Soy sauce is the perfect condiment for all manner of different dishes. Over the years, Trader Joe’s, which is well-known for producing unique products, has introduced a variety of different soy sauces. This is great unless you have some dietary restrictions. For example, if you’re Jewish, you may need products that have kosher certification. So, is Trader Joe’s soy sauce kosher?
While it does not have kosher certification, current soy products in the Trader Joe’s range do seem to be kosher. Although, since they have not been certified, this is not something that can be guaranteed.
On this page, we want to talk more about Trader Joe’s kosher certification, especially in reference to their soy sauce.
Understanding Kosher Certification
Kosher certification can be awarded by certain Jewish groups. They hand out kosher certifications when they have determined that the products meet kosher guidelines i.e. no forbidden meats, meats slaughtered in the right way, grains sourced from the correct location, etc.
These kosher certifying groups don’t just look at the ingredient list for a product, but they make sure that everything about how that product is manufactured is inspected, including the processing facilities. If there is a chance that anything non-kosher could get into the processing line, then it won’t be classed as a kosher product.
Kosher is very important to those practicing Judaism, especially around Passover when there are even stricter restrictions, especially when it comes to consuming certain grains.
There are a lot of different kosher certifying boards out there, but the main ones in the US are:
- OU
- OK
- KOF-K
- Star-K
- CRC
Although, there are hundreds and hundreds of Kosher certifying boards throughout the US.
Trader Joe’s and Kosher Certification
Trader Joe’s has long had a commitment to providing products for various dietary needs, including Kosher. During Passover, you will often find that Trader Joe’s offers a variety of different products especially labeled as Kosher products.
Unfortunately, the certification system at Trader Joe’s may not be quite as extensive as they want it to be right now. Yes, they do work with a variety of different certifying bodies.
However, getting kosher certification on products can be expensive, and Trader Joe’s changes its products a lot. As a result, only a few products in their selection are specifically labeled as being Kosher products.
In some cases, there may be a label on the product packaging, but not always. If you want to find out whether a product is kosher, then browsing through Trader Joe’s website with a bit of knowledge about kosher rules is probably going to be your safest bet.
Determining the Kosher Status of Trader Joe’s Soy Sauce
So, this brings us to the big question; Is Trader Joe’s soy sauce kosher? Well, yes, but also no.
Trader Joe’s soy sauce is not certified by any company. This means that there is no way to guarantee that the product is kosher, and Trader Joe’s does not advertise it as being kosher for that very reason. However, this doesn’t mean it isn’t kosher.
There are some soy sauces out there that are not kosher, at least during Passover. Some soy sauces contain wheat.
Since wheat has restrictions during Passover (it has to come from certain sources), it means that the soy sauce isn’t kosher, although it likely would be at other times of the year. However, Trader Joe’s soy sauce does not currently contain wheat.
If you look at the ingredient list for Trader Joe’s soy sauce, then you will note that no ingredients break Kosher rules. Although, once again, there is no certification.
So, there may be non-Kosher products produced close by that could sneak into the soy sauce, but this is probably unlikely. You will need to think hard about how confident you are using the product if you follow a strict Kosher diet.
That being said, Trader Joe’s does change their product range regularly. This means that while their current soy sauce may be a Kosher product, there is no guarantee that future soy sauces will be.
As we said at the start, Trader Joe’s puts a lot of effort into ensuring their products are affordable and unique.
This means that products, even staple ones like soy sauce, can get changed out quite a bit. So, if you want up-to-date information, you’ll need to check the Trader Joe’s website or give them a call.
To check the current price and availability of Trader Joe’s Soy Sauce, click here to view the listing on Amazon.
Additional Resources for Verifying Kosher Status
You can always give Trader Joe’s a call if you wish to find out whether a product is kosher or not. Their customer support team are good and can give advice.
In some cases, you can also reach out to the various certifying boards. Although, if they have not explicitly certified a product then they may not be much help.
Honestly, your best bet is to look online. There are plenty of social media groups that maintain lists of kosher products. If you are worried whether the Trader Joe’s soy sauce is not kosher, then ask them. We can almost guarantee that most kosher-related websites would have discussed this already.
Remember, the ingredient list for the product is always going to be the best place to get started. 99% of the time, soy sauce is going to be kosher. Or close to it (if it doesn’t have certification), but you shouldn’t touch it during Passover if one of the ingredients is wheat.
Final Thoughts
Trader Joe’s soy sauce isn’t technically kosher. The product has not received any certification from kosher certifying boards, and there seems to be no indication that this will happen in the near future. So, if you are following a strict Kosher diet, then Trader Joe’s soy sauce may not be for you.
That being said, there is nothing on the list of ingredients that indicates that the soy sauce is not a kosher product. There is no wheat in it, for instance. If you are unsure, then you can always give the team at Trader Joe’s a call. They are more than happy to help you out.