Orthodox Union

The Orthodox Union (OU) is one of the largest Orthodox Jewish organizations in the United States. Founded on June 8, 1898, the OU supports a network of synagogues, youth programs, Jewish and Religious Zionist advocacy programs, programs for the disabled, localized religious study programs, and international units with locations in Israel and formerly in Ukraine. The OU maintains a kosher certification service, whose circled-U hechsher symbol, U+24CA Ⓤ CIRCLED LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U, is found on the labels of many kosher commercial and consumer food products.