Articles
Kosher Chocolate Mystery and an OU Rabbi
I once visited a U.S. company that manufactured both dairy and pareve kosher-certified chocolate. This is what the process looked like. They start off putting dry, powdered ingredients like sugar and cocoa powder through a refiner, which is a series of rollers that crush the powder to make it even finer, each successive roller grinding […]
Biodiesel and Kosher Glycerin: A look at this important fuel and its valuable byproduct
Kosher Glycerin in Demand About 350,000 tons of glycerin are produced in the United States each year. In part because of decreased government subsidies, and certain other economic factors, kosher glycerin is harder to come by than it was previously. Along with using plant-based feedstock, making the refineries kosher, under rabbinic supervision, makes it possible […]
OU Kosher Convenes Annual Conference for Rabbinic Field Representatives (RFR’s)
As one of the world’s largest yogurt makers was building their newest production facility, they called the OU Kosher certification agency because they wanted to produce a pareve (non-dairy) oat milk. The challenge was producing it in a dairy facility. This question and others were discussed on May 15th and 16th at a gathering […]
OU Companies Recently Certified BeVeg Vegan Certification
A survey published by Vegconomist reveals that 91% prefer products with an independent stamp guaranteeing a product is really Vegan, and 96% are more likely to purchase a plant-based product clearly marked as “Vegan,” according to Plant-Based News. That’s why OU Kosher has partnered with BeVeg to offer Vegan certification audits for existing OU Kosher […]
OU Kosher Offers Marketing Support for Certified Companies
The Orthodox Union was founded in 1898 as a non-profit community services organization that would help unify the growing and increasingly fragmented American Jewish community. It would quickly become a powerful force within the United States through its support for education, European immigrants and political advocacy. As a result of these efforts the OU earned […]
Why Plant-Based Products Need Vegan Certification
Did you know that plant-based does not mean Vegan, but Vegan means plant-based and cruelty-free? Plant-based is a diet that strives for animal-free ingredients, but the consumer expectation from a plant-based claim is that it is not animal product and cruelty-free, like that of an official Vegan claim. In fact, the plant based certified standard […]
How the OU Is Helping in Ukraine
When the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in late February, OU Kosher, in close contact with the Jewish community there, began coordinating relief efforts. Over the past month, food shipments and fundraising efforts have helped provide the Jewish people of Ukraine with food, transportation and evacuation, hotels and shelters, medical supplies, resettlement and more. […]
Why Vegan Certification Standards Matter
While there is a general agreement about what makes something vegan, there are currently no regulations governing the claim that a product is Vegan within North America or Europe. Vegan claims are not regulated by the FDA or the EU which means that a manufacturer of the broad range of products that vegan can […]
Going for the Goji
Around 10 years ago, then an electrical and general contractor, Tibor Fischl designed a retractable greenhouse and agricultural growing system. Figuring he had to put something into it to show how it would work, he looked for nutritious plants and came upon the goji berry. Originally brought to the United States in the 19th century […]
Eat The Change: Snack to the Future
Eat the Change creates healthy chef-crafted snacks, including its latest offering, OU Kosher-certified Cosmic Carrot Chews. Co-founder Seth Goldman who also co-founded Honest Tea wanted kosher certification to expand the product’s reach. “What we eat has the single biggest impact on the planet of any of our daily actions,” says Seth Goldman, co-founder and CEO […]