Kosher Professionals

Lo Basi Ella L’orer: Bitul issur Lechatchila

In general, one is not permitted to be mivatel issur lichatchila. There is a machlokes whether this is an issur d’oreisah (Ravad) or an issur d’Rabbanan (Tosfos). Though most poskim hold that it is only an issur d’rabbanan[1], yet many[2] (including Rav Belsky) feel that one should be choshesh for the opinion of Ravad.

OU Kosher Marketing Tips: If you’ve got it – flaunt it

It’s a textbook of sophisticated food technology that is utilized in refining oil, a compendium of kosher law, and therefore, a remarkable combination of centuries-old halacha and the most up-to-date developments. After a long production process, it is now available to set kashrut standards for the entire industry.

A Kosher Formula

I have heard it said that running a successful kosher program is as easy as PIE: Products, Ingredients and Equipment. One must keep an updated schedule B (products) an updated schedule A (ingredients) and have a proper system for keeping track of the kosher/pareve status of equipment. I would like to add another interpretation to this wise adage. Running a successful kosher program is as easy as π (as in 3.14159…).

Decay? No Way! Kosher Preservatives To The Rescue

“May I have a steak well done, please, and a fruit cocktail?” is a request that is commonly heard in a restaurant. It’s very rare to hear someone in a restaurant say, “Waiter, I’d like an order of rotten fruit, please, and do you have any steak that causes botulism?”

Aracouna And The Derivative Breeds:

Breed History

The origins of the Aracouna chicken have baffled scientists for the last century. The Aracouna Indians kept no written records and the source of the mutations observed in these birds is unknown. European explorers took note of these birds shortly after reaching South America. The birds are mentioned in the writings of the Portuguese explorer Magelhaes (Magellan) who documented their presence in 1519, less than thirty years after the maiden voyage of Columbus. The sky blue eggs were mentioned seven years later by Sebastian Cabot (1526). Although it is possible that the chickens were introduced by the Europeans, the immediate dispersal and distinct husbandry of these birds suggest that the bird was being raised by the natives before 1492. Similarly, radiocarbon and DNA analysis indicate that these birds are not of European origin (Story et al., 2007).

Mom And Pop Still Dream Big Small Companies Gone Successful

“There’s no business like food business, like no business I know!” It may not be the lyrics you’re familiar with, but for every company-founder of any segment of the industry, be it beverages, dairy, baked goods, or flavors, the dream to make it big definitely rings true – and when it happens, the taste is mighty sweet.

Food Matters: The Growth of Kosher

If you would have suggested to an observant Jew that in the earliest part of the 21st century our ancient diet would become one of the hottest new food trends and that the kosher food market would be amongst the fastest growing food sectors in America and Europe, you would surely have been rewarded with a bemused look worthy of an encounter with an inhabitant of the wistful land of Chelm, inhabited by a population of sweet, confused citizens who can make neither heads nor tails of anything.

Lo Basi Ella L’orer: Kavush

If a liquid remains in a container for 24 consecutive hours it becomes kavush k’mivushal, and we are choshesh that there is a transfer of ta’am between the liquid and the entire container[1]. The transfer of ta’am takes place only after 24 hours. Before 24 hours there is no transfer of ta’am. Therefore, bidieved if one did leave cold kosher liquid in a non-kosher container for 24 hours the product remains kosher, since the bliyos in the walls of the container after 24 hours are nosain ta’am lifgam[2].

Lo Basi Ella L’orer: Ein Mevatlin Issur Lechatchila

A Jew is not permitted to intentionally be mivatel any issur, even an issur d’rabbanan (Y.D. 99:5-6). Additionally, Chazal instituted a k’nas, forbidding the food for the mivatel and any intended recipient. Rebbi Ekiva Eiger (99:5) based on Teshuvas Rivash (498) includes in this k’nas any consumer for whom the product was intended for sale, and extends the k’nas not only to the food but also to require kashering keilim[1].

Tomintoul Single Malt Whisky from the Scottish Highlands Announces OU KOSHER Certification

From the highest of the Scottish Highlands now come varieties of single malt whisky manufactured by Tomintoul Distillery and newly certified by OU Kosher. Tomintoul, located in the community of the same name, the highest village in the Highlands, is owned by Angus Dundee, an independent company with over 50 years’ experience in producing, blending, bottling and distributing top-quality Scotch whiskies and other spirits.