Definition: A hechsher is the special marking found on the packages of products that have been certified as kosher.
To assist consumers who keep kosher (follow Jewish Dietary Laws), rabbinic authorities supervise food production. A mashgiah is appointed to supervise the food production process to ensure compliance with the kosher standards. The mashgiach decides whether a manufacturer can apply a hechsher, marking of kosher approval, to the packaging of the product.
Rabbis may add text after the hechsher on a package to provide the kosher consumer with additional aid. Examples of this extra text are M to denote the product contains meat, D to denote the product contains dairy, or P to denote the product is parve.
More Kosher Vocabulary Words: Glossary of Kosher Terms
To assist consumers who keep kosher (follow Jewish Dietary Laws), rabbinic authorities supervise food production. A mashgiah is appointed to supervise the food production process to ensure compliance with the kosher standards. The mashgiach decides whether a manufacturer can apply a hechsher, marking of kosher approval, to the packaging of the product.
Rabbis may add text after the hechsher on a package to provide the kosher consumer with additional aid. Examples of this extra text are M to denote the product contains meat, D to denote the product contains dairy, or P to denote the product is parve.
More Kosher Vocabulary Words: Glossary of Kosher Terms
Pronunciation: hekh-sher
Common Misspellings: heksher
Examples:
When you go shopping for Joe, only buy food products with a hechsher as he keeps kosher.
