Israel manufactures a lot of kosher food. So does the USA which has a really big kosher food market. China is the world capital for raw materials that go into our food products.
But there are probably a good few countries you’d never put on your list. Some of these are Arab countries whom are officially enemies of Israel that are willing to look the other way for business and manufacture kosher food.
The Jerusalem Post reported that the OU Orthodox Union this past spring sent kosher supervisors to oversee manufacture of kosher food in Dubai and in Saudi Arabia. Security reasons prohibit listing the names of these manufacturers, importers or the names of the supervising rabbis. But they did mention that one instance involved the manufacture of raw materials for food production and the other instance was for a ready to eat food product. Other kashrut organizations have had their supervision in places like the United Arab Emirates and even in Pakistan.
Why are all these countries prepared to host rabbis in their factories if they don’t really like Jews? The answer is as we said before the financial gain. In the US companies have a hard time marketing their products if their merchandise doesn’t have kosher certificates. An astounding 41% of all food and drink products produced in the US have some form of kosher certification.
Amanda Topper a food analyst at Mintel, a market analysis company says there are many reasons why non-Jew will buy kosher food. Muslims will prefer food with a Halal stamp on it; when that is not available many will depend on the kosher certification. Many also believe kosher food is healthier or more sanitary.
Topper says “there are those who buy kosher foods to stay away from allergens. For example people allergic to shell fish can buy kosher food without worry.”
