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21 B. C. Envtl. Aff. L. Rev. 201 (1993-1994)
Are Kosher Food Laws Constitutionally Kosher

handle is hein.journals/bcenv21 and id is 211 raw text is: ARE KOSHER FOOD LAWS CONSTITUTIONALLY KOSHER? Catherine Beth Sullivan* I. INTRODUCTION Ten years ago, only 1,000 products bore a kosher seal of approval.' In 1989, this figure was up to 17,500.2 Some kosher marketing experts estimate that approximately six million Americans purchase kosher food in the supermarket.3 Of these people, a mere 1.5 million are Jewish.4 Most consumers of kosher products are people who believe that the kosher designation means higher-quality food.5 An increasing number of non-Jewish consumers purchase kosher food today because they perceive it as better quality and healthier.' Because the Food and Drug Administration has its hands full with steroids and drugs, many consumers believe that it does not ade- * Executive Editor, 1993-1994, BOSTON COLLEGE ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS LAW REVIEW. 'See Caroline E. Meyer, Rabbis' Seal of Approval, Who's Keeping Kosher Now?, WAsHING- TON POST, September 27, 1989, at El. The kosher seal of approval is a symbol placed on a food label which informs the consumer that a product has been inspected by a supervising rabbi and a large certifying organization. They endorse the product as conforming to the laws of kashruth. The kosher seal may come in several different forms. For example, individual rabbis across the country use the letter I' to indicate that a product has kosher supervision. However, because the symbol K is a letter of the alphabet, and cannot be copyrighted, many rabbis question buying products with a K symbol since anyone could print the letter I' on a label. Thus, in addition to a letter K, there are at least eight other copyrighted symbols to designate supervision. An 0 with a U at the center is the most common of these. Other symbols are used to show that the product is kosher for Passover. Still other symbols appear on wine. See id. at E1-E2; Ran-Dav's County Kosher, Inc. v. State of New Jersey, 579 A.2d 316,324 n.15 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 1990), rev'd 608 A-2d 1353, 1366 (N.J. 1992). 2 See Meyer, supra note 1, at El. 3 Id. at E2. 4Id. 5Id. 6Id.