Feature
GE Appliances Completes Transition of Refrigerators to OU Kosher/CRC Certification
Top-Freezer Refrigerators Will Now be Certified with Built-in Enhanced Shabbos Mode through Collaboration between Kosher Certifying Agencies and Zman Technologies GE Appliances (GEA) has begun production of a new line of OU Kosher/CRC Hisachdus–certified top-freezer refrigerators with manually operated, built-in Enhanced Shabbos Mode (ESM). These new appliances will allow users to easily turn ESM […]
What Kosher, Vegan and Plant-Based Label Claims Really Mean
“Dairy-free”, “non-dairy”, “plant-based”, “kosher”, and “Vegan” labeling are all voluntary label claims, and while the FDA has no meaningful regulation for these meaningful marketing claims, OU kosher and BeVeg Vegan certification standards exist to clear consumer confusion. It would seem that dairy-free and non-dairy, Vegan, and kosher pareve mean a product has no dairy, right? […]
How Chickpeas Went From a Dream to Pareve Yogurt
Noam Sharon was a corporate and securities lawyer in Israel before he began working on the idea that would become CHKP Foods, a company that makes OU kosher pareve yogurt from chickpeas. It wasn’t as radical a move as it may sound, given that hummus was an essential part of his diet growing up […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
OU Kosher to Certify Shabbos Mode GE Appliances
Transition to OU Kosher Supervision Brings Improvements to Shabbos Mode on “GEA” Division Ovens and Refrigerators OU Kosher is in the process of certifying several GE Appliances (formerly GE) to help observant Jews keep the laws of the Sabbath, or Shabbos. Until recently, Shabbos-compliant ovens were certified by the Star-K agency. As of Jan 2022, some […]
What You Need to Know About Certifying Pea Protein
Few would have predicted that the unassuming pea would become one of the globe’s most quickly adopted ingredients and in a surprising variety of foods. ≈But consider: the pea is packed with protein. By isolating that protein and “cleaning” it to remove any pea flavor that would limit its food applications, you get pea protein isolate: a non-GMO, non-allergen, […]
Kosher Food Takes Center Stage: Recapping Kosherfest 2021
This week, Kosherfest returned after a one-year hiatus and, while there were fewer exhibitors than in years past, the exhibition floor was packed with visitors and industry professionals. Representatives from across the kosher food universe participated – from established companies to kosher startups. Some were looking for distribution of their products, while others had services […]
Demystifying OU-D : Why Consumers Care
Knowing that a product may have dairy ingredients can be especially important to allergic individuals, for whom consuming even the smallest dairy ingredient can have dire consequences. In addition, a product’s flavors may contain dairy, even in such small amounts that you won’t see that reflected on the label. Due to the importance of flavor […]
