Steven Genack

Steven Genack has worked at OU Kosher for more than 10 years with a focus on ingredients. He is an attorney and former editor of a newspaper. He has a wide array of interests including playing tennis, golf and basketball and reading biographies and memoirs.

Celebrity Bars

In a recent webinar, Food Business News discussed new developments in the plant-based market. One OU kosher-certified company mentioned in the forum was MOSH PBC that produces a wide array of protein bars, some exclusively plant-based. The name stands for Maria Owings Shriver Health, as Maria Shriver and her son, Patrick Schwarzenegger are co-founders. Though […]

Sustainable and Smart Packaging Solutions

In a green and smart economy, food and beverage companies are looking for sustainable and technology-based solutions for packaging. Nestle and Mars, two OU kosher-certified companies, are heavily invested in sustainability, especially in using recycled plastic and biodegradables in the packaging process. This is reducing a carbon footprint. Smart packaging has entered the market as well. […]

Kosher Wash Stations for Food-Grade Liquid Bulk Tank Trailers

Independently owned OU kosher-certified wash stations clean the interior of stainless steel tank trailers to ensure that they remain kosher compliant. These trailers often carry such items as milk, chocolate, juices, wine, vegetable oils, corn syrup and glycerin. If a tanker trailer is part of an OU kosher-certified dedicated fleet, then only a kosher maintenance […]

The Cottage Cheese Comeback

People have reimagined how cottage cheese can be used. Always a celebrated food, now it’s being blended into its creamy form and standing as the core ingredient to transform other known foods. Popular examples include cottage cheese bagels, cottage cheese pancakes, cottage cheese cookie dough and cottage cheese ice cream. Kosherization of soft cheeses, like […]

Rabbi Menachem Genack Talks OU Kosher and More

OU Kosher is a leading nonprofit organization that certifies over one million products with more than 13,000 plants worldwide. It also views educating the public in kashrut as vital. Rabbi Menachem Genack is the CEO of OU Kosher, standing at the helm of the operation. We had a chance to sit down with him to discuss […]

Rabbi Kalman Scheiner Talks Kosher Chocolate

When you think chocolate, you think Hershey’s. We sat down with Rabbi Kalman Scheiner, the Rabbinical Coordinator (RC) who manages OU kosher certification for Hershey’s. We probed the comprehensive meaning of the word confectionary, discussed new dairy-free Hershey’s chocolate products, arrived at a clear conclusion of what to learn from the philanthropic life of Milton […]

The Growing Impact of AI on Food Production

AI is revolutionizing the food industry, and OU kosher-certified companies are at the forefront of this transformation. Two such companies have recently adopted AI to enhance their products and streamline their operations. Coca-Cola, for example, leveraged AI-driven data analysis on consumer behavior at fountain soda machines. They found that customers frequently mixed cherry soda with […]

Rabbi Dovid Jenkins Speaks in the Kosher Sports Drink Arena

Spring and sports drinks are inextricably linked. It’s a time of more outdoor exercise calling for additional body replenishment. In North America, the sports drink market is burgeoning. One of the more well-known of them is OU kosher–certified Gatorade, an account managed by Rabbi Dovid Jenkins. We talked to him about the greatest kashrut concern […]

Rabbi Nachum Rabinowitz Discusses Kosher Wine and Passover

In 2023, US production of wine (including kosher wine) is on the rise, and wine is inextricably linked to Passover. We presented these two themes to Rabbi Nachum Rabinowitz, Senior OU Rabbinic Coordinator, who oversees certification for kosher alcoholic beverages and serves as the editor of the OU Passover Guide. He offered insights into both of these areas. Steven […]

Rabbi Dov Schreier Speaks OU Restaurants and Catering

Today, in a post Covid-19 world, people are looking for diets that nourish the mind in equal measure to the body. In this regard, the Mediterranean and flexitarian diets, which are related, have gained in popularity. Both emphasize plant-based eating, but consuming fish and meat in moderation is encouraged as well. Together, the properties in […]