out that kosher gelatin IS NOT a vegetable
derivative. (There was only one product on the market that ever did list
vegetable gelatin as kosher gelatin, called MY-GEL, but I haven't seen it
on the shelves for a number of years.) Vegetable gelatin is listed as
either agar-agar (its real name) or as vegetable gelatin.

For further info you should contact the manufacturer. Your local rabbi
may also know the scoop.

-Israel

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Disclaimer:

I would like to point out that I am not a rabbi, nor am I stating that
any product with the ingredient 'kosher gelatin' is or is not kosher.
(I just won't eat it, but that is a personal preference.)