We are often asked if TOFUTTI products are kosher. TOFUTTI is Kosher Parve meaning all of our products are certified Kosher Parve. While our soy-based, dairy-free frozen desserts and other products meet most vegetarian and special religious dietary laws and needs, TOFUTTI products are not kosher for Passover because they contain soy. Soy is a grain that is not considered kosher for Passover by most. Certified Kosher Parve guarantees that none of our products ever contain any dairy or milk by products like casein, whey or skim milk powder. Look for a Kosher Parve symbol which certifies that the product is completely dairy/casein free.
Kosher is a Hebrew term referring to food that is prepared in accordance with Jewish Dietary Law, a Biblical concept that signifies that the food has both a spiritual as well as a physical relevance. Kosher food requires the supervision of a Rabbi in order for any food to be certified Kosher and meet certain requirements (see more on this in our Q & A section on the website). We have been asked about our equipment. One customer asked: “I know all TOFUTTI products are Kosher Parve, which means they contain no dairy, however I was told that some of your products run on equipment that also runs dairy products and if this is so, how are your products dairy free?”
Although we wish it otherwise, the overall demand for totally dairy- free products is not large enough to justify setting up complete production lines for dairy free products only. Most plants we use for manufacturing our products mainly produce dairy items. This is true for all companies who sell dairy-free products. In addition to normal plant sterilization, cleaning and testing procedures, we employ a kosher supervisory service to supervise the manufacturing of our products to ensure that they are completely dairy-free. The methodology and techniques used to clean the equipment and supervise the production is a process called kosherization.
Kosher Parve means there are no milk (or meat) derivatives in our products. It also means that the equipment used to produce TOFUTTI is either dedicated to non-dairy products or has gone through the rigorous sanitation and cleansing requirements of kosherization. Along with the rigorous sanitization procedures, a rabbinical supervisor is present to independently verify that these procedures are being adhered to and to review logbooks and digital records to verify that the procedures are being followed.