Kosher Professionals
The Baking Industry: Part 2
The Baking Industry Part 2 – Rabbi Yisroel Paretzky – Recorded on August 14, 2006 at OU world Headquarters in NY,NY as part of the Harry H. Beren Ask OU8 Kashruth Internship Program.
An RFR’s Notes On Dettling Kirsch
In Switzerland it is inconceivable to celebrate a joyous occasion without a glass of kirsch – cherry brandy. For tourists, it is compulsory to take home postcards of the Alps, a package of Swiss cheese and … a bottle of kirsch [German for “cherry” ].
The Hole Truth: Together, Bagels & the OU Have an Unbeatable Personality
There is a definite connection between New Yorkers and the New York City bagel. New Yorkers are tough and firm on the outside but gentle and caring on the inside. A real New York City bagel too, is hard and crispy on the outside but moist and chewy on the inside. New Yorkers are shiny and flamboyant on the outside but good old down-to-earth and friendly on the inside. A real New York City bagel too, is burnished and slick on the outside but mushy and snug on the inside.
Eggs And Blood Spots
In the past, most eggs came from fertile hens. It was beneficial to the farmers because a fertilized hen’s increased hormone levels stimulate more egg production. Of course, fertilized eggs will also, in the right conditions, grow into chickens. In modern commercial egg operations, this hormone enhancement is achieved (and controlled), by artificial means through the feed. The eggs themselves are not fertile; they will never develop into chickens. While in the past, every blood spot might have signified the beginning of a new embryo (safek sheretz ha’of), today’s commercial methods virtually insure that this is not the case.
Dairy English Muffins
The OU certifies many brands of English Muffins which are labeled OU-D and many others that are OU-Pareve. In light of the issur to produce dairy bread (Shulchan Aruch 97:1), how can the OU certify muffins as dairy? The following two answers have been suggested to this question, and each is followed by Rav Schachter’s comments:
Muffins have a unique shape.
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.
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.
“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.
Tevilat Keilim
The Mitzvah of tevilas keilim is alluded to in Bamidbar 31:23 where Elazar HaKohen instructs the army returning from war with Midyan regarding the booty they have captured “Kol davar asher yavoh ba’aish ta’averu ba’aish v’taher”—All utensils that have been used to cook ma’achalos assuros must be purged of the flavor they have absorbed in the manner that they were used. V’taher—they are then made tahor through an added step of purification.
Coatings For Fresh Produce
A small sign hanging above the produce in a local supermarket reads, “Fruits and vegetables have been coated with food-grade vegetable, petroleum, beeswax, and/or lac-resin based wax or resin to maintain freshness… No fruits or vegetables have been coated with animal-based wax”. The sign is the result of efforts by citizens groups demanding disclosure of ingredients in coatings used on fresh produce. The produce industry, citing the impracticality of constantly changing signs and claiming that disclosure would compromise the confidentiality of coatings ingredients, resisted these demands. The FDA regulation that emerged in 1994 is the result of a compromise between the two groups. Although the sign does disclose some information, it only tells part of a much larger story.