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Thursday, January 15, 2009
A newly redesigned feature to help the kosher consumer easily locate OU certified products has just made its debut on http://www.oukosher.org. With more than 400,000 products certified by the OU, the feature uses the OU’s technical wizardry to find just what the consumer is looking for, in categories ranging from acids and acidulants to wrapping materials and paper goods. The website is automatically updated daily to keep up with the OU’s newly certified products.
The original product search averaged some 3,000 hits a month over a period of more than two years of existence. Now it is faster and easier to use and is expected to be even more heavily utilized than the old site. The previous version was harder to search with less search criteria. Now it uses a more state of the art, quicker, more user-friendly technology and additional search filters that were not previously available.
“The new product search brings an unprecedented ease in searching for OU certified products,” explained Rabbi Yonatan Kaganoff, OU Kosher Rabbinic Coordinator, who oversaw the project. “Consumers can easily search for products using a variety of categories and criteria. This will help consumers worldwide find the kosher products that they are looking for as well as confirm that that OU Kosher products that they see at their local supermarkets are indeed certified OU Kosher. Sometimes consumers see a new product bearing an OU symbol or product bearing an OU symbol for the first time and want to make certain that the symbol is accurate. The newer, faster product search will allow them to consume these products without concern.”
The OU Kosher website is divided into company and consumer sections; the product database is a highlight of the consumer area. The feature enables the consumer to search by product, such as mayonnaise; by brand; and by dozens of categories. The searcher can also use a variety of “filters” – meat, dairy, pareve, consumer, industrial, Pas Yisroel, and Cholov Yisroel – to narrow the search. For example, there are 1171 pareve varieties of OU mayonnaise on the site, compared with 17 dairy. A range of information is provided about each product, such as company and brand name; status as meat, dairy or pareve; and any special information regarding the product, such as how it should be shipped.
Can’t find the product you are looking for? An additional feature enables the consumer to recommend that product for OU certification. All in all, it’s a tidy package for the benefit of the kosher consumer.
“This is another step in our ongoing quest to service the kosher consumer to avail themselves of the wide variety of OU certified products,” declared Rabbi Moshe Elefant, Chief Operating Officer of OU Kosher.
The newly revised product search can be found at the following URL: http://www.oukosher.org/index.php/product_search
Monday, December 22, 2008
I had the opportunity to meet Ben Zion Chroman many times in Beijing on Shabbos during the past two years. I always will remember his intense concentration and kavana in his tefillah, especially Shmoneh Esrei. At the Shabbos meals he just loved to sing the Carlebach niggunim. His favorite melody was "Kol haolam kulo gesher tzar me’od, ve-haikar lo lefached kla," meaning "This world is just but a narrow bridge and there is nothing to fear." He would start singing in a very low melodious voice, which would get louder and stronger as he repeated those words with such emotion from the depth of his neshama, getting all present at the table to join in with him.
It was apparent to me that he loved all Jews even though he was a Bobover chassid with a streimel. Rabbi Teitelbaum, who used to sit opposite him at the Shabbos table, would be enthralled by his chaver’s sweet voice and join in as well with all the niggunim. It so happens that I grew up in Far Rockaway, NY, where I davened in Kehilas Yaakov by the Sulitzer Rebbi, the grandfather of Rabbi Teitlebaum, and where my parents still daven. I am sure that both kedoshim gave their lives while singing "ve-ha-ikar lo le-fached kla.”
Hashem yinakem damam…
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
OU Direct, the six-part website which OU Certified companies use to manage their accounts, became even more direct today with the enhancement of Online Ingredient Automation. This newest feature will enable companies to easily manage their Schedule A’s and add ingredients via the web – avoiding the paperwork that registering these ingredients used to entail.
Companies will be notified by e-mail within six business hours if their applications have been accepted or if further review is necessary. The ingredients are then available for view and printing on the company’s Schedule A (ingredient listing per plant).
The website, http://www.oudirect.org, includes each company’s Schedules A and B (Schedule B lists a company’s products); Letters of Certification (LOC) affirming that a product is certified kosher by the OU; a financial overview of the company’s account; applications for new plants, products and ingredients; variations of the famed OU symbol for use on labels; and the OU’s Universal Kosher Database (UKD), which contains a record of tens of thousands of products that are certified by the OU and participating kosher certifying agencies.
Now, with the development of the Online Ingredient Application, OU Direct has advanced even further in its state of the art capabilities.
“OU Direct has been extremely well received by our certified companies,” declared Rabbi Moshe Elefant, Chief Operating Officer of OU Kosher, who has played a major role in the development of OU Direct. “In our constant aim to better service our clients and to enhance our kosher certification programs, this new attractive feature on OU Direct will make those goals even more achievable.”
The operation of the Online Ingredient Application is very easy and provides the following benefits:
• Using very simple screens, the company applies for ingredients;
• Clients can select from thousands of OU approved ingredients on the Universal Kosher Database. The UKD contains close to 340,000 approved ingredients with more being added all the time. All products found on the UKD have been approved for use by the OU.
• Clients with multiple plants may view and select approved ingredients from their current Schedule A’s and attach them to their other facilities.
• Clients may apply for new ingredients by using a simple web form.
• Ability to upload attachments in various formats
Each ingredient is processed based on a series of validations and is either approved for use or referred to the OU Kosher rabbinic coordinator assigned to the company for further review. Companies will be notified via e-mail on the status of each ingredient. Newly applied-for ingredients will appear on the Schedule A within six business hours. The updated Schedule A can then be viewed on OU Direct.
The OU Direct Help Desk is available by phone or e-mail for any questions regarding the website. In addition, a Help Manual with instructions on how to utilize and take full advantage of the OU Direct website is available online.
The new feature is now up and running and available for use by the thousands of satisfied OU certified companies.
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