Glatt (חלק)

Originally a higher standard for kosher beef (from animals whose lungs were smooth and defect-free). Today 'glatt' is also used loosely to mean 'extra-strict kosher,' especially for meat and restaurants.

When a kosher animal is checked after slaughter, certain lung defects can make it non-kosher. Jewish law allows examining and clearing many of these, but 'glatt' (literally 'smooth') / 'chalak' meat comes only from animals whose lungs were smooth with no questionable spots at all — a stricter, widely-preferred standard. Sephardim require this smooth-lung standard as their baseline.

'Glatt' on a meat label.

It signals the stricter lung standard; for Sephardim, smooth-lung ('Beit Yosef') meat is required, not optional. Why: It avoids relying on leniencies when inspecting the lungs. Note: 'glatt' is sometimes used loosely as a general 'extra-kosher' marketing word, but strictly it refers to the lungs of meat.