Q&A: Fish Oil Without Kosher Certification
Fish Oil Without Kosher Certification
Question
Hello Rabbi,
I accidentally bought fish oil capsules without kosher certification. The capsules are manufactured in England, and their ingredients are as follows: fish oil extracted from sardines and anchovies, orange oil, an antioxidant (tocopherols), and sunflower oil. The capsule is made of fish gelatin and glycerin. In addition, the seller in the store, who is a religious man, claimed afterward that he had received a halakhic opinion from a decisor saying this:
Medicines or vitamins made as capsules, tablets, or drops whose taste is bitter and not sweet may be taken for medical purposes or to strengthen the body even though they do not have kosher certification. For even if they contain something prohibited, since it has no taste, this is not considered a normal manner of eating, and it is permitted for a sick person who is not in danger, and it is also permitted for someone who wants to strengthen the body.
What do you think?
Best regards,
Answer
If it is fit for human consumption, then even if it is not intended as food there is still a prohibition involved. If it is fit for a dog’s consumption, this is a rabbinic prohibition. If it is not fit for a dog’s consumption, there is no prohibition. However, it seems to me that even if it is fit for a dog’s consumption, but it has no taste and is not considered a food item, there is room to be lenient.
Discussion on Answer
Correct. Though gelatin can be problematic. As stated, in my opinion one can be lenient.
The capsule shell is made of fish gelatin and glycerin. What could be problematic about that?
Or perhaps you mean that some of the fish from which the gelatin is produced are not kosher?
Indeed.
Hello Rabbi,
Is it permissible to swallow oil extracted from the liver of a cod fish if it does not have a kosher certification stamp?
I’m not familiar with this fish or with the extraction process. If it is a kosher fish, then there is no problem. If the fish is not kosher, then this is a case of something that comes from an impure source being impure. But here too, if it undergoes extensive processing, there may perhaps be room to be lenient.
I looked online and saw claims that it is a kosher fish:
https://www.doresh-tzion.co.il/QAShowAnswer.aspx?qaid=140190
But elsewhere they wrote that this is only usually the case, not always.
See here, where they provide the phone number of a rabbi who is knowledgeable about the matter and can answer: https://www.kosharot.co.il/index2.php?id=418566&lang=HEB
If there is no kosher certification stamp, it is possible that in the production process they use non-kosher equipment (that comes into contact with other fish or other prohibited foods). That seems problematic to me.
There’s also the aspect that these capsules are swallowed and not eaten in the normal way. Also, among the ingredients there’s no non-kosher component, just no supervision.