The enzyme industry and its component, the food-grade enzyme industry, are areas that have grown\u00a0rapidly over the last forty to fifty years. Enzymes are currently used to create all sorts of different\u00a0properties in foods, throughout food manufacturing. Examples include the starch industry,\u00a0production of cheese and other dairy products, bakery products, the egg industry, juice and wine\u00a0production\u2014and we could go on and on. Enzymes have been found to do all sorts of interesting\u00a0things such as liquefy solids, sweeten starch syrups, curdle milk for cheese production, act as a\u00a0clarifier in juice production, de-sugar egg whites to prevent browning during drying, extract more oil\u00a0during degumming in the oil industry\u2014and, again, the list goes on and on. It can truly be said that the\u00a0use of food grade enzymes is now \u201cmainstream,\u201d as their usage is found in all sorts of production\u00a0situations, large, medium and small.<\/p>\n
While in almost all cases these ingredients are used in small quantities, under kosher rules the OU is obligated to ensure that each and every ingredient is derived exclusively from kosher sources. The restriction against the usage of non-kosher enzymes at even small levels dates back to ancient times. The Talmud requires rabbinic supervision of cheese to ensure that rennet derived from a non-kosher animal is not used. While the sources of the catalysts may have changed\u00a0(for example, the American\u00a0cheese industry uses almost exclusively microbial rennets or chymosin in modern cheese\u00a0production), the concepts remain the same. Most enzymes today are manufactured through a\u00a0biotechnology process. That is, a company will start the grow-up of a microorganism that has the\u00a0desired property. The propagation generally goes through graduated stages beginning with a small\u00a0flask, moving to a seed fermenter and then to a main fermenter.<\/p>\n
This is followed by the harvesting steps where filter aids, preservatives, other processing aids and\u00a0diluents may be added. We do have some companies in the Far East that also use koji fermentation.\u00a0This is a variation on the submerged fermentation process, in which the propagation takes place with\u00a0the nutrients on solid trays, instead of in a liquid solution in a fermentation vessel. At all stages of\u00a0production growth, it is the OU\u2019s responsibility to ensure the kosher status of each and every\u00a0ingredient, whether nutrient, antifoam or any other processing aid used. In addition, we need to\u00a0ensure that the equipment used is in kosher status. That is, if the equipment had previously been\u00a0used with non-kosher ingredients (or in the case of an OU pareve product, with dairy ingredients),\u00a0the equipment would require kosherization (generally under the guidance of an OU rabbinic field\u00a0representative) to restore it to the required status. When we talk about equipment, we are referring\u00a0to fermentation vessels, recovery vessels and in the case of dried products, spray dryers or\u00a0crystallization equipment.<\/p>\n
Another important topic in food grade enzyme production is Kosher for Passover status.\u00a0During Passover, there are more stringent kosher requirements and no derivatives of any of\u00a0the \u201cfive grains\u201d (wheat, barley, spelt, oats and rye) may be used. In addition, ingredients\u00a0derived from the legume family (rice, corn, soybeans, etc.) are generally not acceptable. Many\u00a0products manufactured with enzymes are manufactured as Kosher for Passover, and as such\u00a0the enzymes used must meet Passover approval as well. The most common examples are\u00a0cheese products, as well as enzymes used in grape juice or wine production. This is especially\u00a0important regarding enzymes for wine\/grape juice production, as wine crushes only take\u00a0place once a year and wine and grape juice are highly desired products for Passover.<\/p>\n
Still another important issue regarding Passover is corn syrups. While corn syrups are from the legume family and accordingly by definition should not be acceptable for Passover, the OU does accept legume derivatives in the fermentation industry due to the extreme changes that\u00a0happen during the fermentation\u2014resulting with completely changed contents by the end of\u00a0the fermentation process. This only applies to legume derivatives, as the stricter nature of the\u00a0prohibition on the \u201cfive grains\u201d does not allow for similar acceptance.<\/p>\n
The most common Passover applications for corn syrups are in fermentation products such as\u00a0citric acid, microbial rennet, and MSG, among others. These corn syrups will be certified\u00a0chametz-free, meaning that all ingredients, specifically the enzymes used in corn syrup\u00a0manufacture, besides having the regular kosher requirements, are also kosher controlled to\u00a0ensure that no derivatives of the five aforementioned grains are used.<\/p>\n
One more area of enzymes that can be termed \u201cnatural enzymes\u201d are enzymes such as papain\u00a0(extract of papaya), ficin (extract of figs), bromelain (extract of pineapple plant) and beta\u00a0amylase (steeping of barley or wheat or soy). While in this case the raw materials are non-\u00a0animal and should be intrinsically kosher, kosher control is needed to ensure kosher status on\u00a0ingredients on the diluents used. Some of these products are very powerful and in order to be\u00a0usable, the company will need to dilute them down to the proper strength.<\/p>\n
If the product is in a liquid form, glycerine could be used, which is kosher-sensitive as it could\u00a0be animal-derived. In a dried product with a kosher pareve certification, lactose would be\u00a0proscribed and a pareve dilutant such as maltodextrin would need to be used. If the product is\u00a0needed for Passover, sorbitol could be a concern as it could be wheat- or even corn-derived.<\/p>\n
It is very important that our client companies understand our requirements and that the OU\u00a0understands our clients\u2019 business objectives, as well. If we understand each other\u2019s\u00a0requirements, we will be in a more advantageous position regarding working out our clients\u2019\u00a0needs while maintaining kosher standards, at the same time allowing our clients to service the\u00a0kosher consumer with a top-of-the-line kosher certification.<\/p>\n
In that regard, the OU is very proud that we partner with the leading food-grade enzymes\u00a0manufacturers in the world to offer first class kosher certification on enzyme products that are\u00a0considered the best in quality and functionality. We currently certify over 70 food-grade enzyme\u00a0companies worldwide including the world\u2019s largest enzyme companies, as well as medium size\u00a0companies and even many of the small enzyme companies. The OU is positioned to certify any\u00a0enzyme product that meets the kosher requirements, whatever the size of the company.<\/p>\n
If your kosher product requires a food grade enzyme, you can be assured that there is a very good chance that one of our OU companies has what you need in an OU certified version, and where applicable, certified as Kosher for\u00a0Passover\/chametz free. Even if it is not currently available as\u00a0kosher according to your needs, there is a good chance that the product can be manufactured to\u00a0your specifications and be kosher-certified. If you find yourself in such a situation, please contact the\u00a0enzyme company and inform it that you need kosher certification on the desired product. The\u00a0enzyme manufacturer can then contact its rabbinic coordinator at the OU office and discuss kosher\u00a0certification for the new product.<\/p>\n
The worldwide food grade enzyme industry continues to expand and offer new and exciting\u00a0products which can help improve product quality and consistency, and hasten production time. If\u00a0your product needs a food grade enzyme solution and also needs kosher certification, working with\u00a0the OU will enable you to utilize leading food grade enzyme manufacturers worldwide while\u00a0servicing the kosher public with the respected OU symbol.<\/p>\n
Editor\u2019s Note: This instructive article on kosher enzyme production appeared in the Fall 2005 issue of\u00a0Behind the Union Symbol.<\/em><\/p>\n RABBI MENACHEM ADLER SERVES AS OU RABBINIC COORDINATOR FOR THE MAJORITY OF THE OU\u00a0CERTIFIED ENZYME COMPANIES. RABBI ADLER HAS ALSO SERVED AS RC FOR OTHER OU CERTIFIED\u00a0BIOTECHNOLOGY COMPANIES, AS WELL AS FOR COMPANIES IN THE EMULSIFIER, VEGETABLE OIL,\u00a0DAIRY AND COFFEE CREAMER INDUSTRIES. MARRIED AND THE FATHER OF THREE CHILDREN, RABBI\u00a0ADLER RESIDES IN FAR ROCKAWAY, NY.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The enzyme industry and its component, the food-grade enzyme industry, are areas that have grown\u00a0rapidly over the last forty to fifty years. Enzymes are currently used to create all sorts of different\u00a0properties in foods, throughout food manufacturing. Examples include the starch industry,\u00a0production of cheese and other dairy products, bakery products, the egg industry, juice and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n