021104 Kosher: It's Not Just Chopped Liver

New York - Kosher food. It's not just chopped liver anymore. Indeed, the message at Kosherfest, the giant food trade show in New Jersey, is that kosher also means sushi- grade tuna, Italian grappa, Wasabi horseradish spread in a squeeze bottle, micro-brewed Pacific Rim marinades and an endless variety of "healthy" vegetarian, low-carb and sugar-free products.

"Oh, this is not just for people who keep kosher," said Karen Hertz of Portage, Michigan, who rested on a bus bench after a hectic morning of sampling products for her small catering business.

"It's for Seventh Day Adventists, its for Muslims and vegetarians. It's for people with food allergies," Hertz said. "There's a growing demand for kosher food mostly because people are more confident about believing what's on the label ... they know so many people are watching the food preparation from beginning to end."

Judging by the gamut of names, businesses and nationalities that filled the Meadowlands exposition center in Secaucus, New Jersey, Hertz was far from alone. Estimates were that there were more than 13,000 visitors from over 30 countries at the two-day show tasting French pastries, Canadian smoked salmon and Israeli wine for their restaurants, grocery and health food stores and liquor shops.

Kosherfest, the world's largest kosher food and foodservice show with some 500 exhibitors, comes as the popularity of kosher items continues to rise. Kosher means that a product is clean or fit according to Jewish dietary laws.

While it is estimated that about 900,000 of America's 6 million Jews keep kosher all year round, the number of consumers who buy kosher items is believed to be well over 10 million, according to statistics compiled by New York-based Integrated Marketing Communications.

The kosher food industry as a whole has been growing at a clip of about 15% year over the past decade and accounts for more than $6 billion in sales and 33% of all food sold at the supermarket level, Integrated Marketing said.

Although many consumers do not realize popular products have been certified as kosher with a seal called a hecksher, many consumers specifically look for the mark to ensure quality or to meet certain dietary needs.

Menachem Lubinsky, founder and president of the 14-year-old Kosherfest, said that more than 2,500 new kosher products are coming into the market this year alone.

Asked how this year's show is different from all other shows, he said there were numerous new introductions of Mexican, Caribbean and Asian-style foods, including sushi, wraps, salsas and other hot sauces.

He said another important development is the emphasis on "healthy" products with many companies adding vegetarian and vegan meals to their frozen lines and others offering sugar-free and low-carbohydrate breads and desserts.

"It's a combination of traditional kosher products and upscale gourmet...You'll be seeing more of this: certified kosher and certified organic," he said.

The show combined such traditional names as Manischewitz, Streit's, Empire poultry and Kedem with prominent health food names like Hain's, Westbrae Natural, Yves and Solgar vitamins. In some cases there was even a combination of the two like Guiltless Gourmet, the popular brand of low-fat tortilla chips and popcorn, which is now owned by Manischewitz.

There were a number of new companies trying to grab a foothold as both kosher and healthy. For example, one company was O'So Lo Foods, of Feasterville, Pennsylvania. that makes low-carbohydrate sandwich rolls and muffins. Another was Maui Wowi Smoothie Rip-sticks from Littleton, Colorado, a fat-free squeeze-up "Hawaiian blend" smoothie snack.

The show provided some rather unexpected finds. For example, Tennessee-based Allegro Foods, which makes marinades popular in the South, showed marinades for brisket as well as game. The company also makes mesquite and roasted garlic "flavor injectors" that can be inserted directly into meats.

Then there was: KosherPets, which makes freeze-dried kosher pet food; Gold Pure Food Products, famous for its horseradish, which makes a Japanese wasabi spread in a squeeze bottle; Soda-Club Inc., which sells a system for making carbonated beverages at home; and Moscow KosherMarket, which is bringing Russian kosher items into the United States for the first time.

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