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.
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.orghttp://www.oukosher.orghttp://www.oupassover.org
As part of its practice of providing a full range of services to its certified companies, OU Kosher has announced that it will recommend Organic National & International Certifiers (ON & IC) of Lincolnwood, IL to its client companies who are seeking certification that their products are not only kosher, but organic as well.
Organic food must adhere to standards of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), which require that crops be grown without synthetic pesticides, artificial fertilizers, biotechnology or radiation. Among other standards, there are also requirements for the feed given to animals on organic farms and how the animals are to be confined. Organic foods, therefore, can be said to provide a more healthful diet than standard foods while being more environmentally friendly.
The demand for organic products has been growing at a rapid rate in recent years, and ON & IC has proven to be a reliable and respected certifier in its field, just as the OU is in kosher certification.
The agreement is not the first in which the OU has reached out to a certifying agency in another field related to food production – in 2005 it entered into a relationship with the Gluten-Free Certification Organization (GFCO) to certify that products do not contain storage proteins found in grains such as wheat, rye and barley – a necessity for people on gluten-free diets.
Now it is organic’s turn.
“For a long time, it’s been clear that the kosher consumer and the organic consumer share a lot of overlap and that many companies that are seeking kosher certification are seeking organic certification, and vice versa,” declared Rabbi Moshe Elefant, Chief Operating Officer of OU Kosher, who was instrumental in bringing the arrangement to fruition. “Organic certification is clearly a field of expertise – you cannot grant organic certification unless licensed by the federal government to do so.”
Consequently, unlike the situation with GFCO in which OU rabbinic field representatives also provide gluten-free certification, only USDA accredited staff of ON & IC at present will be doing the certifying. The OU’s role will be to direct its clients to the company.
“In order to help service our clients who are seeking this certification to market their products, we entered into a relationship with the group which has the know-how to offer this service to companies,” Rabbi Elefant declared. “We will recommend them to our clients who want organic certification as a good organization to work with.”
Among the companies currently certified by ON & IC are Qtrade Teas & Herbs, one of the largest importers of organic teas in the United States; Setton Farms, a full service provider of quality gourmet snacks; Interbake Foods, one of the largest manufacturers of wafers in the United States; and several of the Del Monte fresh produce plants.
According to Marketing Director Pearl Siegel, ON & IC chose to work with the OU because “we were looking for a kosher certification agency with a reputation for the highest quality and with a substantial list of client companies. Of course, the OU was a perfect fit. Despite their size,” she added, “they are cooperative, easy to deal with, and gave every indication that our working relationship would be would be extremely productive.”
According to ON & IC, its mission and goals are:
• To provide organic certification to processors, handlers, growers, livestock brokers, traders, distributors, retailers and private label entities that want to be in conformity with USDA rules and regulations;
• To assist in the growth of public acceptance and demand for organic products; and
• To assist in making organic products freely available to the general public.
According to Rabbi Elefant, the relationship “provides an opportunity to work together to reduce redundancy and costs. If we see it is beneficial to the companies, we will jointly train our rabbinic field representatives to be accredited by USDA,” and thereby to handle certifications, just as they perform the gluten-free certifications now.
For companies needing further information on ON & IC and organic foods, contact Pearl Siegel at , or 847-763-0218.
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