"The kosher consumer has an influence in the marketplace that goes way beyond actual numbers," said Dr. Avrom Pollak, president of STAR-K, which certifies as kosher everything from major appliance to food, alcohol and some prescriptions. For example, Dr. Pollak said, Orthodox Jewish households spend a lot more time, attention and money on their kitchens than other American consumers, which is why 14 major home appliance brands have sought kosher certification from STAR-K."

Kosher certification is “a badge of honor,” says Gifford’s Ice Cream & Candy Co. CEO Neal Lieberman. That’s one reason that he’s happy that the Silver Spring-based company received STAR-K certification earlier this year.

At food shows, kashrut “says to a potential buyer that that we really are taking this seriously….the certification process Is a pretty big administrative burden and we’re going to undertake it,” Lieberman said.

With the STAR-K seal, virtually all of the ice cream – 53 flavors – served at Gifford’s five shops in Maryland and the District, as well as Gifford’s products sold at local Whole Foods and Harris Teeeter stores and at Nationals Park, is kosher. The certification symbol can be seen on the side of each of the big tubs of ice cream in the stores.

Lieberman had wanted the 70-year old ice cream company to become certified since he became a partner in 2004. It opens up a new market for his product, he said, and that as a Jew, it was “important to me.”

The process wasn’t difficult, he said, but was time-consuming. It took about six to eight months because he had to get letters from every one of the company’s 250 suppliers certifying that the products Gifford’s buys from them are kosher. STAR-K authorities, according to Lieberman, were particularly impressed that he was already using the kosher, Israeli-made Elyon marshmallows. They were the only brand of “all-natural” marshmallows Lieberman could find.

Gifford’s Silver Spring ice cream plant won’t have full-time supervision, but will receive regular inspections, as is customary for most food manufacturers, according to Steve Sichel, Director or Development at STAR-K Kosher Certification. Sichel also said that while the ice cream sold in Gifford’s shops will be certified kosher, the shops themselves are not. Many other local ice cream shops – including Baskin-Robbins, Ben & Jerry’s and Haagen-Dazs – have a similar kashrut status.

Lieberman noted that the company might, on occasion, sell a flavor-of-the-month in its shops using non-kosher ingredients, and that such a flavor would be manufactured on plant machinery specifically set aside for such purposes.