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Wednesday, July 29, 2009

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

It was said about Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch that when he was well into his 70’s he decided to travel from Germany to Switzerland for a vacation. This was in the late 1800’s when cars and airplanes were unheard of. The trip was an arduous trek by train and coach. He was asked, ‘Rabbi, you’re an old man. Why are you taking such a trip?’ Replied Rabbi Hirsch, “After 120 years, I’ll meet my maker and he will ask me, ‘Raphael, did you ever see my Alps?’”
The world is truly a magnificent creation filled with all of God’s beauty. One of the benefits that I have in being a mashgiach (kosher supervisor) for the OU is that I have an opportunity to travel and see much of this beauty. My territory encompasses most of the Southeastern part of the United States, namely, Eastern Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Northern Florida. This area, known as the “Bible or Sun Belt,” offers much diversity as to scenery as well as to history. This is the South of Gone With the Wind fame. Let’s take a look at some of the highlights of my territory.

Starting in Charleston SC, we come to the flower of the South. This city, with Fort Sumter in its harbor, was involved in the incident that began the Civil War. One can travel through the area and still see antebellum houses. Not far up the road in Summerville is an OU company, JW Aluminum. Taking the highway as well as side roads (watch out for logging trucks) we come to Augusta, GA, home of the Masters Golf Tournament. While there, we can stop by Kellogg’s Snack foods for some Famous Amos Cookies or go to Nutrasweet, makers of Aspartame Sweeteners. The Science Museum in Augusta is a hands-on/must see for families with children. Traveling south through back roads we come to Savannah.

Savannah is a beautiful city with old-time charm. The downtown area is arranged with small park squares that you have to drive and weave around. Tybee Island is just due east for a nice relaxing vacation spot. While in Savannah, we can visit a number of OU plants, among them Dixie Crystal and Fuji Oil.
We then travel south on I-95 to Jacksonville, FL where we can go to Heinz/ Portion Pak and Whitewave Foods. As one travels through Jacksonville one cannot help but go over the various bridges that span the local waterways. We then can take a trip up to Blackshear and Alma in Georgia. These small towns have OU plants like American Egg, Southland’s Best, and Richmond Baking. Then it’s on to Fitzgerald, GA to American Blanching and Deep South Products. Deep South bottles product for Arizona Tea as well as Winn Dixie sodas.

We are now in the heart of the South. As we drive through, we pass pecan orchards all around us. This is also peanut country. A side trip up I-75 takes us to Andersonville, GA— the site of the notorious Civil War prison and its cemetery.

I once was at the Holiday Inn in Fitzgerald and was talking to the hotel manager. He told me that it was a good thing that I came that week and not the week after. I asked him why. “Well,” he replied, “next week is your Jewish New Year and all of the old families come here from all over the South for High Holiday services and I wouldn’t have a room for you.” It seems that all of these small Southern towns had at one time been vibrant Jewish communities.
From Fitzgerald we continue to visit OU plants in Tifton, Ashburn, and Sylvester before coming to Albany, GA. I tell people that I go to most of the ‘nut’ houses in Georgia. This area is responsible for the vast majority of peanut production. It gets hot here in the summertime so a refreshing stop in Albany is the Miller’s Coors Brewing Co. Not far away we also can stop at Tara Foods. (Tara? Wasn’t that a plantation in a certain novel?) Just be careful in booking flights, cars or hotels. Many a time I have had the reservations made for Albany (all bany), NY rather than Albany (al beny), GA. Around an hours’ drive north of Albany, one can go to Warm Springs. There you can visit the Little White House — the summer home of President Franklin D Roosevelt, the place where he died.

Continuing west we cross into Alabama going through Abbeville, home of Golden Egg, and proceed to Dothan. Golden Oval, formerly known as Cutler Egg, processes eggs in both liquid and dried forms. Dothan touts itself as the Peanut Capitol of the world so naturally we go to Flavorhouse to see their operation. We then travel north towards Montgomery. There we visit Flowers Foods. Traveling west we proceed through rolling hills of beautiful countryside to Selma. Montgomery as well as Selma were key cities during the Civil Rights movement of the 1950’s, 60’s and ‘70’s.

We continue traveling west going to plants in Marion, AL heading towards Mississippi. With OU plants in Hattiesburg, Jackson and Columbus, we literally travel around the whole state. While in Jackson, between visits to DeBeukelaer, Clorox and Reckitt-Benckiser, one can drop in at The Museum of Southern Jewish Life.

Another part of my territory is Tennessee. We will start in Crossville to see Mizkan Vinegar and another Flowers Baking facility, then proceed on I-40 across the Middle Tennessee Valley to Knoxville and Newport. This stretch of Interstate is simply gorgeous. Whether in the fall when all the leaves are changing colors; in winter when the trees are bare and sometimes white; or in spring and summer when they are in full bloom, this is a truly beautiful drive. Green Mountain Coffee, Bush Beans, and Rich products, among others, are situated in the foothills of the Smokey Mountains.

We travel down through the mountains to Cleveland and Chattanooga. With all of the abundant fresh water springs that come from the mountains, it is no surprise that many of the OU bottled water plants are in this area. Among them are Green Mountain, Crystal Springs and Nature’s Purest. While in Chattanooga, you also don’t want to miss The Tennessee Aquarium. From Lookout Mountain and Rock City you can seven states before heading back to Atlanta.

Atlanta is the home of Coca-Cola so a must see is the Coke Museum, downtown. No visit to Atlanta would be complete without a visit to Stone Mountain. This large granite mountain depicts a carving of heroes of the Civil War as well as a plantation and museum about the War Between the States. Lastly, one can visit the Martin Luther King Memorial.

As one can see, traveling such a vast area inspecting over 100 companies is very demanding and time consuming. Yet, I have a chance to meet people from all walks of life. We talk about varied subjects from news to sports and I can truly say that I never have a dull day. The breadth of my work for the OU takes me to a vast diversity of products. I see facilities producing everything from baked goods to chemical companies making cleaning products. I recently went to a company that was making adhesives. At the plant, they were vastly impressed that the OU took the issue of kashrut so seriously that we would even check their product which is used to adhere foil to the cardboard core.

Let me end with one last story. I was at a plant on a day where everything was going wrong. I apologized to the plant personnel for coming on such a day, but I needed to do my inspection. “Rabbi Norm,” the official said, “I’m always glad to see you. Sometimes I’m glad to see you come and sometimes I’m glad to see you go. But I’m always glad to see you.” Talk about Southern Hospitality!

Thursday, July 23, 2009

OU Kosher Baking Manual Sets Industry Standards

The Orthodox Union Kosher Division, the world’s largest and most respected kosher certification agency, today announced the publication of the “OU Manual for the Baking Industry,” a compendium of the knowledge and experience of the expert OU rabbis who travel the world applying the time-honored laws of kosher to the industrial practices of today.

The manual, printed in full color with many illustrations, is the first in a series of such guidebooks scheduled for publication, with the objective that uniform standards of certification be established for entire industries conforming to the rigorous requirements of the OU. It is another in a series of departmental initiatives that makes OU Kosher a major force in kashrut education as well as in certification. In the case of the first manual, these standards are not only for the baking industry in the United States, but for Israel and around the world as well.

After all, as the kosher certifier of Drakes’, Entenmann’s, Nabisco, Famous Amos, Keebler, Kellogg’s baked items, Arnolds and Thomas’, the OU puts its coveted kashrut symbol on some of the most iconic names in the baking industry.

The intended audience for the manuals is a wide spectrum of kashrut professionals – including those at other kosher certification agencies – as well the vaadim, local bodies which provide kosher certification in retail businesses, food service facilities, and plants in their local communities. Laymen wanting to explore the intricacies of kosher law will be fascinated as well.

There is surely a need for this kind of material. Just as the baking manual was rolling off the presses, OU Kosher received an email from a Midwestern vaad, in which its administrator wrote, “I would assume that the OU had a mashgiach handbook that covers policy and procedures for various settings. Would the handbook discuss industrial bakeries? Can I get a copy? I would like to compare our policy with the OU’s to make sure that nothing falls or fell through the cracks.”

The manuals are the brainchild of Dr. Steven Katz, OU Senior Vice President from Teaneck, NJ who is also Chair of the Kashrut Commission, which oversees the worldwide activities of OU Kosher.

Each of the manuals will focus on three important areas of concern for its specific industry – technology; practical kashrut concerns and the methodology of supervision; and halachic rulings of the OU decisors, or poskim, Rav Hershel Schachter of Yeshiva University, and Rav Yisroel Belsky of Yeshiva Torah Vodaath. The project is a collaborative effort of OU rabbinic coordinators based in OU Kosher New York headquarters; rabbinic field representatives, around the world; the poskim, and administrative staff.

To create the baking manual, a group was put together with Executive Rabbinic Coordinator Rabbi Yaacov Luban as editor, Rabbi Moshe Zywica, Director of Operations of OU Kosher as coordinator, and Rabbi Yisroel Bendelstein, the OU Rabbinic Coordinator overseeing commercial bakeries to write the text. Rabbi Bendelstein, in turn, drew on his colleagues overseeing the industry, such as Rabbi Israel Paretzky and Rabbi David Rockove, for their insights.
They reported to Rabbi Moshe Elefant, Chief Operating Officer of OU Kosher. Because of his broad understanding of the Jewish community and its needs, Rabbi Elefant provided the guidance which was so helpful in seeing that the manual accomplished its objectives.

Rabbi Bendelstein was the perfect choice to write the manual. A graduate of the Chofetz Chaim Yeshiva in Queens, NY and of Yeshiva University with a BA in chemistry, he obtained his rabbinical ordination (semicha) from the REITS seminary at YU and has been at the OU for nine years, steadily deepening his knowledge of the baking industry.

The complexities of the kashrut involved with the baking industry are multi-faceted, Rabbi Bendelstein says. “We try to outline these complexities from soup to nuts beginning with the basics of kosher certification, focusing on ingredients and the nuances therein and the different categories of ingredients; then working through production and focusing on the different manufacturing processes of the various items manufactured in the baking industry; and finishing with packaging and labeling and how that manifests itself in kosher certification.”

There’s more. Rabbi Bendelstein says, “Then we have areas which are unique to baking which we touch upon such as Pat Yisrael (Jewish involvement in the baking process), yashan (seasonal flour), and hafrashat challah (tithing from the dough).” Standards are established for breads, cakes, cookies and crackers, breakfast items, and baking aids such as fillings, glaze, icing and mixes.

The entire project, including planning, research and design, took more than a year, with the writing taking four months; the text was reviewed countless times, mostly by Rabbi Luban, so that it could appeal to as wide an audience as possible.

“The work is very significant on several levels,” explained Rabbi Menachem Genack, CEO of OU Kosher. “It’s important to know that each industry has its own requirements and specifications; each of these manuals represents the standards for its industry and what a mashgiach has to be aware of. They enhance the departmental goal of kosher education. And in terms of our corporate culture, they provide transparent standards to be met.”
These standards are clearly intended for other agencies as well as for local vaadim. “We are very careful not to give away proprietary information of the companies we certify,” Rabbi Genack said. “But regarding OU information, the interests of kashrut have to come first.”

Industries such as oil, fish and flavors are in the pipeline with the texts already written and will follow soon, according to Dr. Katz, the originator of the idea. When the work is done, something new will exist in the kosher world.

Rabbi Genack declared, “This new manual will be a great addition to sources explaining Jewish law for our times. The halachic guidelines of Rabbis Belsky and Schachter, our poskim, will certainly make an extraordinary resource for the kosher world. Only the OU, with its knowledge and emphasis on education, could have done it.”

To obtain copies of the manual, contact Rabbi Bendelstein at 212-613-8253, or .

Thursday, July 16, 2009

The Fascinating Story of Kosher Gelatin, or How a Product from Beef Can Be Used in Dairy Delicacies

It is hard to resist squeezing a bag of marshmallows as one passes it in the supermarket aisle. Who would have thought that a colorless, brittle, almost tasteless substance called “gelatin” can transform a lump of sugar into an irresistible confection? The truth is that gelatin is a very versatile and important ingredient whose value has long been recognized in many sectors of the food industry. Gelatin is a key component in a whole array of gummy and jelly-style confections. Typically, it is added to yogurts and ice creams to give them a thicker consistency. Pies, mousses and whipped creams are all enhanced with the inclusion of a small bit of gelatin. Because gelatin is also an excellent adhesive, it may even be used to affix sprinkles to pastries. New and innovative uses for gelatin are being created all the time. While this is wonderful news for the general population, it has not always been great news for the kosher consumer.

Gelatin is derived from collagen, a substance found in the skins and bones of animals such as pigs and cows. There is no vegetarian source for collagen, and while one might see “vegetable gelatin” listed on a product label, it would typically be, in actuality, agar agar, a seaweed derivative. In some products, it can be a fair substitute for gelatin.

Since “real” gelatin is derived from animal sources, it has been the focus of debate for nearly 100 years among leading rabbis. The question is: Can gelatin from non-kosher sources be permitted? Although cows that were not ritually slaughtered, and, of course, pigs, are certainly not kosher, some rabbis were lenient in allowing products that had very small amounts of gelatin added. This is because they felt that the gelatin extraction process caused the skins and bones to be sufficiently denatured, to the point that they are no longer considered food.

This is not the mainstream position. It has been rejected by every major kosher certifying agency. Indeed, equipment that processed gelatin products might need kosherization, depending on the nature of the contact between the equipment and the product.

Another variety of gelatin, which has proven useful in meeting the needs of kosher consumers as well as the Muslim and Hindu communities, is fish gelatin. Kosher fish gelatin is extracted from the skins and bones of kosher fish, those that possess both fins and scales. Since kosher fish skins are plentiful and relatively inexpensive, fish gelatin has been a boon for meeting the growing world-wide demand for kosher. There are currently several OU-certified companies that produce fish gelatin. Of course, there are products that require beef gelatin, and no suitable alternative exists. The kosher consumer will be pleased to note that the OU certifies such a gelatin as well. This special gelatin is made exclusively from the skins of kosher ritually slaughtered cows. Strikingly, this variety of beef-derived gelatin is considered pareve, and may even be combined with dairy ingredients! Although kosher laws are very strict concerning the segregation of milk and meat, the processing of these hides renders them pareve. Therefore, even kosher milk chocolate delicacies can be made with kosher beef gelatin. Orthodontists of the world rejoice: every sticky gummy treat is now available to the kosher consumer.

Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Is Sake Kosher?

Every so often the OU kashrus hotline desk is asked whether sake that is not kosher certified is nonetheless acceptable. For the uninitiated, sake (pronounced “saw-key”) is rice beer. It originated in Japan, and most sake is still made there.

Usually, the answer to questions about the acceptability of uncertified products hinges on whether we can assume the ingredients used to make the product are kosher and the utensils, or equipment, used in its production are dedicated to that product. In the case of sake, however, there is an additional consideration: whether it is subject to bishul akum.

Bishul akum is a prohibition created by Chazal that, when respected, prevents intermarriage. It applies to a food that is both inedible raw as well as prepared in such a way that it would be appropriate to serve a king (in contemporary terms, whether it would be served in a dignified setting such as a state dinner). Rice meets both of these criteria. Would sake also be subject to the prohibition?

Tosefos (Avodah Zorah, 31b) notes that Chazal did not consider beer, which is made from barley and which was considered appropriate for a king’s table, subject to the issur of bishul akum. Tosefos explains that since the beracha on beer is shehakol, the barley is secondary to the water. Aruch Hashulchan (Y.D. 113, 22) further explains that this reasoning applies to beer because there is a fundamental, or substantive, change to the barley during the process of production from barley to beer.

The same reasoning, he argues, applies to coffee; a coffee bean is not eaten raw, and coffee is served in dignified settings. Nevertheless, it is not subject to the issur of bishul akum because coffee is secondary to water, which is manifest by the beracha of shehakol (see also Pri Chadash, 112, 17).

The beracha on sake is also shehakol. However, there is a fundamental difference between sake production and beer or coffee. During sake production the main ingredient is made edible before it is made into a beverage.

The process begins with specially cultivated rice, which is then polished, or milled (it looks a bit smaller than the rice grains we are familiar with). The rice is steamed. (picture 1 here) It is then delivered to a tank where koji, a fermenting agent from bran, is added. Water too is added, and the rice is stored for several weeks, a process that converts the rice starch to sugar, which in turn becomes alcohol. Rice particles are filtered out of the mixture, and the product, after pasteurization, is translucent and golden (picture 2).

Already at the initial stage, when the rice is steamed, the rice is subject to the issur of bishul akum. Does the process of rendering it into a beverage afterwards undo the issur?

Rav Schachter, shlita, concludes that this process does not undo the issur.

Nevertheless, there are other points to consider when evaluating the bishul akum status of sake. Some poskim rule that bishul akum is never brought about by steaming. As the teshuva makes clear, the OU does not rely on this leniency – by itself. Another leniency cited by poskim is that bishul akum does not apply when the factory machinery used to produce a product is unlike any that one would encounter in a domestic situation, which is where the original issur of bishul akum was formulated. Traditional Japanese sake manufacturers often use domestic-like pots (often just in a larger size) as the picture above indicates. Therefore this leniency should not be assumed to apply.

Further, there is more water than rice in the final product. Shach Y.D. 113, 21 rules that bishul akum is batel b’rov. However, bitel b’rov may not apply when the issur is the main ingredient in the taruvos, is avidah l’taimah, or the ingredient that gives the food chashivus (importance).

Finally, what, indeed, do we say about the ingredients and equipment used to make sake? If sake is unflavored, we can assume the ingredients are kosher. However, some sake manufacturers store and pasteurize their product on equipment that also processes non-kosher wine.

As Rav Schachter makes clear in his teshuva, we should not assume that all sake in the marketplace is kosher.

Thursday, July 02, 2009

The Perfect Pet of the Pentateuch: Pigeon

Peace, loyalty, sacrifice and food are most often associated with the biblical pigeon. The tranquility of the post-flood landscape is forever immortalized in the torn olive branch which the pigeon dispatched by Noah carried back to the ark. The prophet Isaiah (59:11) urges the penitent to cry to the Lord as the cooing of a pigeon and return to the Lord in the manner of the pigeon to the dovecote (60:8). The pigeon, along with the dove, are the most frequently referenced of the bird sacrifices brought in the Tabernacle and later the Temple. The flight of the pigeon was admired by King David in Psalms (55:7 & 68:14), and its beauty was referenced by King Solomon multiple times in the Song of Songs (1:15, 2:14, 4:1, 5:2, 5:12, & 6:9).

On the most basic level, the pigeon was food. If properly maintained, the bird would forage and return nightly to its roost, rewarding the owner with eggs on a monthly basis. The birds could function as a rudimentary savings bank; when there was extra food, the pigeons would be allowed to multiply. When food was scarce, the eggs and ultimately the birds themselves could be harvested and then consumed or bartered.

The homing ability of the pigeon has been utilized by man since biblical times. Ancient mariners would take pigeons on their boats. If they lost their way, the sailors would release the pigeons and then follow the flight path of the birds to the safety of the shore. It was perhaps in this tradition that Noah released the pigeon to determine if the waters of the great flood had receded. The first bird sent by Noah was the raven, but it failed to complete its mission and refused to venture forth from the ark. The raven is described in the Bible (Genesis 8:7) as being sent forth, in contrast to the pigeon which in the language of the Bible (Genesis 8:8) Noah “sent forth the pigeon from him.” The implication of the verbiage is that the raven was merely one of the birds on the ark; the pigeon was dear to Noah and thus sent “from him” as one were to send one of his cherished possessions. This would make Noah the first documented pigeon fancier.

Although it is clear that pigeons were extensively raised in biblical times, aside from Noah, there is no indication of the birds being raised for reasons other than consumption until the Second Temple Period. The Mishnah and the Talmud, written at the end of the Second Temple Period, are replete with admonitions against racing and gambling with pigeons. An interesting game, enjoyed in biblical times, involved challenging the homing and flocking inclinations of pigeons. Birds belonging to different people would be flown at the same time, with the flocks being encouraged to mingle. The owner of each flock would fly his birds is such a manner as to entice the birds from the other flocks to join his own. The birds which deserted their flock, were then collected and either sold or ransomed back to their owner.

The Bible does not distinguish between the breeds of pigeon, although by Talmudic times there were a half dozen recognized breeds. The breeds generally had descriptive names such as, baysos, house pigeons; yonei aliyah, attic pigeons; and yonei shovach, dovecote pigeons. The different breeds were distinguished by their behavior, but it is unclear whether the behavior of the birds was the result of selective breeding or perhaps the conditions under which the birds were raised.

One exceptional pigeon breed was the Herdosios pigeon, which was named after the infamous King Herod, who ruled Israel at the end of the Second Temple Period. It is unclear whether the breed was actually developed by Herod, or he merely imported the birds. Some speculate that the bird might have been imported from Rhodes and as a result King Herod merely manipulated the name from Hordosios to Herodosios. These birds could be distinguished from other birds by physical characteristics, most importantly their inability to forage. Indeed, these birds needed to be maintained exclusively in the home. It is unclear if the Herodosios pigeons still exist, but based on Talmudic as well as the description of Josephus, who lived shortly after the Herod’s reign, the Herodosios pigeons were probably similar to the breeds now known as the Roman runts or the Hungarian house pigeons.

Although Talmudic law does distinguish between the breeds of pigeon, there is only limited discussion as to the definition of a pigeon. They were identified by a handful of physical characteristics as well as their lack of any predatory tendencies (Hulin 59). The Talmud (Hulin 22) notes the distinction between doves and pigeons, but only so far as they can be compared and contrasted with each other. Interestingly enough, today pigeons are often derided as the rats of the sky. In the Talmudic times they were noted for their cleanliness, because unlike other birds which drank water which then dripped back from the mouth as the bird raised its head to swallow, the pigeon drank continuously from the water without any backwash.

In the two thousand years since the Talmud was codified, hundreds of pigeon breeds have been developed. Pigeons are raised in a rainbow of colors; the feathers have been manipulated to a dazzling array of patterns. Even the basic feather and bone structure of the breeds have been altered. The dominant scientific theory for the last three hundred years has been that all the domestic breeds of pigeon share an exclusively rock dove ancestry. There are dissenters who question the possibility that so many varied breeds could have been derived exclusively from the rock dove. The position of the Orthodox Union is that pigeons are kosher. The question which continuously arises is whether all breeds of pigeon are to be considered pigeon.

To research the pigeons, the OU has maintained a loft (that is, a pigeon coop), with a diverse selection of common meat pigeons as well as some of the more exotic breeds including owls, Brunner pouters, runts, frizzles, archangels and New York highfliers. Fantail pigeons were observed and kept in the loft of MD Laufer. The basic behavior of the pigeons was observed as well as their communication between other members of the respective breeds. With the exception of the runts, the birds were bred and eggs were produced. The breeds examined were observed to eat the same food and flock together, with the exception of the runts and the Brunner pouters, since the respective sizes required separate housing for these breeds. The shape, but not the size, of all the eggs observed was similar, as was the texture.

Pigeons tend to be monogamous and when not purchased as a pair, many of the birds seemed to disregard species classification when choosing a mate. Currently, the majority of the pigeon breeds raised for meat are the biblical pigeon (or some mutation) and are accepted as kosher by the Orthodox Union. The more exotic breeds are rarely raised for food, being slow to mature and extremely valuable. However, the research continues if nothing more than as a scholarly pursuit.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Colombia – Land of (Kosher) Opportunity

In Colombia, it seems the people are as bright and warming as the tropical sun. Like most of Central and South America, this is a country with a disturbing past and a bright future. Once known more for cocaine drug lords and kidnapping than for legitimate businesses and opportunity, Colombia is coming into its own. OU certified companies there offer excellent products ranging from consumer items like coffee, hot pepper sauces and tuna fish to industrial ingredients like tropical oils and citric acid. All are made with the finest ingredients – and just a bit of the brightness that comes with the tropical sun.

Like many Latin American countries, Colombia offers a number of opportunities to food manufacturers. Its weather and history provide for an abundance of agricultural based products and old-world know how in food manufacture. Because of its colonial and European roots, there are long established ties with the European Union. Due to relatively low labor costs, increasingly favorable trade terms and geography, Colombia offers special benefits to North American concerns. While the unfortunate past of the drug cartels continues to weigh heavily, a strong will and strong government are changing things.

This was my second trip to Colombia in the past two years. During my first trip, the focus was primarily on palm oil products used in chocolates and other industries which use tropical oils. Interestingly, Colombia is one of the few places outside of Malaysia able to develop a significant palm industry. It is blessed with just the right weather and growing conditions: the palms that produce palm oil only grow in a narrow band around the equator. The company Acegrasas, a long established name in Colombia and in the oil business, is working hard to expand its United States exports. To date, the OU has worked with them on a limited basis to make special productions of palm olein and stearin. Long term, the hope is to develop a broad certification for a wide range of specialty fats and oils.

It is much more common in Latin America to find production and consumption of animal fat based products. As a result, oil companies are commonly more complicated than in the United States and Asia. This is especially true in facilities making hardened fats and margarines which often contain tallow and lard. As these items are intrinsically not kosher, their presence makes any kosher program much more complicated. Sometimes the effect is limited to specific equipment where items are blended; sometimes the entire plant may be non-kosher. For example, if there are common supply and handling lines or a common steam system – even between separate production areas — the entire plant may be affected. At the very least, it becomes necessary to set up segregated and non-compatible systems. When possible, we work with a company to segregate kosher and non-kosher in completely different facilities.

Of course, there are also more familiar issues with dairy components, many of which require careful kosher monitoring in and of themselves and must be sourced from acceptable kosher suppliers. For example, whey is a byproduct of cheese production and has special considerations. When curds and whey are separated to make cheese, a number of kosher concerns are involved. For example, Swiss cheese is traditionally started by adding rennet to milk. Rennet is a naturally occurring enzyme in calf stomachs and itself subject to many kosher complications. If the rennet is not kosher, the cheese is not kosher.

Since Swiss cheese making includes cooking the cheese and whey before separation, the whey itself is also not kosher. Other common dairy ingredients – milk powder, lactose — are often spray dried or processed in facilities that handle non-kosher production. Then, of course, there is the generic problem of making certain that dairy and non-dairy are strictly segregated.

Because of its tropical climate, Colombia is blessed with miles and miles of sugar cane production. The result is a prime opportunity for not only year-round kosher but for Passover as well. Many key products used in industry, including citric acid and alcohol, are products of glucose fermentation. In the United States, the primary glucose source is corn; in Europe, it is wheat and other grains. The Bible specifically forbids the use of anything made from wheat, barley, spelt, oats and rye during Passover. Additionally, Jews of Ashkenazi (Western European) descent do not use products made from kitniyot, including corn and soy. Cane sugar, however, is clearly permitted.

The multinational Tate & Lyle is a global producer of citric acid with a strong interest in providing Passover grade product to the international market. Their Sucromiles facility near Cali, a world center for cane sugar production, is an excellent potential source. Since citric acid can start from any glucose source and since the plant also manufactures alcohol and other potentially grain-based products, the need arose for a thorough forensic audit of both raw materials and products to determine if cane sugar was, in fact, the only glucose source for the production in question. After many hours of work in the plant as well as extensive follow up, it was determined that the citric acid in question met strict Passover requirements for this year.

Among Colombia’s kosher assets is a long established Jewish community. While it has suffered during the country’s dark years, its presence means there are qualified people on the ground to develop and service kosher. The OU continues to work with these communities to make certain their kosher standards meet the highest standards and to help them bring those companies which are ready into the international kosher marketplace. Of course, having people on the ground also presents us with the ability to service companies locally – with all of the attendant benefits.

During my two trips, I have seen the areas around Barranquilla, Bogota and Cali as well as the surrounding countryside and have worked with local rabbis from all three cities. I have visited plants making exotic fruit purees and juices, candies and a wide array of other top-notch consumer products. While many of these firms have not yet joined the OU family, we are working with them and the local rabbis to make the transition when they are ready to enter the international kosher scene.

This tropical paradise, whose climates range from temperate mountain regions to steamy Caribbean coasts, produces a wide array of other OU certified products as well. These include world famous Juan Valdez brand coffee as well as hot pepper pickles and tuna fish. By working directly with companies, importers and local communities, the sincere hope is to bring more Colombian products to the world kosher marketplace. Especially as the world community increasingly embraces Latin influences, Colombia is well poised to be a key contributor to the world of OU certified products and ingredients.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

OU Announces Advanced Kosher Course for Women

It was about a year ago that Rabbi Yosef Grossman, Director of OU Kosher Education, began to hear from women that they wanted an advanced program on the technicalities and practices of kosher law. In the following months, more than 80 women were in touch with Rabbi Grossman, seeking such a course.

Now, they’ve got it.

From August 24-28, OU Kosher will offer a special kashrut course specifically geared for women. In the course, according to Rabbi Grossman, participants will enhance their kashrut knowledge and skills by “hands-on” instruction from OU experts, as well as from OU instructional DVD’s in areas of kosher food management such as checking vegetables for insects; Hafroshat Chalah (the separation or tithing of challah); blood spots in eggs; shaylos (or questions) dealing with chickens which should be brought to a Rav for a psak (halachic decision); meat and dairy control; identifying and purchasing kosher fish; and becoming an educated kosher consumer.

They will go on field trips to OU certified factories, hotel kitchens and food service establishments which, Rabbi Grossman said, will give participants “an appreciation for the complexities of modern day kashrut.” The students will tour OU Kosher, meet its rabbinic staff – both those who are based in the OU office (rabbinic coordinators) and those who work outside (rabbinic field representatives) – and come away with a heightened sense of how kashrut operates commercially and in the home.

“The course will go into the home kitchen as well,” Rabbi Grossman said, “for proper control of a kitchen requires extensive kashrut knowledge.”

Rabbi Grossman and his colleagues “have spent much time and thought on how to structure this special week,” he said, recognizing the uniqueness of the audience and determined to provide the best program possible. The course will be limited to about 20 participants, and is intended to serve the needs of “a large spectrum of women.”

Rabbi Grossman interviews all applicants, including two who have already been accepted – a young woman from Sydney, Australia who will return home and marry a rabbi immediately following the program and then serve as an informal kashrut advisor to women in their community; and a woman from Efrat, Israel, who is coming to New York specifically for the program.

To apply, contact Rabbi Grossman at , 212-613-8212; or . There is a $75 registration fee for accepted applicants.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

The Tasty Muffin: Starting off Your Day the OU Way

From sea to shining sea in this blessed country of the United States of America, there are a myriad of breathtaking views where nature’s wonders will enthuse and invigorate all that behold her. Each of this great nation’s fifty states has much to contribute in this regard. Whether it is Arizona’s Grand Canyon, Florida’s Everglades, New York’s Niagara Falls, Alaska’s glaciers, Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, or Utah’s Rainbow Bridge, the list goes on and on for anyone who seeks to become awe-inspired by America’s offerings of nature’s best.

And while adventurers are whetting the appetite of their souls with these American marvels, they would be happy to know that in the course of their travels, there are delectable state muffins to nourish their bodies. Some notable state muffins are Massachusetts’ corn muffin, Minnesota’s blueberry muffin and New York’s apple muffin. This doesn’t mean that one won’t be able to find a lemon poppy muffin in all of Minnesota. All states tender muffins at thousands of nationwide eateries in a host of varieties, flavors, and shapes. The state muffin however, is a source of pride and joy for the state among many other prized possessions.

What makes the muffins even more attractive is that so many bear the world’s premier kosher emblem – the OU Symbol on their packaging. The companies that manufacture these muffins are to be commended for adhering to the most rigorous standards of kosher supervision for which OU kosher certification is renowned. In order to appreciate the requisite kosher supervision entailed for muffins, an historical perspective of this fabled product proves quite revealing.

The origin of the word muffin is derived from the French moufflet or soft, and is usually used in the context of bread. In other words, muffins resemble a soft bread. The parallel drawn between muffins and bread insofar as kosher dietary law is concerned is extremely significant. This is because kosher dietary law precludes bread from containing any dairy or meat ingredients. Bread can only be made pareve. This is attributed to the fact that bread, as a main food staple, can readily find itself available for either a dairy or meat meal. As a necessary precaution to avoid eating dairy bread at a meat meal, which is in violation of kosher law, the bread must be pareve.

By extension it follows, that if muffins are indeed a soft bread as their etymology implies, then kosher dietary law would mandate that they only contain pareve ingredients, and no dairy components. Notwithstanding the word’s French roots, whether or not muffins are bread is contingent upon what constitutes bread according to kosher dietary law. Three criteria that identify the distinctive nature of bread are: shape, taste and function. Concerning shape, it is most common for bread to come in the form of loaves, rolls, buns and baguettes. Regarding taste, bread is yeasty and not sweet. Pertaining to function, bread primarily is eaten as a whole meal as in a sandwich, and not merely munched upon as in a snack.

Americans have grown accustomed to enjoy their breakfast with one of two types of muffins. First there is the American muffin which is baked from a batter mix and deposited in uniquely configured muffin baking pans. This batter mix is very thin, does not contain yeast, and could be sweet as in a chocolate chip muffin, or savory as in a carrot cheese muffin.

Since the American muffin is altogether shaped differently than any roll, bun or baguette, is sweet or savory, and is not normally used to make a sandwich, it does not qualify to be considered bread in any of the aforementioned three criteria of shape, taste or function. Accordingly, American muffins are considered more like cake than bread, and can therefore be kosher certified even when containing dairy ingredients. For this reason, there are literally hundreds of luscious American muffins that contain dairy ingredients and have been approved by my office as OU-D. In addition, for the more health conscious, the trendy succulent real dairy low fat American yogurt muffins can also be certified OU-D providing all ingredients meet schedule A (ingredients) specifications.

The second muffin enjoyed usually at breakfast time is the English muffin. In contradistinction to the American muffin, the English muffin is not sweet, but rather stems from a thick yeast dough that is proofed and then deposited in griddle cups while being conveyed through a griddle oven. This difference in manufacturing leads to the English muffin satisfying two of the three kosher dietary law criteria for bread. English muffins have the yeasty taste of bread and function like bread since they are used to make a sandwich to be eaten for a meal. Their spongy texture however, disqualifies them from meeting the shape criterion for bread.

The upshot is that since English muffins resemble both bread and cake, it is in a singular category of kosher certification. For the most part, as in the case of bread, OU kosher certified English muffins do not contain any dairy ingredients nor share equipment with products made with dairy, and hence are in fact pareve. However, there are some brand English muffins that are certified OU-D. This is either because the dairy component is less than 1 ½% of the total ingredients, or on account of the English muffins being produced on equipment that make dairy product. Companies that have been approved to manufacture OU-D English muffins must keep the dairy component for these products below the 1½% threshold of the total ingredients. Rabbinical field representatives closely monitor the batch sheets for these dairy English muffins, to ensure the dairy components meet the requirements.

A further glance into history reveals another unique quality indigenous to English Muffins that serves as an additional benefit for many kosher consumers. Mr. Samuel Bath Thomas left England for the shores of this country in 1874 with an English Muffin recipe that Americans would absolutely relish. Thomas’ English Muffins were the very first English Muffins enjoyed by Americans. Mr. Thomas recommended that his customers toast the English Muffins before serving for maximum flavor. These same toasting instructions are to this very day included on the packaging of Thomas’ English Muffins.

The fact that English Muffins are most preferred when toasted is most important for a further expanding market among kosher consumers known as ‘pas yisroel’. Literally meaning ‘bread of a Jew’, the ‘pas yisroel’ status is an elevated level of kosher for baked goods. It is obtained by an observant Jew igniting the oven in which the product is being baked. The method that the OU recommends to accomplish this task is for the bakery to install an electric panel by a designated oven that enables that oven to be turned on off-site by a rabbinic field representative using a remote control telephone hook-up. This system meets the strictest of the kosher pas yisroel requirements and has received great approbation among leading rabbinic authorities. The device is known as the “Shain system,” named after a Rabbi Shain who made this innovation.

Accordingly, since English Muffins have their flavor enormously enhanced via the product being toasted before serving, this may facilitate a kosher Jewish consumer in effectuating a pas yisroel product by toasting the English muffin in their own toaster at home. This is a kosher bonus for English Muffins which is not found in most other commercially baked products.

For over one hundred years Americans have been enjoying the famous Thomas’ English Muffins. Kosher consumers too are delighted to be able to benefit from the premium taste of Thomas’ English Muffins because its packaging bears the worlds premium kosher OU-D logo. Scores of other quality brand English Muffins have followed Thomas’ stunning example and are also proud bearers of the OU or OU-D kosher logo. Regardless, if they are American or English, kosher consumers the world over have a great way to start off their day by eating any of the thousands of muffin products that are OU kosher certified.

Monday, June 08, 2009

Not For The Birds: OU Rabbi Visits IDT Yeshiva In Newark To Present On The Mesorah Of Kosher Birds

Rabbi Chaim Loike, the Orthodox Union’s expert on kosher birds, recently visited the Yeshiva at IDT in Newark to present the OU Kosher Harry H. Beren ASK OUtreach shiur (class) on the Mesorah (traditional roots and history) of kosher birds. The Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Dovid Weiss, called Rabbi Yosef Grossman, Director of Kashrut Education at OU Kosher, to express the entire yeshiva’s great satisfaction with Rabbi Loike’s fascinating shiur.

Rabbi Chaim Loike enthralling IDT students with his presentation on the Mesorah of Kosher Birds. Rabbi Dovid Weiss, rosh yeshiva at Yeshiva IDT, sits with his students, enjoying Rabbi Loike’s demonstration.

http://www.ou.org

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Bazooka Candy Brand’s Top Selling Ring Pop Certified Kosher

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

OU Kosher Expert To Appear With USDA Official On Food Institute’s Webinar, Let’s Talk Kosher!

Rabbi Eliyahu Safran, Senior Rabbinic Coordinator and Vice President of Communications and Marketing of OU Kosher, will be one of two experts appearing in the webinar, “Let’s Talk Kosher! Kosher Food: What Does it Mean for Food to Be Certified as Kosher and What Can it Mean to You?” to be presented by the Orthodox Union and the Food Institute on Wednesday, June 3 at 12:00 p.m., Eastern time. He will share the program with Phillip Derfier, Assistant Administrator in the Office of Policy, Program Development at the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The program, which will last from 60-90 minutes, is targeted at retailers, manufacturers and other professionals who are interested in learning about kosher certification and its advantages. Rabbi Safran and Mr. Derfier will explore what it means for food to be labeled as kosher and its implications for food producers, distributors and marketers. The Food Institute, a non-profit organization founded in 1928, is an important source for current, timely and relevant information about the food industry. Rabbi Safran may be reached at .

OU Kashrus Comes To Monsey & 600 People Attend Shiur On How To Be Menaker & Other Meat Issues

OU KASHRUS COMES TO MONSEY AND 600 PEOPLE ATTEND SHIUR ON HOW TO BE MENAKER AND OTHER MEAT ISSUES AT YESHIVA OHR SOMAYACH

Thursday, April 30, 2009

In Times of Difficulty: A Question of Meaning, A Meditation on Kashrut

These are difficult times.

Editorial pages, news and financial reporters bemoan the dramatic loss of wealth in the country and around the world. Trillions of dollars of net worth – lost. Homes – foreclosed. Businesses – shut down. Charities – struggling. Unemployment nearing record levels. Even those who have secure employment feel the anxiety.

There is a sense that nothing is certain.

Difficult times indeed.

At times like these, it might seem like a luxury to speak about a desire for security and meaning. After all, there is food to be put on the table! Ironically, it is often when the going gets rough that our vision is sharpest; and our ability to evaluate what is really important is at its keenest. There might be a sense that nothing is certain but, in fact, what is most certain is what has always been most certain. Those who placed their faith exclusively in relying on ever-expanding stock markets and home mortgages simply placed their faith in the wrong place.

Which begs the question, does the current, historic loss of wealth suggest that material worth is ephemeral and therefore meaningless? Or does it demonstrate that, in fact, material well-being is essential to our lives?

According to Judaism, the answer is… both and neither.

Judaism suggests that the “either/or” implied in the two questions is, in fact, a false choice. Judaism does not embrace the physical rather than the spiritual nor does it reject the physical in favor of the spiritual. God has instructed us that we are both physical and spiritual and that it is in recognizing this that we most fully find meaning and honor the Creator of the Universe.

Our physical form and nature was taken from the “dust of the ground.” We are physical beings. To deny that would be to deny something essential and important, indeed something spiritual, about who we are. As Jews, we are taught to embrace the physical. To do anything less would be to question the wisdom and sanctity of God’s creation.

Life is good. Creation is good. The physical world is good.

We share physicality with every living thing in creation but we are not the same as every living thing. Far from it. We are not only the physical form that we inhabit.

“And the Lord God formed Adam of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and Adam became a living soul.”

We have body and a soul. Man has a purpose in life. Not in spite of life, but because of it. The question then is, once again, What is the purpose of life?
Judaism teaches that we must be engaged with and in the world. Nothing brings home this teaching so clearly as our need to nourish ourselves, to eat.
Hunger is an essential drive of all living things. But like all essential drives, unless it is satisfied in a way that is both permissible and holy, it is impossible to enjoy a truly spiritual life. But how do we turn hunger, or any essential physical drive, into something holy?

Each of us has before us a choice in everything we do. There is the right way, and the wrong way. (Certainly the poor example set by many, many in the financial world has made that lesson clear!) We can satisfy our hunger drive as every other animal in creation or we can find the holiness in this physical activity and have it become a mirror of the Divine. After all, we all must eat. Still, from a Jewish perspective the adage, “you are what you eat” is not a comment on physical well-being but a comment on spiritual well-being and goes to not only what we eat but how we eat, when we eat, where we eat and why we eat.

We know that Adam fell by eating forbidden food. Certainly, there was nothing intrinsically wrong with his eating an apple. His health did not fail because of his choice. The lesson here is that – from the very beginning – health issues are not elemental to the eating of forbidden food. No, the reason that Adam fell was because he did what was forbidden by God. In doing so, he removed himself from that which is holy. He ate because he was hungry. Or because the food seemed attractive and tasty. Or simply because his “dining partner” – Eve – wanted him to. In other words, he ate of the fruit of the forbidden tree for all the same reasons that many people eat.

They are hungry.

The food appears appetizing.

Someone suggests that they “try it, you’ll like it.”

But in Judaism, it is not enough to be sated. The goal is to be holy. Ultimately, these three words captures what it means to be Jewish. We are to be holy because our God is holy. We keep God before us in everything we do; we recite blessings and we perform mitzvot and, in doing so, we remain closer to our goal of holiness.

The laws of kashrut define the way God would have us eat. The fundamental basic-ness of eating makes it essential to our ability to distinguish and discriminate. In Judaism, laws and rules of conduct rarely concern themselves with that which is function of our “higher natures.” Our higher natures are capable of taking care of themselves just fine. It is our baser instincts and needs that offer the challenge. Certainly, that is the case in the financial world. Money – our need for it, our desire for it – brings us face to face with some of our most base motivations and gives us the chance to either reduce ourselves or enlighten ourselves.

As Jews, we do not seek separation from our essential natures, our basest wants and desires. We recognize that anything that God created is necessarily good. It is by our relation with each part of creation that we affirm its goodness and holiness.

Kashrut, by focusing on our universal, animal need to eat, affirms the connection, the absolute kesher between the physical and the spiritual. Our discipline, our discrimination – our separation – is a discipline which reminds us of the holiness of creation, our own role and our relationship with our creator.

Kashrut teaches us that the Jewish view of holiness and spiritually is intimately related to the physical substance of life. It is impossible to divorce oneself from the world and the physical reality of life and be in pursuit of genuine holiness and spirituality.

We bring the holy to the non-holy by blessings. For example, is not enough to eat kosher food to “be” kosher, to avoid treif in favor of kosher. All of our behaviors – no matter how noble or base – are made spiritual by our conscious recognition and articulation that they are done because of and for God. That is why we say a blessing before we eat. In doing so, we acknowledge that it is God who “brings forth the bread from the earth.” We focus our trust and faith on the One who is most trustworthy.

Giving blessing is particularly important for the act of eating. Our rabbis teach that if three people enjoy a feast, a brilliant banquet!, yet words of Torah are not discussed, it is as if they had engaged in something prohibited and repulsive.

Without a meal, we cannot recite Kiddush. The rabbis have interpreted this to mean that there can be no kedusha (holiness) in the absence of a meal. No holiness except when we eat! What greater statement can there be that the spiritual and material are wed. However, food only affords us the possibility of kedusha. We must recite brachot (blessings) both before and after we eat to render our “base” behavior spiritual and true. Our blessings wed the body with the soul. They turn our attention from our temporal and physical existence to the eternal bond we have with God.

Blessings enable material experiences to be elevated to spiritual heights. In the Talmud it is written, “It is forbidden for man to enjoy anything of this world without a blessing, and if anyone enjoys anything of this world without a blessing, he commits sacrilege.”

To bless is to be fully aware – of the pleasure of the material, yes, but more importantly of the spiritual One who is beyond this world.
Kashrut affords us insight into our desire to find meaning during these difficult times. Seeking wealth might appear to be a function of greed but it need not necessarily be. The wealthy are the ones who provide heat for the synagogue and food for the wayfarer. The desire for wealth is not necessarily a bad thing. Seeking wealth to the exclusion of caring about our fellows is. It is in our choices and our engagement with the world that we engage God; that we become Holy.

It would seem that those who rose most high only to fall the farthest did seek or find blessing in their material enterprise. They certainly did not understand that the true worth of their endeavors was in their seeking the kashrut of it. No meal, no wealth, can have real meaning or pleasure without blessing. And, when we trust God, even modest meals and material wealth are worth more than a king’s feast and kingdom.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Insects in Veggies Bugging You?

According to Jewish law, eating a bug is much worse than eating ham. And so it is most important for the kosher homemaker serving vegetables to make certain that those lush greens, so crunchy and healthful, are insect-free. But given the tiny size of the critters, this is no easy task.

Relax! Help is now on the way, with the release of the OU Kosher DVD, Insect-Free: A Guide to Home Vegetable Inspection. This video, running almost an hour-and-a-half in length, features Rabbi Yosef Eisen, the Rabbinic Administrator of the Vaad Hakashrus of the Five Towns & Rockaway and an OU Kosher Rabbinic Coordinator from 1990-1999. Rabbi Eisen shares his vast expertise in a clear and engaging way so that the steps in inspection are simple to follow. His purpose, he said, in preparing the DVD, is “to empower each and every person so that they can partake fully of God’s bounty.”

A wide variety of that bounty is featured: leafy vegetables (e.g. lettuce and cabbage); herbs (dill, parsley); miscellaneous produce (scallions, cauliflower); and berries, such as strawberries. The DVD comes with a handy menu-function, so that the viewer can click right to what he or she wants to see, and is geared to a variety of audiences – those at home and those in school.

Rabbi Menachem Genack, CEO of OU Kosher, declared, “Because since the days of Rachel Carson the Federal government quite correctly has limited the use of insecticides on food, there has been an increase in insects found in vegetables. Therefore, knowing how to check for these insects has become increasingly important. The prohibition in Jewish law of eating insects is particularly severe and this DVD is a hands-on way of checking vegetables to make sure they are acceptable.”

David Lenik, the producer, has his own take on the DVD. “This project taught me to think about vegetable inspection as an act of serving God and not just as one more arduous task. Also, having seen the bugs, up-close-and-too-personal, coming out of what looks like a perfectly healthy vegetable, I now see that proper cleaning provides a tangible benefit.”

Insect-Free: A Guide to Home Vegetable Inspection is one of several projects of OU Kosher’s expanded educational outreach. OU Kosher’s educational programs include the nationally-renowned “OU Kosher Coming” program, which sends OU’s expert rabbis to schools, synagogues and college campuses to share their knowledge of halacha and technology; as well as the ever-growing “Kosher Tidbits” series of short seminars on innumerable aspects of kashrut and certification, available at ouradio.org.

The Orthodox Union has produced four other DVD’s devoted to kashrut education: Kosher Kidz, focusing on ice cream, which explains the basics of kosher certification to a youthful audience; The Kosher Fish Primer, which explains the basics of identifying kosher fish and purchasing them; Kosher Meat: Unexplored Frontiers, with Rabbi Yisroel Belsky, which explores the process of post-slaughter meat preparation: and Kosher Birds: Who Are They? which discusses the signs of avian kashrut. These DVD’s have been purchased in Jewish communities around the world.

So now comes the fifth video in the series, prepared specifically to avoid the shriek coming from the kitchen, “Not salad! Anything but SALAD!!!” According to Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu Safran, Senior Rabbinic Coordinator and Vice President of Marketing and Communications of OU Kosher, “A group of women who have previewed the DVD have commented that they ‘have long waited for a clear, precise, hands-on presentation of how to really be sure that our vegetables are free of any Torah prohibited bug infestation. We now have it.”

Rabbi Safran points out that the DVD is user-friendly, “including the menu option, the clarity of Rabbi Eisen’s presentation, the summaries, and the popular veggies it features. Most importantly,” he emphasized, “this DVD is geared to meet the needs of the Jewish homemaker, of everyone involved with kosher food preparation in the home kitchen, as well as for educators and students focusing on all it takes to maintain a kosher kitchen.”

The new DVD is $10 a copy; to order all five is $35. For further information on bringing OU Kosher to your school or community, or to order the previous DVD’s, contact Rabbi Safran at .

Monday, April 27, 2009

OU Presents “How To Check For Insects”

OU Kosher has released “HOW TO Check for Insects,” the fifth DVD recorded at a series of kashrut seminars presented during the past few years at OU headquarters and in Lakewood, the great New Jersey Ir Ha’Torah, city of Torah, home to the world famous Beth Medrash Govoha and a variety of other yeshivos and kollelim.

The seminar on hands-on Foodservice Bedikas Toyloim, Checking for Insects, was given as part of the Harry H. Beren ASK OUTREACH program, the OU’s forays into the yeshivish and chasidic communities in addition to servicing semicha programs. Audiences of between 300 and 1000 people attended these presentations. ASK OUTREACH is funded by the Harry H. Beren Foundation of Lakewood.

The session on insect checking was conducted by the acclaimed Bedikas Toyloim expert Rabbi Yosef Eisen, the Rabbinic Administrator of the Vaad Hakashrus of the Five Towns & Rockaway and an OU Kosher Rabbinic Coordinator from 1990-1999.

“I am extremely pleased,” commented Rabbi Yosef Grossman, OU Director of Kashruth Education, “that Rabbi Eisen has agreed on an ongoing basis to be part of the OU’s ASK OUTREACH Educational program and subsequent “HOW TO” DVD series. Although Rabbi Eisen is no longer part of the OU, we continue to benefit at the OU from the high standards he helped create in Foodservice Kashruth and in his dedicated ongoing efforts to educate the Kosher consumer. The present DVD on “HOW TO Check for Insects” benefits those who missed Rabbi Eisen’s fascinating shiur on the subject in Lakewood as well as those who were there and want to review it.”

Earlier, this year, the following DVDs were issued: • HOW TO Be an Excellent Mashgiach, with Rabbi Yaakov Luban, OU Executive Rabbinic Coordinator; • HOW TO Check for Treifos, with OU Posek Rabbi Yisroel Belsky, of Yeshiva Torah Vodaath; • HOW TO Be Menaker (elimination of veins and fats) with various OU experts; and • HOW TO Set up a Vaad HaKashruth with Rabbi Yaakov Luban and Rabbi Yoel Schonfeld and other kashrut experts

Another DVD in the “HOW TO” series soon to be released is “HOW TO Kasher” with OU Kashering expert Rabbi Moshe Perlmutter. This DVD will include Rabbi Perlmutter at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in NYC as well as kashering demonstration for the Satmar Yoreh Deah Kollel in Monroe, NY.

OU Kosher had previously produced a 54-hour DVD with 91 ASKOU presentations; more than 2,500 copies have now been distributed.
Like the 54-hour DVD, the new DVD’s will be distributed free of charge at OU Kosher events. For those who wish to have the DVDs sent to them, the charge for each will be $5. The 54-hour DVD is priced at $10. Contact Rabbi Grossman at 212-613-8212 or .