STAR-K Anisakis Fish Policy

Updated July 16, 2025

The purpose of the lists below is ONLY to clarify STAR-K policy with regard to fish possibly infested with Anisakis worms. It is not intended to address any other STAR-K policies regarding kosher fish (e.g., the requirement for Bishul Yisroel, hashgacha temidis, buying fish from a non-certified source).

Please REVIEW CAREFULLY since there are some species of fish which appear on BOTH lists. Their acceptability or non-acceptability could depend on where they originate or the type of fish (i.e., whole or fillet).

Please call STAR-K before using any fish not included on this list.

For answers to frequently asked questions about purchasing fresh fish from non-kosher stores or sources, review the STAR-K Fresh Fish Policy page.

APPROVED

Until further notice, only the varieties of fish found on the list below may be used without any need for inspection:

Baby Salmon Bangus BarramundiBranzini […]

Tevilas Keilim: Basic Guidelines

By: Rabbi Mordechai Frankel

Updated February 2025

For a more in-depth treatment of this topic, please refer to The Mitzvah of Tevilas Keilim by Rav Moshe Heinemann shlit”a.

For a comprehensive listing of kitchen utensils, and which require tevila – with or without a bracha – and which do not, please refer to the STAR-K Tevilas Keilim Chart.

GENERAL GUIDELINES

The utensil to be immersed must be completely clean – i.e., free of dirt, dust, rust, stickers, labels or glue. (Practical Tip: WD-40 is very effective in removing adhesive.) One should wet their hands in the mikvah water, hold the vessel in the wet hand and say, “Baruch…asher kid’shanu b’mitzvosav v’tzivanu al tevilas keili” – keilim for multiple utensils – and immerse the vessel(s).

If one forgot to make the bracha, the immersion is valid.

The water of the mikvah must touch the entire vessel, inside and out.

The entire vessel must be under water at one […]

STAR-K Kosher Traveling Guidance – Articles and Videos

The STAR-K site provides a variety of informative halacha-related articles and videos pertaining to kosher travel. Refer to the links below for guidance before your next trip.

ARTICLES

Going Away for Pesach? Guidelines for Hotel and Airbnb Guests – Rabbi Zvi Goldberg (January 2025)

STAR-K Certified Food Options at JFK, LaGuardia and Newark Airports – (Sept 2024)

The Traveler’s Halachic Guide to Hotels – Rabbi Zvi Goldberg (Updated February 2024)

Navigating the Ins and Outs of Renting an Airbnb – Rabbi Zvi Goldberg (Winter 2024)

A Traveler’s Guide to Tefilas Haderech – Rabbi Dovid Heber (Summer 2021)

When You Can Drink and Drive: The Halachic Implications of Drinking Coffee on the Road – Rabbi Baruch Beyer (Spring 2019)

Don’t Miss the Boat: Halachic Guidelines of Kosher Cruises – Rabbi Zvi Goldberg (Fall 2018)

Time Flies: A Guide to Time-Related Halachos When Flying – Rabbi Dovid Heber (Fall 2017)

A Traveler’s Guide […]

STAR-K Fresh Fish Policy

Download PDF of STAR-K Anisakis Fish Policy

Updated July 16, 2025

STAR-K
receives many questions about purchasing fresh fish from non-kosher stores or
sources. We hope this brief article will help clarify some of the confusion regarding
this topic.

For a fish to be kosher, the Halacha is that it needs to have fins and scales.[1] Furthermore, there is a rabbinic prohibition[2] to consume fish that has had the simanei kashrus (scales)[3] removed (e.g., a skinless fish fillet) without a Yehudi having confirmed that it was a kosher fish.

Stores with Kosher Supervision

In
stores or companies that are under STAR-K supervision, the fish are filleted
with a mashgiach present, and therefore one may buy any fish fillet without any
further concerns.

Skinless Fillet from a Non-Kosher Store or Source

Purchasing
skinless fish either from a store that is not kosher supervised, or that was
not sealed in a package bearing a reliable […]

Sheimos Guidelines

By: Rabbi Moshe Heinemann

Updated June 2024

Download PDF of Chart Here

The Torah forbids discarding objects with innate kedusha (holiness) into the trash or recycling bin. Objects which have innate kedusha must be placed in sheimos, which must be buried.

(Objects that acquire kedusha after being used for a mitzvah do not need to be placed in sheimos but do need to be disposed of with special sensitivity. This is discussed further below.)

SHEIMOS: Disposing of Objects with Kedusha

The following objects are included in this category:

Any of the names of Hashem

Sefer Torah or Sefer Torah cover

Seforim, whether handwritten, printed, photocopied, or downloaded and printed (e.g., Chumashim, Siddurim, Machzorim, Gemara, Shulchan Aruch, etc.)

Bentchers

Pages of a sefer that became detached or fragments of a sefer, even if there is no writing or print on them

A sefer’s cover that has been removed from the sefer

Binding tape that became detached from a sefer

Printed material primarily […]

Terumos and Ma’asros

By: Rabbi Moshe Heinemann

INTRODUCTION
Eretz Yisroel has the unique privilege of being the recipient of the Ribono Shel Olam’s brochos throughout the year. Its agricultural industry continues to grow and flourish. Some consumer products imported from Eretz Yisroel, such as Jaffa oranges and grapefruits, are very well known to the American marketplace while other products including clementines, carrots, red peppers, jams, jellies, tomatoes, olives, and pickled products are not as familiar. Finally, there are a host of industrial products like orange oil, lemon oil and parsley that provide a steady supply of raw materials.

Besides all the general consumer kashrus concerns regarding ingredients, processing and certification, there are additional kashrus requirements that apply to foods grown and produced in Eretz Yisroel. For instance, one must be sure that terumos and ma’asros have been properly separated before consumption. Furthermore, one needs to ensure that the fruits do not come from trees that violate the conditions […]

Yoshon & Pas Yisroel Guidelines

Updated August 18, 2025

This page is dedicated in memory of Rav Yosef Herman הרב יוסף בן הרב יהושע זצ”ל, who is credited with singlehandedly raising awareness about Yoshon in America and throughout chutz la’aretz and renewing the klal’s commitment to this precious mitzvah. He undertook the responsibility to conduct extensive research about Yoshon products and to publish Yoshon updates year after year without remuneration. May all of our work be an aliyah for his neshama.

Latest Updates from the Kashrus Agencies

Our committee has been very busy these last few weeks getting in touch with our mills to see what the forecasts are for the Chodosh harvest for wheat, barley and oats. As we know, this has been a year of unusual weather. Very rainy in some (maybe most) places and very dry in others. This seems to be creating a difficult scenario for crop forecasts and large discrepancies amongst farmers and […]

Approved Without A Hechsher

Updated June 2025

Listed below are products that do not require kosher certification provided:

they do not have additives, and

[if food items] are not a product of Israel. Food items from Israel need reliable certification.

Please review this list regularly for any updates as the information may change.

NOTE: THIS LIST IS FOR YEAR-ROUND USE WITH THE EXCEPTION OF PASSOVERAluminum FoilApplesauce – Plain Only (even with high fructose corn syrup and vitamins)Baking PowderBaking SodaBarley, Raw – Requires checking for insects. See the STAR-K Insect Checking page.Beer, Domestic and UnflavoredBeans, Dried (not in cans) – Black, Garbanzo, Kidney, Northern, etc.Bran, UnprocessedBuckwheat, RawCarob PowderCocoa Powder, Plain (NOT cocoa mix)Coffee, Whole Bean/Ground, UnflavoredCoffee, Instant, Regular/Decaf, UnflavoredCornmealCorn PowderCornstarchDental FlossDishwashing GlovesFarina – Plain, RawGrains, Raw – May require checking for insects. See the STAR-K Insect Checking page.Honey – Pure and UnflavoredLentils, Red/Black – RawMolasses, UnflavoredQuinoa, Raw – Requires checking for insects. See the STAR-K […]

2025 Starbucks Information

In general, Starbucks stores serve hot treif meat and cheese. Therefore, since 2011, STAR-K Rabbinic Administrator Rav Moshe Heinemann shlit”a suggests that if at all possible one should avoid buying drinks prepared with equipment that may have been washed with treif equipment. There are drinks (see list below) that are prepared without any contact with questionable equipment and are acceptable at any store.

When one is traveling, (traveling means when one is away from home and no other viable kosher certified coffee option is readily available), this creates a situation of sha’as hadchak – i.e., a difficult situation – and one need not be concerned with the restrictions on the beverages listed below (based on the psak of the Noda B’Yehuda quoted in Yad Ephraim, Y.D. 122-6, D’H’ Shelo. It can be found in Shu”t Noda B’Yehuda Kama 36). One does not need to be driving on the highway to fit into the […]

Pas Haba’ah B’Kisnin

For a detailed pas habaa bkisnin discussion see here.

I. Varieties and circumstances that warrant a Birchas Hamotzi:

Pizza:
Three slices of 18″ pizza pie
Three slices of 16″ pizza pie
1/2 of a 14″ thin crust pie,
1/2 of a 12″ regular pizza pie
1/2 of a 9″ deep dish pizza pie

Other:
Bagel chips made from bagels
Calzone – 1 from a pizza shop; 2 pre-packaged frozen
Croissants (when augmenting a dinner meal)
Croutons (toasted)
Matzos (Sefardim should ask their Rabbi)
Melba toast
Mezonos rolls – that taste like cake and are augmenting a dinner meal, and those that taste like bread
Soft pretzels (when augmenting a dinner meal)
Stromboli – 1 from a pizza shop; 2 pre-packaged frozen

II. Varieties and circumstances that warrant a Birchas Mezonos when eaten as a snack:

Bagel Chips
Breadsticks
Croissants (as a pastry)
Flatbreads (all varieties)
Hard Pretzels
Kichel
Matza Tams
One slice of pizza
[...] Read More

Heter Iska: Guidelines and Form

1. It is vital that instructions are followed as stated in the correct sequence. Not following the procedure properly may invalidate the heter iska.

STAR-K Tevilas Keilim Chart

clear search

By: Rabbi Mordechai Frankel

Kashrus Kurrents Summer 2015 | Updated March 2024

(ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED AS: A Practical Guide to Tevilas Keilim)

Download chart

For a summary of the halachos involved, refer to Tevilas Keilim: Basic Guidelines.

UTENSIL
NEED FOR TEVILA – WITH OR WITHOUT A BRACHA

Aluminum Pan, Disposable
Tevila without a bracha if intended to be used only once; tevila with a bracha if intended to be used more than once.[1]

Aluminum Pan, Non-disposable
Tevila with a bracha[2]

Apple Corer (metal)
Tevila with a bracha

Baking/Cookie Sheet
Tevila with a bracha

Barbeque Grill
Racks require tevila with a bracha, other components do not require tevila.

Blech
No tevila

Blender/Mixer
Glass or metal bowl, metal blades and other attachments require tevila with a bracha, other components do not require tevila. Handheld immersion blender requires tevila with a bracha.

Bottle (metal or glass)
Tevila with a bracha. If bought filled with food and subsequently emptied by a Jew, does not require tevila.[3]

Brush (grill, egg yolk, pastry)
No tevila

Cake Plate (metal or glass)
Plate needs tevila with a bracha, cake plate cover does not require tevila.

Can (metal or glass)
Tevila with a bracha. If bought filled with food and subsequently emptied by […]

Halachic Guidelines In App