MZ-39-O

The stamp, which bore the Hebrew inscription kosher (Hebrew: proper, appropriate), was used to mark various food products, in this case probably meat. A product marked with the stamp was approved for consumption by Judaism believers, because it ensured that it was prepared according to kosher principles, i.e. in accordance with religious law. The term “kosher” refers to the ritual purity of mainly food, but also objects. A particularly complicated issue concerns animal meat and the way it is prepared (the so-called ritual slaughter). The rules describe this in detail, and so, for example, among quadrupeds one is allowed to eat meat only of animals that are both cloven-hoofed and ruminant. Fish are allowed as long as they have scales and fins. The consumption of blood is also forbidden, except for the blood of fish. Mixing dairy and meat foods is also not allowed. The above-mentioned ritual slaughter (Hebrew: shchita) requires proper organization and the employment by the Jewish community of so-called shochetim, who carry out the slaughter.