Gulfood 2021: Kosher foods see chances to make UAE market breakthrough

Gulfood 2021: Kosher foods see chances to make UAE market breakthrough

Dubai: 'Kosher' certified could emerge as the fastest growing food category in the UAE, reaping the full dividend from the opening up of the UAE-Israel ties. "It is imperative for many food businesses in the UAE to go kosher if they want to serve and build good relationships with an entirely new audience of consumers," said Eliav Amram, an Israeli visitor at Gulfood. "I have plans to export kosher dairy products to the UAE." For any dairy product to be considered kosher, it has to be made from the milk of a kosher animal. This means a mammal with split hooves that chew the cud, like cows, sheep, goats and gazelles. (Not on that kosher list are camels.) All ingredients must be free of meat derivatives like gelatin or rennet. They must also be produced, processed and packaged on kosher-certified equipment. "Ideally, I would love to have a Kosher certified factory here, but because there's only a small number of kosher-observing Jews in the UAE, it makes more sense to import these products for now," said Amram. Kosher foods are made to meet Jewish dietary laws. It represents a diet that is derived from the Jewish faith. Similar to halal,