Generating over $12 billion in annual sales, kosher food is big business. It is also an unheralded story of private-sector regulation in an era of growing public concern over the government's ability to ensure food safety. Kosher uncovers how independent certification agencies rescued American...

Regulatory regimes may be conceptualised as consisting of three elements: rule-making (standard setting), monitoring compliance, and enforcement (administration of sanctions) (Picciotto 2002, Scott 2002). Many different forms of private regulation exist, examples are: corporate social...

Introduction: why kosher food certification is worthy of attention -- Rivalry and racketeering: the failures of kosher meat supervision 1850-1940 -- From canned soup to packaged nuts: the rise of industrial kashrus -- Sour grapes and self-regulation: creating an American standard of kashrus --...