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A controversial topic is the status of gelatin. True gelatin consists of denatured proteins, and usually comes from the processed hides or bones of animals. If the source of gelatin is a kosher animal that was properly slaughtered according to Jewish law, or a kosher fish, then such gelatin is considered kosher by all Jews.
Another issue with gelatin is whether it is pareve. Kosher gelatin made from kosher fish is pareve. A kosher pareve 'gelatin' made from vegetable gums such as carrageenan combined with food starch from tapioca (which is also suitable for vegans) is commercially available in supermarkets which have substantial Kosher food sections. It does behave differently than protein-based gelatin, however, and cannot always be substituted directly for animal gelatin without modification of the recipe. Other gelatin-like materials available include combinations of carrageenan and other vegetable gums, such as guar gum, locust-bean gum , xanthan gun , gum acacia , and agar, chemically modified food starch , and chemically modified pectins. Recently, such products have come to be used in prepackaged gelled fruit products, where animal-based gelatin was previously used.
All other gelatin is usually considered treif (non-kosher). However, a number of prominent rabbinic authorities have noted that gelatin undergoes such extensive processing and chemical changes that it no longer has the status of meat, and as such may be considered pareve and kosher. Most Conservative Jews, and a significant minority of Israeli Orthodox Jews, accept that all gelatin is kosher.
This also affects the status of marshmallows, which contain gelatin as one of their principal ingredients.
With four exceptions, all insects and other invertebrates (including those usually consumed as seafood), all reptiles, and all amphibians are considered 'loathsome', 'crawling' creatures, and are forbidden as treif (un-kosher). The exceptions are a type of locust native to the Arabian peninsula, encompassing four distinct species. The tradition for identifying which species of locust were and were not kosher has been lost among all Jews except the Jews of Yemen. (One hypothesis links these kosher insects to the Biblical manna which was provided as food for the Israelites in the desert).
Bee honey is Kosher, even though bees are not, because the honey is made by the bee, not a secretion of the bee[1].In the summer of 2004, a controversy arose in New York City over the presence of copepods (tiny crustaceans) in the city water supply. While some authorities hold that these creatures are microscopic and therefore negligible, others note that they are almost the size of a small insect, such as a gnat, and far larger than a bacterium or other single-celled creature; and in fact can be detected by the naked eye. As of this writing a definitive ruling has not been produced, but many families have begun using filters on their drinking and cooking water supply.
Milk and milk-derived products derived from kosher animals are always kosher. All milk from cows, goats, and sheep is kosher. In practice, many Orthodox Jews use only "Cholov Yisroel" (חלב ישראל) milk and dairy products; this label means that the milk has been under constant rabbinical supervision from milking to bottling, to make sure that it is not admixed with the milk of a non-kosher animal. In the past, when milk from cows was more expensive, adulteration with camel milk or horse milk was a serious issue; today this is not considered a practical concern in the USA or in most western countries. As such, most Modern Orthodox rabbis and all Conservative rabbis hold that FDA supervision is sufficient for milk and dairy products to be considered automatically kosher.
Cheese is, of course, considered a dairy product. Hard cheeses, however, are made from milk and rennet, an animal product, and the kashrut of such cheeses is a matter of debate in the religious Jewish community.
Rennet is the enzyme used to turn milk into curds and whey; most forms of rennet derive from the lining of the stomach of an animal. Kosher rennet may be made from the stomachs of kosher animals slaughtered in conformance with the laws of kashrut, or may be made from vegetable or microbial sources. The Mishna and Talmud (in Avodah Zarah and Hullin) state that cheese made with rennet derived from a non-kosher animal is non-kosher. Orthodox authorities follow this ruling, and hold that rennet is a "d'var ha'ma'amid" (דבר המאמעמיד), something that changes the status of the food so much that any amount makes the food it is added to non-kosher. Conservative authorities classify rennet as something that has changed so much from its original form that it is a "d'var chadash" (דבר חדש), "something new", and thus is no longer un-kosher. In practice Orthodox and some Conservative Jews eat only cheese made with kosher rennet, while other Conservative Jews follow the Conservative ruling and eat any hard cheese.
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