OU Kosher Staff

OU Kashrut- Current Issues In Kosher Certification

Liquor, insects, boiling temperatures and international affairs — what do all these have in common? These topics, among many others, were examined at the Orthodox Union’s annual Kashrut Conference, held April 30-May 1 at the Sheraton Newark Airport Hotel in New Jersey.

OU KOSHER To Present Harry H. Beren ASKOU8 Program: 2 Summer Seminars In Kosher Education

As the largest and most respected kosher certifying agency in the world, the Orthodox Union naturally is deeply interested in training the kashrut professionals of the future, who will work for both the OU and other organizations, including their local Vaad HaKashrut. As a result, OU Kosher this summer will once again offer two advanced seminars in kosher education, comprising the Harry H. Beren program.

OU Policy Review: Transportation Policy

OU policy requires that liquid bulk commodities, such as high fructose corn syrup or vegetable oils, must be transported in trailers that are acceptable to the OU.

Spray Dryers & The Kosherization Process

Spray Drying is an effective mode of drying due to simultaneous mass and heat transfer. Spray dryers are used by the industry in chemical and food processing to manufacture dried eggs, powdered milk, animal feed, cake mixes, citrus juices, coffee, corn syrup, cream, creamers, fish and meat concentrates, infant formulas, potatoes, shortening, starch derivatives, tea, tomato puree, yeast, and yogurt. The substances are homogenous in nature and the powders are usually spherical in shape and approximately 10-140 microns.

OU’s Longtime RFR’s: Kashrut Supervision Legends In Their Own Time

The Reasons behind a thriving organization’s success lie squarely at the doors of its trailblazers, the dedicated forefathers who laid the essential groundwork. In the booming OU Kashrut Division’s case, you could try knocking on the two Giants of Kashrut’s doors, but you probably won’t find them home; they’re on the road happily priming the next generation of experts.

Market Intelligence: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You

Over the ten years that I’ve been in kosher/Jewish marketing, I’ve received dozens of phone calls from brand mangers, manufacturers, importers and the like asking what the kosher consumer would think of this new product or that.

Why the OU Bugged a Mathematician or Why I’m Going to Think Twice Before Buying any Packaged Product

Did you know that when you purchase packaged fruits and vegetables, you are buying food that may contain bugs? They’re not listed on the label. You never see it mentioned on TV commercials and in newspaper advertisements. But they might be in there.

Here’s the Buzz on Certifying Veggies as Insect-Free

Vegetables have forever been a basic staple of a person’s diet. Rich in fiber and vitamins, God’s gift to mankind is essential to maintaining one’s health. Unexpectedly, certain types of vegetables also provide a good source of protein. Vegetables rich in protein are those that provide a safe haven for insects, with the protein found in the insect itself. This trend has made the kosher certification of vegetables highly challenging. Insects are naturally found in the environment and in farm fields. However, kosher law strictly prohibits the consumption of insects.

Miss Roben’s Allergen-Friendly, Gluten-Free Baking Mixes

The Orthodox Union announced today that it has certified as both kosher pareve (containing neither meat nor dairy) and gluten-free Miss Roben’s baking mixes. Miss Roben’s is one of the first companies to be certified through OU Kosher’s relationship with the Gluten-Free Certification Organization (GFCO), a program of the Gluten Intolerance Group (GIG). Gluten-free diets are a medical necessity for individuals who cannot consume storage proteins found in grains such as wheat, rye and barley. Under the OU-GFCO ties, the OU’s nearly 500 field representatives all over the world, proficient as they are in modern food production techniques and chemical and biological processes, will conduct plant inspections and product reviews for GFCO as they are certifying products as kosher for the OU.

“Cow Water”

In the previous issue of The Daf HaKashrus, Rabbi Avraham Juravel alerted RFR’s to the serious Kashruth concerns involved with “cow water”. In the following article Rabbi Dovid Cohen discusses, in more depth, these Halachic issues.