Likewise, kashrut (kosher) practices have evolved in response to changes in the food industry, Jewish communal life, and world culture.
The growth of complex, industrialized food processing, international ingredient sourcing, and proprietary product formulations paved the way for today's kosher certifying agencies.
Kashrut agencies determine the kosher status of prepared foods and supervise manufacturing processes to ensure that certified products retain their kosher status. Kosher certification labels printed on food packages aid kosher-seeking consumers in navigating the food marketplace.
As Jews lived in and adopted food traditions from different countries around the world and as different denominations of Judaism developed, Jewish definitions of kosher have become more varied over time.
Nowadays, there are different Jewish ethnic cultures, different branches within Judaism, and various Jewish kosher certifying authorities in the United States that certify kosher based on rules that vary from liberal to conservative.
