Industrial Kosher Articles
OU Railcar Kosherization Protocols
The information below outlines the necessary procedures for railcar kosherization of railcars. “Kosherization” is a particular temperature-specific procedure required for railcars previously hauling non-kosher to qualify to haul kosher product. The presence of an OU field rabbi is typically required for procedure verification. Please contact your Rabbinic Coordinator, Rabbi Twersky, at 212-613-8388 or at twerskyy@ou.org […]
Meet the Woman Who Keeps Tootsie Rolls Kosher
If you keep kosher, and enjoy eating a handful of Tootsie Rolls or drinking a tall glass of Gatorade, you have Phyllis Koegel to thank. As marketing director of the Orthodox Union’s Kosher Division, Koegel is charged with convincing companies of the financial and commercial benefits of going kosher—and getting the OU symbol, the most widely […]
Trade Shows: Meet the OU Representatives
OU Representatives will be more than glad to meet you at the trade shows. Please stop by! Natural Products Expo West Show March 3-7, 2020 Anaheim Convention Center 800 West Katella Avenue Anaheim, CA 92802 USA Winter Fancy Food Show Jan 19 – 21, 2020 Moscone Center, San Francisco, CA Summer Fancy Food Show June […]
The OU: Mastering the Challenges of Producing Kosher Wine
Over the last ten years there has been a veritable explosion in the certification of kosher wine. Kosher wine is now produced on every continent and in most of the world’s premier wine regions. While the manufacture and handling of kosher wines (and grape juice) involves certain unique challenges, with the OU’s experience and expertise these have been met and overcome, providing consumers an ever- increasing variety of kosher wine products.
Cardboard No More
The Kosher pizza industry has been transformed in recent years, leading, leading to many opportunities and challenges, both for manufacturers and for the OU.
OU DIRECT Introduces ‘Product Automation’ To Online Program
In breaking news from OU Kosher, OU Direct, the website available to all OU Kosher certified companies, became even more direct, Thursday, May 9, with the addition of Product Automation. This new feature includes a variety of options to make it easier and quicker for companies to maintain their certified product lists and to add new products.
“Junk” Food is Not Junk: OU Confectionery & Snacks
If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe. — Carl Sagan Oye! If anyone would have suggested that Kosher foods would be among the hottest new food trends or that the Kosher food market would be amongst the fastest growing food sectors in America and Europe he […]
Your RFR: Your OU Kosher Customer Service Agent
As an OU certified company, the primary contact you have with the OU, besides your rabbinic coordinator (RC) at OU headquarters, is your RFR (rabbinic field representative). Out in the field, the RFR is the face of the OU, and you may not be aware that your RFR is both a valuable source of information and can provide service that you should be aware of — and avail yourself of.
Many company reps who are assigned to work with the OU Kosher program are not fully aware of the tools that are at their disposal or what assistance can be obtained from their friendly visiting RFR. You are no doubt familiar with organic certifiers, government agencies (FDA, USDA, etc.), as well as third-party auditors like SQF, BRA and AIB. Kosher certification is a very different program, and your RFR also has a very different role compared to other auditors.
The Following Are the Orthodox Union Requirements For Placement Of The OU Certification Mark:
• The OU symbol may only be placed on products that have been authorized and certified as listed on your Schedule B (list of certified products). The OU D must be used on products certified as dairy.
It’s More Than Curds and Whey: OU KOSHER’s Dairy Expert Tells How To Kosherize A Cheese Company
Some time ago, I received the following letter:
As you know, I manage a cheese company, which manufactures kosher and non-kosher cheese, plus kosher whey powder. You are familiar with our equipment and how it needs to be kosherized, but my staff needs some education on this. Can you please explain the kosherization rules for the equipment so that I can share them with my staff? If you don’t mind, I would also appreciate if you could include a basic review of how the equipment works, so that new employees can also benefit from this.