DNA Results Are In: Canned Sardines Are Kosher

Last Updated on Monday, 13 February 2012 14:26 Written by VIN News Monday, 13 February 2012 13:07

New York - Just so you know: Canned sardines are kosher.

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This judgment would appear to be definitive, based on DNA evidence. Genetic testing by a parasitologist at the American Museum of Natural History has confirmed that the recent discovery of small worms in canned sardines does not render them treyf, or unkosher. It may render them unappetizing, but that judgment is up to the consumer.

The museum got involved last March when rabbis from the Orthodox Union, which certifies as kosher hundreds of thousands of products across the world, sought scientific help in resolving a question that arose when they began finding the worms, or nematodes, in cans of sardines.

Talmudic debates can turn on fine distinctions, but this was relatively straightforward. The presence of worms could have been a sign that, during the preparation of the canned sardines, muscle from the fish had been improperly handled and allowed to mix with intestinal contents of the sardines, rendering them unkosher.

The issue was important because it “could have led to sardines losing certification as kosher,” said Dr. Mark Siddall, a curator and professor in the invertebrate department of the museum, who conducted the testing. Many consumers, including non-Jews, look for the certification label as a sign of quality assurance in food preparation.

The rabbis brought their samples of sardina pilchardus — the Mediterranean sardine — to the museum, where Dr. Siddell conducted so-called “DNA bar-coding” to analyze the species of the worms.