By Tovah Ross
As millions of students of all ages were enjoying their last days of summer freedom before heading back to school, the Orthodox Union got a jump on the academic year by kicking off its weeklong Advanced Kashrut Seminar for Women, the OU’s first-ever course for women. Twenty-five women participated in the program.
A recent article raised questions about the standards of Israeli food establishments under OU supervision. The article did not claim that kashrus was compromised. Rabbi Yosef Minsky, the OU representative in Israel, has informed us, and our initial review and consultation with other agencies in Israel indicate, that the standards in place are essentially comparable with other reliable mehadrin agencies and Badatzim in Israel.
Rabbi Yaakov Luban, Senior OU Rabbinic Coordinator, who has extensive knowledge of food service establishments, is being dispatched to Israel this week, and will perform a thorough review of the OU operation. For the past 25 years, Rabbi Luban has been involved with food service establishments in various capacities; as a Rabbi in Edison, NJ, OU Rabbinic Coordinator, and auditor of local Vaadim around the country.
By Rabbi Eli Gersten
The Mishna in Avoda Zara (35b) tells us that Chazal forbade pas akum. The Gemara (36b) explains that this was done as a geder to avoid intermarriage. However Tosfos1 bring a Yerushalmi that says that a later Bes Din removed this issur. The exact extent of this retraction is a disagreement between the Mechaber and the Rama. While all agree that bread baked by an akum for personal use is still forbidden, there are differing opinions as to how careful one must be to avoid eating pas palter, bread baked by an akum for the purpose of selling.
By By Rabbi Eli Gersten, RC Recorder of OU Psak and Policy
Considering the long days that Mashgichim put in and the hundreds of miles that they drive daily, it is no surprise to hear that most mashgichim rely on coffee to keep them going. While caffeine is a plus for those who work in an office, for those out on the roads those 10 minute coffee stops are quite literally life savers. Let us take a moment to understand if there are any kashrus concerns with picking up a coffee while traveling on the road. This question was presented to the OU poskim Rav Schachter and Rav Belsky.
Today’s consumers are increasingly demanding food that, in addition to tasting good, is also healthy and affordable. This poses a tremendous challenge to the food industry – a challenge that becomes still more sophisticated when kosher requirements are introduced into the equation.
Lucid Absinthe, the first genuine absinthe to be legal for import and sale in the United States in over 95 years, has acquired kosher certification from the Orthodox Union. After receiving enormous interest in Lucid from consumers who keep kosher, and committed to serving that segment of the market, Viridian Spirits, owners of Lucid, contacted the OU to determine whether Lucid would qualify for the certification. The company was delighted to learn that all of its existing processes and ingredients already were sufficient to achieve Orthodox Union’s hallowed seal.
Koval is a Yiddish word for ‘blacksmith’ or ‘to forge,” but the term has also been used to refer to someone who does something out of the ordinary, or a “black sheep in the family.” It is thus fitting that Sonat Birnecker Hart and Robert Birnecker chose to name their company Koval, since it is not every day that one hears of a Professor of Jewish Studies and a Foreign Deputy Press Secretary leaving their careers to make spirits. Indeed they named the company after Sonat’s great-grandfather, a renegade in his own right, who left Vienna at the turn of the century for Chicago at the age of 17, in search of a new way of life, much to the dismay of his parents and gratitude of later generations, earning him the soubriquet, Koval.
A basic element missing from the kosher food industry for generations was affordable cattle-derived kosher gelatine. Geliko, a world leader in kosher gelatine production, has recently announced the arrival of Geliko Kosher Gelatine and Gelatine Hydrolysate.
It’s not often that a company is founded by someone who is a renowned kashrut expert. Yet, that was exactly the case with Glatech Productions. The company, founded by the legendary Rabbi Shimon Eider, a trailblazer in kashrut, manufactures a truly unique gelatin marketed as Kolatin®.
Unique gelatin? Aren’t all gelatins basically the same? What is in fact so special about Kolatin®?
It was 1981, that our founder, Cheryl Krueger, with the help of her college roommate, Caryl Walker, started Cheryl&Co. It was her desire from the beginning to create the best gourmet food and gift company. We are pleased to say that what began as a single cookie store in Columbus, Ohio, has evolved into a multi-million dollar business. But, as successful as we’ve become, it is still our goal to focus on offering delicious, high-quality baked goods, unique gift ideas and outstanding customer service.
Armed with just $40,000, a business degree and seven years of retail industry experience, Cheryl opened the very first Cheryl’s Cookie store at a time when banks were nervous about lending to women-owned businesses.
At Premier Bakers Inc., we are passionate about English muffins, and not just your ordinary plain English muffin. At Premier Bakers we make fifteen different types of English muffins (and growing). It all began in February of 2005 when Premier Bakers was acquired by Fresh Start Bakeries, a California company and a global supplier of top quality
baked products.
By Rachel Murray
From the humble beginnings of a lone storefront in Manhattan to the present day of three rapidly growing, bustling plants, David's Cookies has been a trend-setting icon in the gourmet food industry since its opening in 1979.
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