On Friday October 16th the OU presented the first of a two-part webinar (Internet seminar) on dairy hashgacha. The second session took place one week later on Friday, October 23. Rabbi Yaakov Mendelson, Senior Dairy RC, moderated the sessions and presented e-mail questions sent in advance and on-the-spot by RFRs; Rabbi Avrohom Gordimer and Rabbi Avrohom Juravel responded verbally and live to the questions.
By Rabbi Eli Gersten
If one does not understand the process involved in creating a granola bar, one could study the ingredient panel a hundred times and still not be able to answer the above question. However, through our access to the companies that produce these bars we are privy to information that is important in resolving this issue.
The Harry H. Beren ASKOU OUTREACH post-Shabbat visit to the Passaic-Clifton community on November 7 drew many participants to the first “Understand Kashrut as You’ve Never Understood it Before!” program. Rabbi Yosef Grossman, OU Director of Kosher Education, declared “Fantastic! Excellent! These were just some of the words of feedback we received from the participants in the first series of ASKOU OUTREACH Kashrut shiurim in the Passaic – Clifton community.”
Schreiber Foods Inc. and its President and CEO Michael J. Haddad will be honored at the Orthodox Union’s 111th Annual Dinner & Awards Presentation, with the National Kashrut Leadership Award, Sunday evening, December 6 at the Hudson Theater and Millennium Broadway Hotel in New York.
By Rabbi Eli Gersten
Questions of bishul akum surface all the time, and it is important when reviewing products and ingredients to be mindful of the issues of bishul akum. The following are some recent issues that have been discussed in the office relating to bishul akum.
Given the enormous success of the Harry H. Beren ASKOU OUTREACH program and its visits to yeshivot, kollelim and semicha programs, ASKOU Outreachis now expanding to major Jewish communities with its first post-Shabbat visits to the Passaic-Clifton community. According to Rabbi Yosef Grossman, OU Director of Kosher Education, the motto of the program is “Understand Kashrut as You’ve Never Understood it Before!”
Ellen Libfeld, Vice President of “The Original” WrapOle’ Premium Quality Tortillas®, announced the Orthodox Union will be the certification agency for product made in Florida. All products will continue to be Pas Yisroel and made with the same ingredients customers have enjoyed since 1996.
On the heels of the success of and feedback from previous OU Kosher webcasts to which thousands of listeners have tuned in, OU Kosher will present "Cooking on Shabbat -- A Hot Topic -- News & Views about Stews & Brews" featuring OU Kosher authorities and senior halachic consultants Rabbi Yisroel Belsky and Rabbi Hershel Schachter. The webcast will take place Tuesday, November 17, 3:30 PM EST. To watch the webcast live, visit http://www.ou.org/ouradio/kosher_webcast/.