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At OK Kosher, maintaining the highest standards of kosher certification is essential to building trust with both consumers and companies. A key element in this process is our practice of Regular Unannounced Inspections, which provide real-time insights into a facility’s operations. These surprise visits, conducted by trained local rabbis, ensure that kosher controls are upheld without any prior preparation by the company, allowing for a true picture of day-to-day activities.
We conduct ongoing inspections of thousands of plants in over 100 countries, supported by hundreds of field representatives and overseen by dozens of rabbinic coordinators, along with a dedicated administrative team. The sheer scale of our global operations allows us to maintain a rigorous and consistent level of supervision across all certified companies.
Each inspection visit is accompanied by a written report, signed by both the visiting rabbi and a representative of the manufacturing plant. The plant representative also receives a copy of this report, ensuring transparency and a clear record of the inspection.
The benefit of these inspections is that they help us verify compliance at any time, regardless of production schedules. By visiting at unpredictable times, we can identify and prevent potential issues before they escalate, minimizing risks such as costly product quarantines or recalls. While the frequency of these visits depends on the kosher risk factors at each facility, regular checks are essential to maintaining kosher integrity across all our certified companies. Serious issues are rare thanks to OK Kosher’s proven systems, but these unannounced inspections are crucial for safeguarding the trust that proper certification and kosher law require, as well as the trust consumers place in our certification. This ensures that every product bearing the OK symbol upholds the highest standards of kosher integrity, giving consumers confidence in the food they bring into their homes.
Types of Kosher Inspections: What to Expect
In addition to unannounced spot checks, we conduct Annual Review Inspections from our head office. These pre-scheduled visits, carried out by a senior rabbi, are designed to re-review your company’s Kosher operations in depth. Here’s what you can expect during these visits:
- Production Process Review: We start with a discussion of your facility’s production process, followed by a walkthrough of the production area.
- Ingredient Verification: The rabbi checks procedures to ensure kosher compliance for all incoming ingredients.
- Finished Product Review: Your OK Kosher-approved product list will be reviewed to ensure all products bearing the OK symbol are properly certified.
These annual visits are an excellent opportunity for you to raise any concerns and ask questions to further optimize your kosher program. You can read our post about Making the Most of Your Annual Visit here www.ok.org/article/making-the-most-of-your-annual-visit/
Ensuring the Highest Kosher Standards
Our unannounced spot checks and scheduled Annual Review visits, backed by detailed inspection reports, form the backbone of a robust kosher certification program. At OK Kosher, our mission goes beyond certifying products—it’s about safeguarding the trust that consumers and companies place in us every day.
In the ever-evolving world of food production, you can count on OK Kosher to stay ahead, adapting kosher laws to modern practices while never compromising on the core principles that have guided kosher supervision for thousands of years. Because for us, kosher isn’t just a standard—it’s a promise.
In our next post, we will focus on koshering and supervised production visits, which involve on-site scheduled supervision for specific production runs, as opposed to year-round certification with spot checks only. We’ll explain why and when these visits are required.
