Orange hummus and kim-chi: only at Kosherfest

Bongja Ziporah Rothkopf, Koko's CEO, said her creations were the first of their kind in the kosher world.

Seaweed needs to be harvested in a two-hour window just before daybreak

Among the more unusual items on show were chocolate and orange-flavoured hummus and wines named "Moses" and "Unorthodox".

There was also a toothpaste, SprinJene, which, unlike its non-kosher equivalents, contains no traces of animal enzymes.

Nearly 300 companies were represented from around the world.

From the Philippines, there were organic coconut products and banana chips.

From India came tamarind products, eastern spices and Nila nuts.

From Russia came Baltika beer, said by a spokesperson to be the second bestselling brew in Europe - behind Heineken - producing 5 billion litres each year. Each of the 17 beverages in the brand have kosher certification (even though beer generally does not require it).

At one stand, Rabbi Binyomin Y Edery, the mashgiach of Kosher Japan, explained that the production of kosher nori (the seaweed sheets used in sushi) had to undergo a special process to be certified kosher, despite being a vegetable from the ocean.

Seahorses and various non-kosher fish eggs can become intermingled with the seaweed, and are not filtered out by non-kosher manufacturing plants. The workaround for the kosher world, said Rabbi Edery, was to harvest the seaweed in a two-hour window prior to daybreak, when the waters are coldest and fish least likely to descend to the sea floor to lay eggs.

Drinks brand Fromin, from the Czech Republic, exhibited bottled water sourced from a 900ft well, which can cost up to $35 for 1.5 litres.

According to chairman Martin Landa, although water does not require a certificate, many consumers want to be doubly sure there are no treif additives in the product or non-kosher items produced near where it is sourced.

Another Czech company, Betula Pendula, exhibited skin cream made using goat colostrum - the fluid secreted by female goats right after giving birth.

Israel-based Mashumashu, maker of vegetarian, dairy-free, artisan cheeses - including their versions of cheddar, gouda, mozzarella, and feta - boasted that few could tell the difference between the real deal and their "cheeses".

Meanwhile, dozens of exhibitors picked up on the gluten-free trend.

Soupergirl of Washington, DC, run by former comedian Sara Polin, offered up a variety of gluten-free soups including split pea apple kale, lentil butternut squash, and beet gazpacho.

If things continue on this trajectory, soon there may be little the kosher food industry cannot successfully imitate.