LONDON BOARD FOR SHECHITA Licensed Butchers
Under the Supervision of the Rabbinical Authority of the London Board for Shechita

The London Board licenses manufacturing wholesalers and kosher food producers, and arranges reciprocal supervisory arrangements with suppliers supervised by other Kashrus authorities for products of approved shechita services and foodstuffs. (For details please apply by post or e-mail)

Why buy at licensed shops?

The integrity of our kashrus supervision is maintained for all of the products and daily procedures at the premises of our licensees. The public can safely rely on the vigilance of our Shomerim and Inspectors at the above premises so that they may buy any goods, cut, loose-packed and unsealed with the assurance that the Licence granted to these establishments is a Seal of Approval
- Hechsher - which covers all the items on the premises and including the kashrus of each establishment.

This means that not only are meat products supervised, but the manufacturing ingredients, permitted additives, packaging, and even products sealed under other kashrus auspices, all are inspected and subjected to the approval of the Rabbinical Authority of the Board.

This undertaking is all the more impressive in the weeks before Passover when first the factories and subsequently the retail outlets are all scrupulously cleansed of any chometz (grain and yeast matter). Non-Passover foodstuffs and ingredients are disposed of, utensils are kashered by heat sterilisation or replaced, and each establishment is checked-out by our Inspectors and the Dayanim before being allowed to sell goods as "Kosher for Passover"

Clearly it is this uncompromising maintenance of Kashrus which allows the consumer to buy a variety of meat products and have them cut and prepared, cooked and delivered by the staff of our Licensees confident that everything will be Kosher and wholesome.

BUT…

you can really only have that same confidence when buying the products of London Board licensees (or those of any other recognised Kashrus authority) from an unlicensed or unsupervised outlet, when those goods are pre-packed and sealed under supervision, and are purchased with the sealed packaging intact. (To be opened at the point of consumption)

The public is cautioned against buying unpacked poultry, unsealed loose raw or cooked meat products and unpacked sausages in shops, supermarkets, and delicatessens. Not only is it impossible for you to identify the origins of products with any certainty once they are presented unpacked, but so too can staff get kosher and treiph - non-kosher - meat mixed-up. There can be no assurance that kosher utensils are used exclusively or that storage and preparation surfaces are kashered. (For example, the same knife or cutting-surface could be used to cut cheese or a quiche and then used to cut a joint of meat.)

The Jewish Dietary Laws are as valuable and applicable today as when they where first handed down at Sinai. Their practicality has ensured the safe consumption of carefully permitted foods for thousands of years, long before the very recent discoveries of bacteria and an understanding of contamination, and the enactment in "modern times" of hygiene regulations. Their spirituality has imbued Kosher food with elements which we still cannot fully comprehend and appreciate, whether it be the humane treatment of the mother bird and its young, or the separation of meat and dairy products (the eating of cheese with meat has shown a correlation with cancers of the digestive system), and much, much more.

The London Board for Shechita is a charitable organisation operating on a non-profit basis to ensure the provision of kosher meat to the Jewish public. By supporting its licensees you are playing your part in maintaining the spiritual and physical well-being of the Jewish people.