OU certified kosher upgrade wash facilities provide their customers with the highest quality washes to meet their needs. Two types of kosher washes service are provided by a certified wash facility:
1) Kosher Maintenance Wash
2) Kosher Upgrade, or ‘Kosherization’ Wash
When is ‘kosherization’ necessary?
‘Kosherization’ is the process of bringing a vessel that was not in kosher service into kosher service. Kosherization is necessary when:
- inducting a never-before-certified used vessel into kosher service where the previous history is unknown or known to be non-kosher.
- returning a vessel that temporarily left kosher service back to kosher service
- after hauling kosher dairy products heated above 115F and is needed for non-dairy service
- after carrying a kosher dairy load for a consecutive period of 24hrs. and is needed for non-dairy service
What is the kosherization process?
The prerequisite to kosherization is that the vessel must be free of all previous product residues. Only once cleaned can kosherization begin. After cleaning, there are two possible kosherization methods.
- Vessel remains dormant for 24hrs. Vessel is then washed for 15 consecutive minutes water temperatures upon exit at 195F or greater. Alternatively, the interior of the vessel can be steamed until the exiting steam condensate measures 195F or greater.
- If 24 hr dormant time is not satisfied, kosherization must then be a ‘two-step’ process, called a ‘double kosher’. First a caustic or detergent wash of 195F or greater must be recirculated for 15 consecutive minutes, followed by fresh water wash of 195F for 15 minutes or steaming until 200F condensate is measured.
Kosherization procedure following an ambient kosher dairy load is identical to the above with the exception that wash temperatures (for both ‘single’ or ‘double kosher’) are accepted at 180F or greater.
Depending upon a facility’s ability to chart and provide printed verification of temperature and time (not hand-written records) and the ability to verify vessel cleanliness, it may be necessary for an OU representative to be present during ‘kosherization’ for verification purposes. When utilizing the above steam option, the process typically must always be supervised. Details should be discussed with the OU office prior to performing any kosherization.
See also Kosher Maintenance Wash