Shechita: ritual slaughter

Shechita is the method of ritual slaughter for animals permitted for food, performed by a qualified slaughterer (shochet) with a perfectly smooth knife. It aims at a swift cut severing the trachea and esophagus, followed by inspection of the organs to verify the absence of defects (bedikah). It is an essential condition for the kashrut of meat, governed by long-transmitted expertise.