How verdicts work

Code decides, not a model

When a product is scanned for the first time, text recognition runs on the phone and turns the label into an ingredient list. Each raw string is mapped once to a normalized ingredient (for example gelatin:porcine) and cached. The kosher symbol crop is the only image that leaves the device, and only for symbol reading.

From there everything is deterministic. The engine takes the normalized ingredients, the hechsher and the designation printed next to it, and matches them against the rulings on file for the tradition you selected. The same product and the same rulings always give the same verdict. If a ruling or the product record changes, verdicts are recomputed.

Five traditions, never ranked

Biblically clean reads the ingredient list against Leviticus 11 and does not require certification. Reform shows the facts and issues no verdict, following CCAR guidance that kashrut is informed choice. Conservative prefers a hechsher and applies published CJLS teshuvot to ingredients. Messianic reads against MJRC standards; our summary of those standards is pending MJRC review and is labeled as such on every result. Orthodox relies on a recognized hechsher and offers chalav Yisrael and pas Yisrael options.

Results always read as “Kosher under the OU” or “Permitted per the CJLS ruling on gelatin,” never a bare yes or no. Hechsher-required tiers never decide from ingredients alone.

When we are not sure

Every product record carries a confidence level and an ingredient hash. A later scan whose text does not match the stored hash flags the product for re-verification, which catches reformulations and certification changes. Low-confidence reads go to a review queue before they are trusted.

Money never touches a verdict

The core lookup is free and will stay free. At launch, product pages carry affiliate “buy” links. If the service grows, a Pro tier may add conveniences such as offline mode, household profiles and certification-change alerts. No payment changes a ruling, and any sponsored item is labeled.

Contribute a product

Scan something we do not know and the app walks you through three photos. Your submission is live for you immediately and joins the review queue for everyone else.

Report a correction

If a verdict, a summary of a ruling, or a product record is wrong, tell us from the product page. Corrections from certifying agencies and ruling bodies are prioritized.