News

Duncan Hines to Offer OU Certified Pareve Cakes Again

There is good news for kosher consumers who want their Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Cake Mixes, certified kosher by the Orthodox Union, to have pareve and non-dairy status. The company has reversed a decision made in 2005 to switch the product to dairy, therefore rendering it unusable for cakes that are served with meat meals at the Sabbath table. The product line includes Moist Deluxe Classic Yellow, the best selling cake mix in the country, and other consumer favorites such as Devil’s Food, Lemon Supreme and Butter Recipe Golden.

A Milestone is Achieved: Harry H. Beren ASKOU Kosher Training Program Graduates its 500th Student

This year’s programs drew the largest number ever of participants, with 24 in a three-week internship session and 75 in a one-week training program. The students who intend to go into kosher supervision full-time and have already developed an extensive background in kosher law usually attend the three-week session. They are currently pursuing rabbinic ordination or are involved in a post-ordination kollel — an institute of advanced Jewish studies. The one-week students include as well synagogue rabbis or members of a community Vaad HaKashrut who conduct kosher supervision on a local level.

Rabbi Kalinsky, OU West Coast Director, Fine-Tunes his Kashrut Skills at ASK OU 8 Seminar

Rabbi Alan Kalinsky, Director of the Orthodox Union on the West Coast, who is also one of the OU’s kosher certification experts, wanted to fine-tune his skills and so he flew to New York last week to attend the OU’s ASK OU 8 seminar on kosher certification. The ASKOU program, held every other summer, provides […]

OU Invites Dairy Industry Professionals to First-of-its-Kind Seminar

OU invites dairy industry professionals to seminar to help them resolve possible conflicts between production needs and Kosher concerns. Click here to register online now

Learning from the Masters: Two OU Late Summer Programs Train the Next Generation

Following in the footsteps of some 500 of their predecessors, young men from all over the world have gathered together for three weeks at Orthodox Union headquarters in New York, concluding August 25. They are here on a mission — they want to be the world’s best in kosher supervision. Given the OU’s goal to […]

The Making of a Mashgiach: How the Orthodox Union Trains the Next Generation of Kosher Certifiers

This week and for the next two weeks, 65 rabbis and rabbinical students are participating in the eighth ASKOU program, held every other summer, in which senior rabbis from the Orthodox Union’s Kosher (Kashrut) Division provide intensive instruction in the intricacies of certifying that food is kosher. A kosher certifier – called a mashgiach – must not only be well versed in the complexities of Jewish law, but must also be familiar with rapidly changing food technology, manufacturing processes, chemistry, new products, ingredients, and other aspects of kosher certification.

Absolutely Marvelous News In The World Of Vodka!

Absoult OU. Absoult is Certified Kosher by the Orthodox Union

Have a Hot Kosher Question? Call the OU Kosher Hotline and We’ll Set You Straight

Since OU Kosher is seen as “The Lexus of Kosher,” consumers turn to the OU for much of their kashrut information.

The complexities of Jewish Kosher law are such that questions about what is and what is not kosher or other aspects of the halacha arise at all times, not only from those who currently keep kosher, but also from those who are considering doing so. Even rabbis, with their deep grounding in Jewish texts, need advice at times from the experts on the finer points of kashrut.

Professor Temple Grandin, Foremost Expert On Humane Slaughter, Visits Agriprocessors Plant

OU announces that Professor Temple Grandin, foremost expert on humane slaughter, visits Agriprecessors plant and expresses satisfaction with practices now in effect there.

Caption: OU Honors G. Jacobs Of Forest Hills With Kashrut Chair

At a warm, heartfelt and elegant event, one of the Orthodox Union’s most enthusiastic and long-standing leaders, Gustave Jacobs of Forest Hills, NY, and his wife Henriette, were honored at the naming and dedication of the Henriette and Gustave Jacobs Chair in Kashrut Education in the OU Kosher Division. The cocktail reception and buffet dinner, attended by a large gathering of Jewish communal leaders, was held recently at OU headquarters in New York.