Kosher Professionals
High Fructose Corn Syrup
Most of us (with the possible exception of some of our more junior associates) did not, as children, have high fructose corn syrup in our foods. But as frequent visitors to food production plants around the country it has been hard not to notice that high fructose corn syrup has quickly become the primary sweetener […]
Peanut Butter I
A exploration of peanut butter and its (sticky) Kosher concerns
Peanut Butter II: Standard Of Identity
For Part 1 click here In the early 1920’s a young American entrepreneur named James Rosefield, seeking to overcome the troubling problem of oil separation in peanut butter, took advantage of a new development in oil chemistry, called hydrogenation, in which he squeezed a fraction of peanut oil out of peanuts, hydrogenated the oil, and […]
The Vinegar Industry (Halachic Highlights)
A series of questions and answers about the OU policy on kosher issues in the vinegar industry.
Red Flag Ingredients
A partial listing of common “Red Flag Ingredients” which one may come across in the flavor industry as well as other industries.
What Could Be Wrong With…L-Cysteine?
When is the last time you have seen a harvest? Some of us can think back to last fall’s grape crunch; others can still picture a combine’s quick clearing of a wheat field for Shmurah flour. Most of us, however, could not rapidly identify the last harvest we witnessed. It would surprise many of us […]
Food for Thought: Fat For Thought
What are the implications of fat substitutes in food?
Sweet-Talk: Inside The Kosher Bakery
Certificating an industrial bakery is a complicated matter. Here are some of the issues involved in making supervising bakeries.
Salmon Colored With Astaxanthin
Although kosher fish are usually identified only by the presence of scales [1], the Orthodox Union has a long standing policy of accepting as kosher all reddish-pinkish fillets, even without a piece of skin by which the fillet can be identified. The basis for this policy is that there is no fish [2] that has a reddish-pinkish […]