From crumpets to 87 countries: the story behind the KLBD symbol

Pick up a packet of crumpets in a British supermarket and there is a fair chance it carries a small mark from a London rabbinical court. That mark belongs to the KLBD, the kashrut division of the London Beth Din, and it is one of the most familiar kosher symbols in Europe. This is the first in our series on the people behind the symbols on your shopping.

Who is behind the KLBD?

KLBD stands for Kosher London Beth Din. It is the kashrut division of the London Beth Din, the rabbinical court that works under the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth. Its office is in North Finchley, and it also has representatives in Australia, Belgium, India, Israel and Singapore.

The KLBD says it has been certifying food for more than a century. Archive records from the 1950s to the 1980s already describe the kashrut division as the largest department of the Beth Din, supervising almost 700 factories around the world.

How big is it today?

According to the KLBD, it now covers around 40,000 ingredients and more than 3,500 retail products, made in over 2,200 factories in 87 countries. Closer to home, it licenses about 160 restaurants, bakeries, caterers and shops, and supervises around 3,000 catered events a year, roughly eight every day.

From the factory to the breakfast table

Much of the KLBD’s work happens far from Jewish neighbourhoods, in mainstream factories that supply every supermarket. In 2017, for example, it certified more than 30 Warburtons products, including crumpets and loaves, as pas palter. For kosher shoppers, that means everyday British staples can sit in the same basket as challah from the local bakery.

What the KLBD standard means

• Dairy: bakeries, caterers and restaurants under the KLBD use only chalav Yisrael milk and cheese.
• Meat: meat restaurants serve glatt meat, with Chalak Beit Yosef available on request.
• Supervision: meat restaurants and functions have a full-time shomer on site.

How to check a product

Not every approved product carries the logo. The KLBD publishes several free tools so you can check:

• The Kosher Nosh Guide, published every summer, which lists snacks and sweets. The 2025 edition includes some 680 KLBD-certified products.
• The Really Jewish Food Guide, the fuller annual guide, with regular updates.
• isitkosher.uk, a website and app for iPhone and Android that also works offline.

In the guides, products are marked by status: KLBD for certified products, P for parev, D for dairy that is not chalav Yisrael, S for products certified by another rabbinate, and NK for not kosher.

Three things you might not know

1. The KLBD’s reach has grown from almost 700 factories in the archive years to more than 2,200 today.
2. Its supervisors attend around 3,000 catered events a year, from weddings to corporate dinners.
3. A product can be kosher without showing any logo, which is exactly why the guides and the app exist.

On The Kosher Shop, every food seller tells us which kashrut authority supervises their products, and we check the certificate before their shop opens. Next in this series: the Orthodox Union, the symbol you will find on more products than any other.

Sources: KLBD: About; London Beth Din: Kashrut; AIM25 archive record; The Jewish Chronicle, 11 July 2017; Kosher Nosh Guide 2025; KLBD November 2024 update. Figures are as published by the KLBD.