Is Costco's Bakery Kosher?

Costco's bakery is filled with irresistible goods like cakes with a delicious cheesecake filling, flaky, buttery croissants, and even cookies packed with chocolate. But, for those who observe the practices of eating kosher, the warehouse chain's bakery may have limited options.

Much like the fact that only some of Costco's bakery items are baked from scratch in-store, only some of Costco's store locations have an officially certified kosher bakery. OK Kosher Certification has certified Costco bakeries in states such as New York, New Jersey, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. However, the bread products in these bakeries are not certified as kosher.

The products in these Costco bakeries that do carry the certified kosher OKD symbol are pre-packaged, made in the Costco bakery, and dairy cholov stam. Kosher certification requires food to be heavily monitored and to follow Jewish dietary law; dairy cholov stam means that a designated kosher supervisor did not monitor the milk or dairy product used but is still assumed to be kosher based on other considerations.

The Orthodox Union Kosher (OU), another kosher certification organization, notes that the word kosher literally translates to "fit" or "proper" as pertaining to Jewish dietary law. At the same time, the organization acknowledges that this law is complex.

When it comes to meat and poultry, for example, only specific species, as detailed in the Torah, are considered kosher. Some of these meats and poultry include bison, cow, deer, and goat, as well as chicken, turkey, duck, and goose in the United States. However, all of these foods need to be prepared in a specific way to be considered kosher.

Similar requirements are also placed on fish and dairy products when it comes to certifying kosher foods. As part of kosher eating, meat and dairy cannot be prepared or eaten together in the same meal; this restriction extends to utensils being used for meat and dairy and even washing dishes with meat or dairy on them separately.

The ingredients commonly used to make bread, doughnuts, pastries, and other baked goods have strict restrictions, according to the Torah. Ingredients such as eggs, oils, shortenings, flavorings, and even creme fillings must be sourced, monitored, and processed based on these restrictions to be considered kosher. For example, bread made from kosher ingredients but prepared with equipment used to make non-kosher food items can not be certified as kosher.

Thankfully, a search on Costco's website will show if it carries some kosher products in store locations without a certified kosher bakery. These items include a four-layer chocolate cake, shortbread cookies, and decadent chocolate chip cookies. While eating kosher can be tricky, it's absolutely possible and even enjoyable at your favorite warehouse chain.