In contrast to the United States, most German grocery stores do not have an aisle with kosher products. However, more and more Germans perceive kosher cooking as part of a healthy diet and, thus, kosher foods enjoy a rising popularity. Moreover, the Jewish communities have grown substantially over the last decades, especially in large urban centers such as Berlin, Munich, and Frankfurt. In these cities, you can find a number of suppliers of kosher foods, both fresh and packaged products.
One of the first and leading German online grocers is Danel Feinkost OHG in Munich who sells kosher foods, including some Haribo gummy bear varieties, all over the world since 1996. Danel Feinkost works under supervision or care (haschgacha) by the rabbinate of Munich and Upper Bavaria, Rabbi Arie Folger.
The Orthodox Rabbinical Conference Germany (abbreviated “ORD”) has published the “Kashrut” list, identifying over 4,000 kosher foods produced in Germany from well-known manufacturers, such as Brandt, Bahlsen, Kölln, Hela, Halloren, Zentis an more. Many of these kosher German products are exported all over the world, including the US and Canada.
Food products with a Hechsher (as kosher certification symbols are called in Hebrew language) have developed a strong following, not just among orthodox Jews, but also many Christian or non-religious consumers. The most prominent hechshers come from the US, such as OU, Kof-K, OK, or Star K. Pareve, but there are certifiers all over the world, such as the Rabbinat Hamburg, KLBD in the UK, London Beit Din, the Kashrus Council of Canada, Kosher Australia, and Rabbi Mordechai Rottenberg (Chief Rabbi of Paris).
