9/11 Diary from the OU Archives: The Triumph of the Human Spirit
IT WAS SURELY going to be just another typical Tuesday at the office. I arrived at the OU’s headquarters– located just six blocks south of the World Trade Center – at 8:25 A.M. and found the other early birds at their workstations. I began to settle down, turned on my computer and was reading my […]
The Return Of The Evil Weevils In Rice & Barley
Recently, the OU has received complaints from consumers about high levels of infestation in barley and rice and other grain products. Many of these complaints have revealed that the affected products were beyond or close to their expiration dates. The Problem: While our certified packers sift all incoming products such as grain and flour etc., […]
Jewish Life Returns To Poland: ASK OU Is Ready
Standing on the site of the Warsaw Ghetto, it’s hard to believe that this very place where Jews fought to their deaths to preserve Jewish life, has now become the epicenter of a Jewish renaissance in Poland. But what is now even more astonishing is that some of its very leaders were often ignorant of their Jewish […]
Dairy From The Desert: An Update On The Camel Milk Situation (Or Non-Situation)
A recent Dairy Reporter article about Desert Farms, the US-based camel milk company which is planning to expand its production so as to include camel milk ice cream and baby formula, prompted a flood of kashrus questions, with people asking how the kosher dairy industry will remain free of concern for camel milk content in […]
Consumers’ FAQ’s On Kosher Fish
FAQ About Purchasing Fish
Campers Receive A Hands-On Lesson In The Tradition Of Kosher Slaughter
LAKEWOOD, Pa. — In the woods here on Tuesday, campers stood in a line holding quails, feeling their warm bodies and beating hearts in their hands. “Guys, do not bond with your birds,” Hillie Ackerman, 16, a camper from Brooklyn, warned his friends. The birds were about to be slaughtered. One by one, the boys […]
What If Non-Aged Cheese Sits In My Fridge For A Long Time? OU Further Clarifies “Waiting After Aged Cheese”
It is the position of the OU’s poskim (halachic authorities) that one need only wait between eating aged cheese and meat if the cheese is of a variety that is intentionally aged in production, such as Parmesan (must be aged in production at least 10 months) and Emmental (much be aged in production at least […]
Kosher Catering At A Non-Kosher Venue: What’s Happening In The Kitchen
Plan on attending your cousin’s Bar Mitzvah party next week? Or your neighbor’s daughter’s wedding next month? As an increasing number of semachot are catered at non-kosher hotels, it is important for the kosher consumer to be aware of what takes place in hotel kitchens. Indeed, oftentimes guests enjoy a lavish smorgasbord (replete with roast […]
Why Would A Nondairy Product Have a D (For Dairy) Kosher Certification? Can It Be Eaten With Meat?
Among the many questions that come to us at the OU Kosher Hotline and Webbe Rebbe email service, one of the most frequently asked is, “(favorite product) bears an OU-D, but there does not seem to be any dairy ingredients in it. Is it really pareve?” To make a long story short, it depends on the […]