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Sweet-Talk: Inside the Kosher Bakery
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By: Rabbi Yisroel Bendelstein
Looking for Labels
Only OU-certified facilities are allowed to affix the to their products. Thus, loose labels bearing the cannot be affixed at a non-OU-certified facility, even if the product itself was manufactured in an OU plant. In a similar vein, consumers should be careful when purchasing goods at supermarket bakery counters that display an OU Letter of Kosher Certification. If the breads, pastries and cookies displayed are not in sealed packages, they are not to be considered kosher (unless the bakery counter itself is under a reliable kosher supervision). This is why the OU Letter of Kosher Certification clearly states “kosher when bearing the symbol.”
The Bread and Butter of Kosher
One more caveat with regard to labels involves bread products. Kosher law precludes bread from being dairy or meat; it must be pareve. This is because as a main food staple, bread should be readily available for either a dairy or meat meal. This applies to all forms of breads such as rolls, bagels and buns as well as dry bread mixes. Interestingly, pizza dough can be certified D because by definition pizza is a dairy food.
