Kashrut of Gelatin

I have a tablet that has non–kosher gelatin in it, may I take it?

Thank you for your question.

The subject of gelatin is very broad and applicable in cases like yours regarding kashrut. People have also asked whether even kosher products, like certain yogurts that contain gelatin manufactured from fish bones, pose a problem, according to the Sephardic custom of not eating fish and milk together.

So first, let's learn the process of how gelatin is made.

Manufacturers are able to take the bones, cartilage, or skin from either an animal or fish. We know that the bones and skins contain a certain amount of fatty substance. For generations, people have been boiling cow's hooves for hours to extract the fatty substance, and the liquid turns to jelly (there is actually a Chassidic food eaten on Shabbos called 'gal’la’reta' which is made this way and is a Shabbos delicacy). Later, a scientist realized that one could extract the fatty substance by crushing the bones and soaking them in hydrochloric acid. This process started the extraction of the fatty substance, which is now called 'gelatin,' and use this fat as part of cooking as a stabilizer, thickener, or as a texturizer.

Now that we have understood how it is made, let's circle back to the halachic decision about gelatin.

The discussion in the poskim is extensive and I would like to share with you some of the sources.

The Shulchan aruch siman 87 seif 10 writes that

עור הקיבה, לפעמים מולחים אותו ומייבשין אותו, ונעשה כעץ, וממלאים אותו חלב, מותר; דמאחר שנתייבש הוי כעץ בעלמא, ואין בו לחלוחית בשר (ב"י בשם שבולי לקט).

The stomach's skin, sometimes they salt it and dry it, and it becomes like wood, and they fill it with milk, it is permitted; since it has dried, it is considered merely like wood, and there is no meat residue in it (Beit Yosef in the name of Shibolei Leket).

So the same could be said about the gelatine that since they are dried like a powder there is no issur from consuming it.

However the commentaries write that this is only permitted since storing it inside the skin won't give any taste to the milk since the skin is so dry. However, to cook it with milk would be forbidden since it would then give taste.

So we see that in a case that it would give taste it is forbidden.

We also see another source about consuming something that has been dried and loses its original status as something that is assur;

משנה ברורה על שולחן ערוך אורח חיים הלכות ברכת הפירות סימן רטז

(ז) כמו המוס"ק - ובלשון לעז פיז"ם ובשמים זה בא מן החיה לפיכך מברך עליה בורא מיני בשמים. ודע שמוס"ק זה יש אומרים שבא מזיעת חיה ויש אומרים שבא מדם של חיה אחת שמתקבץ בצוארה ואח"כ מתייבש ונעשה בושם ולפי סברא זו האחרונה יש שרצו לאסרו עכ"פ לתת בקדירה להטעים בריחו את התבשיל דדם אסור באכילה והרבה פוסקים מתירים אפילו לתת בקדירה דאזלינן בתר השתא והשתא לאו דם הוא אלא עפרא בעלמא שנותן ריח טוב ועיין בא"ר שמצדד להורות כדבריהם ובפמ"ג במשב"ז מצדד ג"כ דיש לסמוך על דבריהם להקל אף לכתחלה ביש ששים כנגדו בתבשיל:

The above halacha discusses the blessing one recites when smelling 'musk,' which is 'Borei minei besamim.' The Mishnah Berurah writes that ‘Musk’ is derived either from the sweat of the animals or the blood of the animals and is later dried. Since according to one opinion it comes from the blood of the animals, there are poskim who write that one may not add it to a dish when cooking to make it smell pleasant, as it comes from the blood of a non-kosher animal. Although there are many poskim who allow It, since in its current state, it is dried as a powder and not considered as blood, only as powder. Therefore, some are even lenient le’chatchila to add it to the dish if there is bittul beshishim.

We see from the above that once the product is dried it does have a different halacha.

So, le'halacha, if the gelatin is tasteless, then it is permitted to take the tablet. It is also permitted for those who follow the Sephardi custom not to eat milk and fish together, to eat a yogurt that has gelatine derived from fish.

Shulchan Aruch, Siman 87 Seif 10

Mishnah Berurah on Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim, Hilchot Berakhot Ha’Peirot, Siman 216