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Thursday, July 23, 2009
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 .
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
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.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Bazooka Candy Brands, a division of Topps Inc., announced today that Ring Pop, its bestselling candy, has been kosher certified by the Orthodox Union. Production of the newly kosher Ring Pop, with brand new packaging bearing the “OU” symbol, begins this month with the candy shipping to retailers nationwide in August.
Ari Weinstock, Director of Marketing, Bazooka Candy Brands, said, “Working with the Orthodox Union, the top organization for kosher certification in the world, we can now bring Ring Pop to an entirely new, and discerning, consumer base that has never before been able to enjoy our products.”
Rabbi Eliyahu Safran, OU Kosher’s Vice President of Communications and Marketing expressed “great satisfaction in having Bazooka Candy Brands join with leading confectionery producers who have attained OU certification in recent years. It was gratifying for OU Kosher’s team, headed by Rabbi Mordechai Merzel, to corroborate with Bazooka Candy Brands’ team and bring the much sought after Ring Pop products to an ever growing kosher market place.”
The Orthodox Union engages in rigorous monitoring of all aspects of production. It supervises the process by which the food is prepared, examines the ingredients used to make the food, and regularly inspects the processing facilities to make sure that its standards are met.
“The solicitousness associated with the OU certification process is what makes kosher products appealing to both Jewish and non-Jewish consumers. We believe that parents purchasing Ring Pop for their children will feel reassured that the production of this candy is closely supervised,” added Weinstock.
Ring Pop was first introduced in 1977 and has consistently ranked among the top-selling non-chocolate candies. Available in over ten different flavors including strawberry, blue raspberry, watermelon, twisted berry blast and strawberry-banana smoothie, Ring Pop is Bazooka Candy Brand’s most popular confection. Referred to as “edible bling,” Ring Pop candy has been spotted by the paparazzi in the hands of many celebrities over the years, with photos running in magazines such as Interview, People, and US Weekly.
The Orthodox Union, which is supervising the production of Ring Pop, has maintained the highest standard of kosher certification for over 80 years. Today the OU supervises more than 400,000 products produced in 6,000 plants in 80 countries, making it the world’s largest and most respected kosher certification agency and symbol.
The kosher-certified Ring Pop is part of the recently re-branded Bazooka Candy Brands line of candy, which also includes Baby Bottle Pop, Push Pop, and Bazooka gum. For more information about Ring Pop, visit http://www.topps.com.
About The Topps Company, Inc.
Founded in 1938, Topps (http://www.topps.com) is a leading creator and marketer of sports and related cards, entertainment products, and distinctive confectionery. Topps entertainment products include Major League Baseball, NFL, NBA and other trading cards, sticker album collections, and collectible games. The company’s confectionery brands include “Bazooka” bubble gum, “Ring Pop,” “Push Pop,” “Baby Bottle Pop,” and “Juicy Drop Pop” lollipops. In June 2008, Topps unveiled Topps Town (http://www.toppstown.com), the first online virtual sports community for kids, bringing together the popularity of trading cards with the exploding world of web-based social networking.
About The Orthodox Union
The Orthodox Union, now in its second century of service to the Jewish community of North America and beyond, represents the fastest growing segment in Jewish life. The OU is a world leader in community and synagogue services, adult education, youth work through NCSY, political action through the IPA (Institute of Public Affairs), and advocacy for persons with disabilities through Yachad and Our Way. Its kosher certification label, the OU, is the world's most recognized kosher symbol and can be found on over 400,000 products manufactured in 80 countries around the globe.
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