Fro-yo girl here. Shana Tova! In honor of the Jewish New Year (aka Rosh Hashanah), I looked into kosher froyo, including what kosher froyo is, who certifies kosher froyo, and where to get kosher froyo.
Kosher dietary laws originate from the Torah and are detailed in the Talmud. Under the Kashrut Laws (aka dietary laws), certain foods like pork, rabbit, and shellfish, are not kosher. Also, meat and dairy products must not be manufactured or consumed together.
While many froyo flavors are certified kosher in their sealed containers, few shops are fully kosher. If the kosher froyo container is opened and the froyo is mixed with non-kosher items, it is no longer kosher.
There are different types of kosher certification and different certification agencies. Broadly speaking, businesses apply to a kosher certification agency and are assigned to a rabbi who is the point person for the account. The rabbi will check the ingredients, production facility, and production to ensure that there are no non-kosher substances and that Kosher Law requirements have been followed. Once the business passes inspection, a contract is signed detailing the requirements and obligations of both parties.
Rabbinic law requires supervision during the milking process but the Orthodox Union ruled that in the United States, the Department of Agriculture’s regulations and controls provides enough assurance that only cow’s milk is sold commercially. Some rabbis disagree with this position and feel Jewish supervision should be required to ensure the purity of the milk.
Main Distinctions: Cholov Yisroel vs. Dairy Chalav Stam
Cholov Yisroel: refers to kosher milk that was produced with full-time Jewish supervision to ensure that the milk is from a kosher animal.
Dairy Chalav Stam: This is a less stringent designation that indicates that the dairy milk wasn’t supervised (i.e., under Jewish supervision) during the production but was assumed pure for other reasons (e.g., government regulation of the dairy industry makes it likely that the milk does not come from non-kosher animals). Commercial milk produced in the US and European Union nations is considered chalav stam.
Kosher Certification Agencies
There are many kosher certification agencies. They tend to be regional since part of the certification process includes a site visit. The main ones serving the Los Angeles area are:
- Kosher LA: Kosher LA is a kosher certification agency that was established in 1994 and is based in LA.
- KSA: the symbol for Pareve, the product does not contain milk or meat ingredients, from the Kosher Supervision of America, the largest kosher certification agency in the Western United States. Pareve foods are neutral and may be eaten with meat or dairy foods. KSA-D is the symbol for kosher dairy from the Kosher Supervision of America.
- Orthodox Union (OU) Kosher: can certify closed containers of froyo and in some cases, the entire froyo shop. “The OU (Orthodox Union) Kosher is the world’s largest and most widely recognized kosher certification agency, certifying over 1,261,754 products produced in more than 3,000 plants located in 103 countries around the world.”
- RCC Kosher: The RCC is a regional agency. The Rabbinical Council of California (RCC) is a non-profit organization of Orthodox Rabbis in California. One of the services they provide is kosher food certification.
Kosher Froyo & Froyo Shops
While hard to find, Los Angeles does have kosher froyo shops, not just ones that serve kosher froyo. Many froyo shops offer kosher froyo though they are not certified kosher shops.
- Abyss Yogurt, 5406 Whitsett Ave., Valley Village, CA 91607, opened inside Abyss Market in February 2022. The fro-yo and toppings are certified kosher by Rabbi Yitzchak Feglin, with two Cholov Yisroel flavors from Klein’s and the other eight kosher flavors from Dannon YoCream.
- Anita Gelato, 18700 Ventura Blvd #120, Tarzana, CA 91356, is the first LA branch of the international gelato chain that was founded in Tel Aviv, Israel in 2002. They offer one flavor of froyo, plain, with unlimited toppings. Anita Gelato is certified Dairy Chalav Stam by Kosher LA.
- Menchie’s (multiple locations) frozen yogurt flavors are certified kosher by Kosher Supervision of America or Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America in their sealed containers.
- Toppings Yogurt, 349 S Robertson Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90211, is certified Dairy Chalav Stam by Kosher LA. The froyo is self-serve.
- Valley Swirl has two locations: 524 N. La Brea Ave. Los Angeles, California 90036 and 9516 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90035. While it’s primarily an ice cream business, they have frozen yogurt, available as a base for their hand-crafted mix-in style soft serve. Everything is RCC Kosher/Cholov Yisroel certified. In addition to ice cream and froyo, they serve puffle waffles, waffle nachos, milkshakes, boba drinks, smoothies, frappes, acai bowls, and hot beverages.
- Yoga-urt serves all organic, plant-based, gluten-free, soy-free, kosher, probiotic, hand-crafted soft serve at three locations: 1407 W Kenneth Rd, Glendale; 2211 W. Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles; 1700 Ocean Park Blvd, Santa Monica, Yoga-urt is kosher certified by the International Kosher Council (IKC) under Rabbi Zev Schwartz.
- Yogurtland (multiple locations) serves proprietary frozen yogurt mixes that are produced in a Kosher certified facility and bear the KSA-D symbol of kosher certification.
Did we miss any kosher froyo shops in Los Angeles? Let us know.
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.
