Consumer Kosher Articles

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.

Don’t Forget to take Your Vitamins – Don’t Worry, They’re Kosher

A growing number of Americans across the country are becoming more health conscious and their shopping carts are showing it – packed with organic produce; soy franks and burgers; spelt bread and pretzels; and a variety of vitamins and herb products.Today’s national supermarket chains are responding to this wholesome trend, featuring an expanding vitamin and herb section with multiple shelves of every combination, brand and potency. Thanks to the foresight and business acumen of a number of major vitamin companies, more and more kosher customers are frequenting these supplement sections, happily perusing an assortment of OU kosher brands. Words like antioxidant, ginkgo biloba, and glucosamine have made it into the kosher community’s vernacular, kitchen cabinets and daily nutritional regimen.

The OU Becomes the Big Cheese at European Dairy Companies

As the global marketplace becomes a local reality at the doorsteps of every consumer, more and more top-quality
European specialty products as never before imagined are increasingly available on these shores. While this is the case in general, it is especially notable in the kosher market, where kosher consumers now have neighborhood access to numerous overseas products that are renowned for their quality and branding across the Atlantic but were heretofore unavailable on this side of the Pond.

Getting the Flavor of Certifying Flavors: A Primer

The balance is a delicate one in an era when brand loyalty has diminished and tastes are ever more fickle.

The flavor industry has grown from rather humble origins in the mid-nineteenth century, when processed foods first came to prominence, into a $1.5 billion dollar industry that churns out 10,000 new flavors a year. For purposes of kosher certification, chemicals and natural ingredients the raw components of a flavor are divided into three categories: natural, non-kosher, and “in between.” The natural category includes tea, cocoa powder, honey, lemon oil and other inherently kosher materials, as well as chemicals derived entirely from natural sources, such as heliotropin, a transmutation of petroleum.

Is this Worm Kosher? The Kashrus of Tolayim In Fish

Educated kosher consumers are well aware that kosher fish require two characteristics, fins and scales. However, many are uninformed about the relevance of insects to the kashrus of fish. Despite a familiarity amongst consumers about tolayim issues in fruits and vegetables, many are unaware of discussions in Shas and Shulchan Aruch about how this area […]

Behind the Labels

As temperatures continue their upward climb, in many instances posting record highs, tired and thirsty families take refuge in the treats of summer: creamy ice cream bars, tangy fruit punches that paint one’s teeth, sticky chocolates that melt in the hand. These are the rewards for another day of heat endurance, pulled from the recesses […]

What’s The Truth About…Kosher Soap?

Misconception:There is no valid reason to use kosher soap.

Fact:There is a solid halachic basis for using kosher soap exclusively.

What’s the Truth About…Giraffe Meat!

Misconception: Although the giraffe is a kosher animal, it is not slaughtered because it is not known where on the neck to perform the shechitah (ritual slaughter).

Fact: The makom shechitah (region of the neck in which ritual slaughter is valid) on a giraffe is precisely defined by halachah, just as it is for all animals, and the only impediments to shechting giraffe are cost and practical considerations. (They are among the most difficult animals to restrain.)

What’s The Truth About…Glatt Kosher

Misconception : “Glatt Kosher” means something like “extra kosher” and applies to chicken and fish as well as meat.

Fact: Glatt is Yiddish for smooth, and in the context of kashrut it means that the lungs of the animal were smooth, without any adhesions that could potentially prohibit the animal as a treifa, an issue only applicable to animals, not fowl or non-meat products.

What’s The Truth About … Nikkur Achoraim?

Misconception: Nikkur achoraim (rendering the hindquarters of an animal fit for kosher consumption) is a Sephardic practice that is banned by rabbinic fiat for Ashkenazim and thus not performed in the United States.
Fact: There is no such ban, and nikkur was practiced in many Ashkenazic communities into the twentieth century. The practice of some communities to refrain from eating hindquarters, owing to the difficulty in excising the forbidden sections, continues to exist among both Ashkenazim and Sephardim.