OUkosher.org
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Tu B’Shvat - New Year for the Trees - Good Time to Review Halachic Issues Related to Dried Fruit
There is a general dictum in Halacha that we review issues relevant to each chag prior to it. As Tu B’Shvat is colloquially referred to as chag hailanot – the holiday of the trees – a review of some kashrus issues relating to eating dried fruits is most apropos.There is a common misconception that dried fruits are just that – dried fruits – with nothing added, nothing taken away and nothing to worry about. Unfortunately, this is not the case and most dried fruits require a good kosher certification. In other cases, the consumer must take special precautions. As with any food item – the kosher consumer must take responsibility to check before eating!
Many are not “just fruit”. Many dried fruits you see in the market are not just dried fruit. They are fried (most banana chips) or they have been infused with syrup containing sweeteners, colors and flavors. When this is done, the fruit is often cooked in the syrup and then further processed through high temperature driers. This is very common with tropical fruits such as mango and papaya. Companies do this because the quality of the fruit is not always even or because this is what the marketplace has come to expect – sweet, bright colored and plump. Some other commonly infused fruits are pineapple, cherries, cranberries and strawberries.
Other Additives
Many other additives are common. For example, apples are often treated with stearates – which are animal or vegetable in origin. Most commercial (especially non-organic) dried fruits have preservatives – most commonly sulfur compounds. While not generally a kashruth problem, many people are allergic to them. Chopped or sticky fruits are often rolled or dusted with various types of flour – including rice and oat. It is not uncommon for the company to use the same drying trays for the chopped and whole fruits and this raises significant Passover questions. This is especially common with dates and figs. Domestic (US) raisins are generally not a problem as the oils used to prevent them from drying out are from kosher sources. Imported raisins, however, may be problematic.
Equipment
While some fruits are labeled – and actually are – sun dried without coatings or additives, many others are oven or tunnel dried. Obviously, a company has much more control of the process overall when machine drying – however, this can create kashrus concerns. As mentioned above, some products commonly use flours or starches to prevent sticking. Others use release agents or oils to ensure easy removal from drying belts or pans or to help with general handling of the product. In some cases, there may be other equipment concerns as well. For example, the drying equipment used for fruits is essentially the same as that used for other dried products – including meats and fish. Freeze drying facilities may be very problematic as they commonly handle many types of foods.
Infestation
As with any agricultural product, dried fruits are subject to insect infestation concerns. The consumer should look carefully at the fruit for signs of damage, webbing, or other indicators of insect presence. Certain fruits – notably whole dried figs and dates – sometimes harbor insects in their cavities and it is advisable to split these open and scan for insects prior to eating.
Consumer Kosher • Behind the Scenes (Theoretical Kashruth) • Kosher in the Factory • (113) Comments •
Monday, January 22, 2007
OU Kosher Expresses Gratitude to Beren Foundation of Lakewood, NJ
The Orthodox Union Kosher Division today expressed its gratitude to the Harry H. Beren Foundation of Lakewood, NJ, for renewing and increasing its grant in support of OU Kosher’s kashrut education programs. “We are most grateful to the Harry H. Beren Foundation for its continuing confidence in OU Kosher and in its ability to create programs of education on a variety of levels into the intricacies of kashrut,” declared Rabbi Menachem Genack, Chief Executive Officer of OU Kosher. “We were very pleased to receive the first grant a year ago, expected that it would be for one year only — which is usually the case — and were delighted to learn that the grant would be renewed for a second year, with an increased level of support.” Foundation trustees wrote to OU Kosher, “The Harry H. Beren Foundation of Lakewood, New Jersey is continuing its relationship with the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations due to the exceptional manner in which the OU has perpetuated and memorialized the name of the unforgettable Mr. Harry H. Beren, z”l, and the Foundation looks forward to the OU continuing in this same manner.” The grant has made possible a variety of programs in the year since it was first received. They include the Harry H. Beren Ask OU Mesorah Conference II, The Pareve Mesorah, held last February at Lander College in Queens with an attendance in excess of 300; the Harry H. Beren Ask OU8 program in August, which in three-week and one-week sessions provided high-level training in kosher certification to professionals and students in the field; and the Harry H. Beren Community Lectures, most notably, the Kashrut in the Workplace Series, which are conducted nationally. “The continuing generosity of the Beren Foundation will once again make possible not only the OU’s kashrut education programs, but their expansion as well, as the OU furthers its goal of expanding community knowledge about the immutable laws of kosher and their interaction with new developments in the field,” Rabbi Genack said.OU Kosher News • Programs/Events • (92) Comments •
OU Expert to be Featured Speaker at Healthy Food Conference in Arizona, Jan 31
Rabbi Moshe Elefant, Chief Operating Officer of OU Kosher, will be a featured speaker at the Fifth Annual Focus on the Future Executive Conference for the dietary supplement and healthy food industry, to be held January 30-February 2 in Scottsdale, AZ. The exclusive event draws some 200 top executives from the industry for high-level and interactive seminars and exclusive networking events. OU Kosher, the world’s largest and best known kosher certification agency, certifies many companies in the field and is well-experienced in the operations of the industry and the special requirements and challenges involved in the process of producing a kosher product. The famed OU symbol appears on more than 400,000 products manufactured in 80 countries around the globe. Rabbi Elefant will give a “special presentation,” according to the conference program, on Wednesday, January 31 on “Using Kosher Certification to Open New Markets and Increase Sales.” Other sessions on the program include “Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors Towards Food and Health,” “What Consumers Say, What Consumers Do,” “Financial Performance of the Functional Food Sector,” and “Trends in Consumer Food Habits and Behaviors.” According to Rabbi Elefant, “Clearly, in addition to other subjects to be covered, conference participants are deeply interested in sales, marketing and company performance. I will be prepared to inform them that the kosher market is expanding by 15 percent annually with new products continually being introduced; that not only the Jewish community but lactose intolerant individuals, Muslims and Seventh Day Adventists, and consumers looking for a quality product are adherents of kosher food; and that the OU label brings with it recognition and increased sales worldwide for products it certifies. I will assure them that the OU’s experts work closely with company personnel, in whatever industry is involved, to face the challenges of certification, and that the investment in becoming kosher, particularly OU Kosher, is one of the soundest business decisions they can ever make.” He noted that the high-level audience, featuring many CEO’s, are the executives who can make the decision to pursue kosher certification. In meetings with them, Rabbi Elefant will discuss how to get the process underway, how long it should take, and what to expect when the famed OU symbol appears on their products.OU Kosher News • Staff • (126) Comments •
Monday, January 15, 2007
OU Kosher Presents Seminar for Industry Professionals, March 6
Kosher, the largest and most recognized kosher certification organization in the world, will present a one-day seminar for the candy, snack, nut and confectionary industries at the Orthodox Union headquarters in New York, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 6. Industry plant managers, directors of quality assurance, production and marketing as well as those responsible for a company’s kosher program are the prime beneficiaries of the seminar. The fee is $125 for the first company representative and $90 for each attendee thereafter. Lunch is included. (All companies within those industries are invited to attend, even if they have other kosher certifications or are not yet certified.) OU experts will speak on topics of direct relevance to the targeted industries, with an emphasis on understanding the kosher certification process, the advantages of kosher certification, and suggestions on how to make the certification process as smooth as possible. Kosher certification, the seminar will make clear, brings with it a dramatic positive effect on the bottom line in the booming kosher market, which is growing at approximately 15 percent annually, and with consumers going well beyond the Jewish community, to include the lactose intolerant, Muslims, and those who buy kosher products because of their high quality. To many, kosher is synonymous with the Orthodox Union. The famed OU symbol can be found on over 500,000 products manufactured in 83 countries around the world. Its hundreds of rabbis in the field report to some 50 Rabbinic Coordinators in New York, and confer with them on resolving issues of Jewish law as they relate to the constantly evolving food industry. The upcoming seminar follows a highly successful and well-attended program for the dairy industry, which was held in late October and which drew an audience from many states and Canada. The dairy seminar produced raves. “This was one of the most interesting and informative meetings I attended in a long time. Thanks for including me,” wrote one participant on his evaluation form. “It (the seminar) was very helpful. I have already shared this information with my team,” wrote another. “I am happy I went, and I appreciated the effort put into the event. Thanks for all your help and for all that the OU does for us,” was another comment. “This was an excellent program and I was impressed with the professionalism and expertise exhibited by your organization,” said another pleased participant. And finally, “My colleague and I both enjoyed the seminar. It gave us a better understanding of the importance of kosher.” According to Rabbi Moshe Elefant, Chief Operating Officer of OU Kosher and Chairman of the Conference Committee, “The OU’s expertise in the candy, snack, nut and confectionary industries is based on years of certification of companies in these fields and our first-hand knowledge of ongoing trends regarding products, methods of production, equipment and consumer demand. Our experts will share this knowledge in such a way that company representatives – whether from certified or non-certified firms – will be enlightened and entertained at the same time.” Sessions will include the following:• Welcome and overview by Rabbi Menachem Genack, Chief Executive Officer of OU Kosher and by Rabbi Elefant;
• How to deal with dairy products manufactured on pareve (neither meat nor dairy) lines; suggestions and solutions;
• Understanding the kosher intricacies of ingredients;
• Maintaining an effective kosher program; and
• Special presentations by marketing professionals to help maximize a company’s reach to the kosher consumer.
OU Kosher News • Programs/Events • (78) Comments •
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
OU Kosher Colleagues Share Their Knowledge In New In-House Program
Who better to inform the experts at OU Kosher about the latest developments in the constantly evolving world of food production than other experts at OU Kosher? The OU Kashrut Division has instituted a series of monthly in-house presentations in which colleagues bring senior staff and rabbis in the field up to date on specialties other than their own. The program is called A Quick Chap. (The Yiddish word is pronounced like a guttural “chop” and means “to grab something quickly.” ) “The OU has the highest quality kosher professional staff in the world with an extraordinary range of knowledge,” declared Rabbi Moshe Elefant, Chief Operating Officer of OU Kosher. “We are all aware that although kosher law is immutable, changes in food technology, machinery, techniques and products occur on a constant basis. This program enables our experts to bring their colleagues up-to-date on the latest developments in the areas of their responsibility so that we can learn from one another.” According to Rabbi Moshe Zywica, Senior Rabbinic Coordinator at OU Kosher and coordinator of the in-house program, “We enjoy learning from one another. Rabbinic Coordinators and Rabbinic Field Representatives are well-versed in Jewish law, but the industries which we supervise differ widely. We all have something to share with one another, which we do regularly. This program formalizes that sharing of information, so that as the food industry evolves, we are all brought up-to-date on the changes.” The program began on January 4 with the session “Shechita Shorts and Bedikah Bites” led by Rabbi Seth Mandel. According to Rabbi Zywica, “Rabbi Mandel detailed the various opinions as to what constitutes “glatt kosher” meat, what kinds of concerns arise, how professional Bodkim go about checking for intestinal deformities and whether the animal’s lungs are truly “glatt.” (Bodkim are experts in the area of maladies of the lungs and intestines as defined by Jewish law.) We heard about the systems put into place at OU-certified slaughterhouses to minimize confusion and to prevent the switching between Glatt and non-Glatt meat.” Future sessions include:· February 20, “Dine with Wine,” with Rabbi Yonah Kantor
· March 8, “Matzah Minutes” with Rabbi Yaakov Horowitz
· April 18, “Quick Wraps” with Rabbi David Rockove
· May 1, “Breakfast Breaks” with Rabbi Abraham Gordimer, and
· June 5, “Vivacious Vitamins,” with Rabbi Chananel Herbsman.
Additional sessions will be announced in the spring.
Rabbi Seth Mandel addresses his colleagues
OU Kosher News • Programs/Events • (104) Comments •