Image by thinkstock

Imagine you’re a kosher traveler sightseeing in Croatia and you’d like to make sandwiches for a picnic lunch. How would you know which bread is kosher, or which jam to look for on the store shelf? You probably wouldn’t have a clue.

Until now, kosher shopping posed a real challenge to those unfamiliar with European hekshers and local kosher food distribution networks. But all that is changing thanks to a massive online database of every kosher European food product — ever.

It’s not always easy to find products with various hekshers all listed together in one place. Fortunately for Jews Down Under, the Kashrut Authority of Australia, New Zealand and the Asia Pacific Region has a website (promising “Keeping kosher made easy”) with just such a list. But in the United States, consumers have to search different authorities’ databases. For instance, the Orthodox Union’s database only contains OU authorized products.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

“This online resource is a fantastic example of how modern technology can be used to make religious life a little easier,” said Conference of European Rabbis president Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt of the new European list. “The project comes following a huge amount of hard work over recent months and we will of course continue to update and improve it.”

With more than 5,000 products listed, kosher eaters in Europe will not go hungry. You can buy kosher Knorr sauce to put on your kosher Buitoni pasta in just about any country on the continent. Sweet tooths can be indulged with kosher chocolate from famous confectioners like Lindt in many European countries.

And there is no need to call off that picnic you were hoping to have while touring Zagreb. Thanks to Croatia’s chief rabbi Dr. Kotel Da-Don, you’ll just need to consult your smart phone to be able to find more than twenty varieties of kosher jam (many of them local brands) for your sandwiches.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount