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In Israel, kosher supervisory agencies typically offer two levels of certification: regular kosher and mehadrin (enhanced) kosher. There are two primary ways in which they differ. First, regular certification follows the basic halakha, while mehadrin follows various stringencies. Additionally, supervisors are present for different amounts of time. Regular kosher follows established halakhic norms, and relies on business owners to follow the agreed-upon procedures. A mashgiaĥ (kosher supervisor) comes around periodically to make sure of this. If the mashgiah finds a business owner has been lying, the kosher certification will be revoked. As long as no serious problems arise, the certification remains intact. In contrast, mehadrin kosher relies less on the business owners, and generally requires a supervisor to be on-site throughout the food preparation. Any slight bending of the rules will lead to the certification being revoked. Halakha requires that people maintain regular kosher standards. Those who want to enhance the mitzva prefer mehadrin. Since more kashrut issues are involved with meat, mehadrin is recommended when choosing a meat restaurant.
There are many kosher supervisory agencies, and the average consumer has no way to evaluate which ones are more reliable and which are less. Nevertheless, since all the agencies follow the basic halakha, they may all be relied upon. Once in a long while, it turns out someone was dishonest and sold non-kosher food, but since such cases are rare, the rules of halakha permit us to disregard them. Therefore, one may rely on any kosher certificate given by an ordained rabbi or a supervisory agency. One who wants to enhance the mitzva should clarify the standards of the different agencies with a rabbi familiar with them.
