Proof that Enzymes are Kosher, Always

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Bees Are Not Kosher
Every time we enjoy the delicious taste of honey we should be asking ourselves, how could this be kosher? It seems strange to be asking such a question but the logic is impeccable; there are certain creatures that we are not permitted to eat. Neither are we permitted to eat any foods derived from such creatures. Thus, honey should be considered a food derived from a non-Kosher creature and should be prohibited.

Honey Is Kosher
The Talmud Bavli Bechoros [7b] explains that honey is not PRODUCED by the bee it is only COLLECTED by the bee. Thus honey is a product of flowers and 100% Kosher.

Enzymes are proteins produced by living plant and animal cells, that regulate reactions for the benefit of that organism. They are comprised of specially folded globular proteins and a co-enzyme (or cofactor).

  

Enzymes increase reaction rates but are not effected by the reaction itself. Each enzyme works only on a specific substance, called a substrate, which is dismantled into simpler, "friendlier" parts; lactose into glucose and galactose for example to aid digestion, and then goes to work on another lactose molecule.

  

These enzyme producing cells can be "farmed" on an industrial scale. They are fed whatever they require and the enzymes they produce are harvested. That is how we produce antibiotics like penicillin and bakers and brewers yeast.

  

  

  

 

Adding the rennet for Kosher cheese

Nectar Is Not Honey
There is however, a problem. The texture and taste of the honey we enjoy is not at all like the nectar collected from the flowers, something has changed it from the bland flower nectar into the exciting and delicious honey we so enjoy. That something is an enzyme, and the enzyme is of course produced by the bee. In other words a non-Kosher enzyme is responsible for the significant change of nectar into honey.

Enzymes
Now we know that milk processed into cheese even by the tiniest drop of non-Kosher-enzyme is not Kosher [RaMBaM Ma”AsUros 3:13]. The rules of bittul [nullification] do not apply when the effects of the non-Kosher component, no matter how small in quantity, are profound in their effect. So we remain with a troubling question: how can honey be considered Kosher?

Something That Must Be Kosher
It must be that the enzyme is a Kosher product. The Shulchan Aruch [81:6 RaMBaM 4:19] describes the contents of the stomach [the rennet enzymes used to make cheese] as “rubbish – Pirsha BeAlma” it is not a food and can not be classified as non-Kosher. Even if this non-food is used to modify or manufacture food, its addition and contribution is of no Kosher consequence.

So Why Do We Not Eat Cheese Made by a Gentile?
You may well ask, “If that is the case why do we have a problem with cheese manufactured from rennet?” The answer surprisingly is, there is no intrinsic Kosher problem with such cheese. In fact in the good old days we were permitted to purchase and consume cheese manufactured by our Gentile neighbours [RaMBaM M”AsUros 3:13], who certainly used rennet of their non-Kosher slaughtered calves for manufacturing their cheese. In fact this is further proof that non-foods can not be considered not Kosher and even if they are used specifically for food manufacture and their effect is critical, they will not make the food un-Kosher.

New Cheese Making Process
We hasten to add [before you go off to eat all those delicious cheeses that do not have Kosher certification] that there is a Rabbinic problem. Our Rabbis observed that the cheese-making process had changed. No longer was it made by adding the contents of the stomach which contained rennet; now cheese was being made by adding the stomach wall itself (which contained the rennet producing glands). The stomach wall is in fact a food and a non Kosher food. This means that cheese was now being made with non-Kosher food.

As the Halacha is practised today, we understand that our Sages did not just insist that Kosher cheese must be made with Kosher cow stomach. They decreed that in order to be Kosher, participation of a Jew is required in manufacturing the cheese. It is somewhat akin to the Law of Bishul Akkum which requires Jewish participation in the cooking of certain foods. The reason for this is that our Sages were enacting policies to protect our society by restricting the foods we could eat from our gentile neighbours.

This also explains why this decree was set, even though the stomach wall is a completely insignificant component in the cheese. The stomach wall is nothing more than a sponge (so to speak) that contains the enzymes which, as we have already said, are not a food and can not be considered non-K. As the Rashba states, when the Sages promulgate decrees to protect the integrity of the Jewish society, the usual rules of Bittul (nullification) do not apply.