By Rabbi Eli Gersten
The Gemara Avoda Zara 61b teaches that if one is מטהר יינו של עובד כוכבים ברשותו (produces kosher wine for a non-Jew in the non-Jew’s premises) even a double chosem is inadequate to protect the wine against possible tampering. The wine requires as an additional safeguard the presence of a mashgiach who sits and watches or who makes periodic unannounced visits ((שאינו בא לקיצין. Rav Belsky often quotes this Gemara as the basis for hashgacha today. We see how great was the view that Chazal had for unannounced visits that they equate it to having a mashgiach sitting and watching!
By Rabbi Eli Gersten
In general, one is not permitted to be mivatel issur lichatchila. There is a machlokes whether this is an issur d’oreisah (Ravad) or an issur d’Rabbanan (Tosfos). Though most poskim hold that it is only an issur d’rabbanan[1], yet many[2] (including Rav Belsky) feel that one should be choshesh for the opinion of Ravad.
Dear Rabbi:
QUESTION: As an OU company, I have many customers who want their names printed on the label with no mention of the manufacturer (also known as private label products). We understand the need to sign a contract, to ensure that everyone is “on the same page” with the OU requirements for private labels, though the “legalese” of the contract makes it hard for us to understand what exactly we are obligating ourselves (and what our label company is obligating itself) to do to remain OU certified. Can you advise us in “plain talk” what exactly are the responsibilities of the manufacturer and the label company in the agreement? Specifically, what is this “parallel product” clause, and why is it needed?
It’s a textbook of sophisticated food technology that is utilized in refining oil, a compendium of kosher law, and therefore, a remarkable combination of centuries-old halacha and the most up-to-date developments. After a long production process, it is now available to set kashrut standards for the entire industry.
By Rabbi Eli Gersten
I have heard it said that running a successful kosher program is as easy as PIE: Products, Ingredients and Equipment. One must keep an updated schedule B (products) an updated schedule A (ingredients) and have a proper system for keeping track of the kosher/pareve status of equipment. I would like to add another interpretation to this wise adage. Running a successful kosher program is as easy as π (as in 3.14159…).
By Rabbi Eliyahu W. Ferrell
“May I have a steak well done, please, and a fruit cocktail?” is a request that is commonly heard in a restaurant. It’s very rare to hear someone in a restaurant say, “Waiter, I’d like an order of rotten fruit, please, and do you have any steak that causes botulism?”
By Rabbi Chaim Loike
Breed History
The origins of the Aracouna chicken have baffled scientists for the last century. The Aracouna Indians kept no written records and the source of the mutations observed in these birds is unknown. European explorers took note of these birds shortly after reaching South America. The birds are mentioned in the writings of the Portuguese explorer Magelhaes (Magellan) who documented their presence in 1519, less than thirty years after the maiden voyage of Columbus. The sky blue eggs were mentioned seven years later by Sebastian Cabot (1526). Although it is possible that the chickens were introduced by the Europeans, the immediate dispersal and distinct husbandry of these birds suggest that the bird was being raised by the natives before 1492. Similarly, radiocarbon and DNA analysis indicate that these birds are not of European origin (Story et al., 2007).
By Bayla Sheva Brenner
“There’s no business like food business, like no business I know!” It may not be the lyrics you’re familiar with, but for every company-founder of any segment of the industry, be it beverages, dairy, baked goods, or flavors, the dream to make it big definitely rings true – and when it happens, the taste is mighty sweet.
By Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu Safran
If you would have suggested to an observant Jew that in the earliest part of the 21st century our ancient diet would become one of the hottest new food trends and that the kosher food market would be amongst the fastest growing food sectors in America and Europe, you would surely have been rewarded with a bemused look worthy of an encounter with an inhabitant of the wistful land of Chelm, inhabited by a population of sweet, confused citizens who can make neither heads nor tails of anything.
By Rabbi Eli Gersten
If a liquid remains in a container for 24 consecutive hours it becomes kavush k’mivushal, and we are choshesh that there is a transfer of ta’am between the liquid and the entire container[1]. The transfer of ta’am takes place only after 24 hours. Before 24 hours there is no transfer of ta’am. Therefore, bidieved if one did leave cold kosher liquid in a non-kosher container for 24 hours the product remains kosher, since the bliyos in the walls of the container after 24 hours are nosain ta’am lifgam[2].
By Rabbi Eli Gersten
A Jew is not permitted to intentionally be mivatel any issur, even an issur d’rabbanan (Y.D. 99:5-6). Additionally, Chazal instituted a k’nas, forbidding the food for the mivatel and any intended recipient. Rebbi Ekiva Eiger (99:5) based on Teshuvas Rivash (498) includes in this k’nas any consumer for whom the product was intended for sale, and extends the k’nas not only to the food but also to require kashering kailim[1].
From the highest of the Scottish Highlands now come varieties of single malt whisky manufactured by Tomintoul Distillery and newly certified by OU Kosher. Tomintoul, located in the community of the same name, the highest village in the Highlands, is owned by Angus Dundee, an independent company with over 50 years' experience in producing, blending, bottling and distributing top-quality Scotch whiskies and other spirits.
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