Is Soy Sauce Kosher? The Jerky Marinade Question
Soy sauce can be kosher, but only if it is certified, and a lot of the soy sauce used in commercial jerky is not. Soy sauce is brewed, fermented and processed on equipment that needs supervision, so it cannot be assumed kosher just because soybeans and wheat are. Since soy sauce is one of the most common jerky ingredients, it is one of the most common reasons a jerky is not kosher.
Why soy sauce needs certification
- Fermentation and additives. Cultures, flavor enhancers and other processing aids can come from sources that need checking.
- Shared equipment. Sauce plants often run many products on the same lines.
- Imports. A lot of soy sauce is made abroad, where supervision may or may not exist.
Certified kosher soy sauces are widely available. The issue is that a jerky manufacturer buying sauce in bulk for a non-kosher product has no reason to choose one.
Two more soy sauce questions
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Is soy sauce kosher for Passover? | Traditional soy sauce contains wheat, which is chametz. For Ashkenazim, soy is also kitniyot. Year-round certification does not make it kosher for Passover |
| Is soy sauce gluten-free? | Usually not; most is brewed with wheat. Tamari is sometimes wheat-free, but check the label |
Both points carry straight over to jerky: a soy-marinated jerky is almost never a Pesach product, and rarely gluten-free.
Reading a jerky label for soy
- Soy sauce, tamari and "soy sauce solids" all count.
- If there is no hechsher on the finished jerky, the soy sauce was probably uncertified, and the question is closed.
- If there is a hechsher on the finished product, the agency is responsible for the sauce too.
Ours
Our kosher beef jerky, Meat Candy, is certified Glatt Kosher as a finished product, sauces and all. Our biltong takes soy out of the question entirely: no soy in any of our blends. Certificates here, and the full checklist in is beef jerky kosher?
Try it: Is This Jerky Kosher? Label Checker. Answer five questions about the bag in your hand.
