Consumer Kosher Articles

What Bracha Does One Recite on a Granola Bar?

If one does not understand the process involved in creating a granola bar, one could study the ingredient panel a hundred times and still not be able to answer the above question. However, through our access to the companies that produce these bars we are privy to information that is important in resolving this issue.

Fish and Meat

The Gemara Pesachim (76b) teaches that one may not cook fish and meat together since this combination is considered a sakana. Shulchan Aruch (Y.D. 116:2-3) adds that one may not even eat meat after fish or fish after meat unless one eats and drinks in between1. Rama adds that one should not cook open meat and fish in the same oven because of raicha (aroma), though bidieved we say that raicha lav milsa. Magen Avrohom (O.C. 173:1) questions whether this sakana still exists today, however the minhag is still to be machmir.

Go South Young Mashgiach: An OU RFR Travels the Highways and Byways of the Old Confederacy

A tour of South-Eastern United States with an OU Rabbinic Field Representative meeting products and people that leave a lasting impression.

How a Product from Beef Can be Used in Dairy Delicacies

An explanation of how pareve gelatin can be manufactured from beef and therefore be used in dairy products.

Is Sake Kosher?

A discussion of the rules of Kosher sake.

The Perfect Pet of the Pentateuch: Pigeon

A discussion of the pigeon and its status in Judaism.

Colombia: Land of (Kosher) Opportunity

A survey of the opportunities for Kosher in the country of Colombia.

The Tasty Muffin: Starting off Your Day the OU Way

A discussion of the Kosher certification of muffins.

Canned Salmon FAQ’s

A series of questions and answers about the Kosher status of canned salmon.

When Kosher and Allergen Issues do not Converge

Rabbi Dovid Polsky, the remarkably patient and knowledgeable managing attendant of the OU’s ever-ringing Kosher Consumer Hotline, does not see a day go by – or even a morning — without receiving a call that touches on the overlap between kosher certification and allergen concerns.

“I see that Miller’s Heavenly Chocolate is labeled OU-pareve. Yet I also see a declaration of ‘may contain dairy.’ How could this be?”

“The soy milk I just bought states that there is no dairy or lactose in the product. And yet the kosher label says OUD. I’m confused.”

The answer to both of these questions, of course, is that although kosher and allergen considerations often converge, they are not identical.