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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.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Since 2006, the Orthodox Union has been calming frazzled nerves and answering questions on everything from cleaning to cooking inspired by one of the most enjoyable – but also the most intricate and complex to prepare for – Jewish holidays, Passover. The OU does this by creating a Passover website that can be found at http://www.oupassover.org.
The website, which was recently updated for 2009, is a one-stop shop for all Passover-related queries. Subjects range from recipe substitutions and cleaning tips, to kosherizing household items for Passover and the proper amounts of the traditional food and wine that must be consumed at the seder.
Popular features that have returned from previous years include a fully downloadable Passover Guide, which sorts all the various products, both edible and household items, into two sections of those allowed on Passover and those not kosher for Passover; an expansive database of all OU Kosher for Passover products; and a section of frequently asked questions and answers of common Passover food inquiries.
Brand-new for 2009 is a section on Birchat ha-Chammah (a blessing over the sun said every 28 years, and one that is said this erev (eve of)Pesach, April 8); additional information expanded from previous years on caring for infants and the infirm; new feature articles about dieting on Passover and cleaning for Passover, such as “Pesach Dieters, Take Note! You Can Have Your Potato – and Eat It Too,” by nutritionist Shira Isenberg; and “The Chef’s Table: Healthy Passover Pleasures,” by cookbook author Norene Gilletz. There will also be articles on wine, traditional seder items, and matzah, such as “From Grapes to Kosher Wine,” by Rabbi Shmuel Singer, OU Rabbinic Coordinator, and “What Could be Hiding in My Romaine?” by Rabbi Dovid Bistricer, OU Rabbinic Coordinator.
The website is managed by Rabbi Yonaton Kaganoff, OU Rabbinic Coordinator.
“Passover is a wonderful, but also incredibly detailed, holiday,” declared Rabbi Menachem Genack, CEO of OU Kosher. “The OU Passover website clarifies many issues of concern regarding proper preparation and observance of the Festival, while also providing informative and enjoyable features on various aspects of the holiday. The website is a wonderful resource for the entire Jewish community.”
For more information visit http://www.oupassover.org.
http://www.ou.org
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http://www.oupassover.org
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