{"id":721,"date":"2017-01-30T19:29:20","date_gmt":"2017-01-30T19:29:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oukosher.org\/btus\/?p=721"},"modified":"2020-10-28T19:40:26","modified_gmt":"2020-10-28T19:40:26","slug":"rfr-wouldnt-leave-onsite-supervision-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oukosher.org\/btus\/2017\/01\/30\/rfr-wouldnt-leave-onsite-supervision-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"The RFR Who Wouldn\u2019t Leave: Onsite Supervision Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"

Paul\u00a0Pendelton\u00a0of\u00a0Paul\u2019s Perfect Pies<\/em>\u00a0finally\u00a0perfected his\u00a0Pecan Praline Pudding<\/em>\u00a0pie \u2013confident\u00a0that\u00a0prosperity would\u00a0soon\u00a0follow.\u00a0He figured it was all systems go. He learned otherwise.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0product would be his first\u00a0OU Kosher\u00a0non-dairy item manufactured in\u00a0an all dairy plant.\u00a0If\u00a0Paul planned on producing his pudding pie with an OU, and not OU-D (indicating to consumers that it was dairy-free),\u00a0he\u00a0would need onsite rabbinic supervision (referred to as\u00a0Hashgacha\u00a0Temidis<\/em>).<\/p>\n

In order to authorize the kosher status of the product, OU\u2019s professionals\u00a0would have to\u00a0inspect the processing and labeling facilities to establish systems that would\u00a0maintain its kosher integrity.\u00a0A label marked\u00a0OU-D or OU Dairy\u00a0alerts\u00a0the consumer that the product was produced on equipment that otherwise handles dairy or the product contains\u00a0an ingredient, flavor, processing aid,\u00a0enzyme, pro-biotic or any other element with dairy origins.<\/p>\n

This heads-up proves critical for kosher consumers who (per kosher law) cannot consume dairy with meat, as well as for those who suffer from allergies to dairy products.\u00a0Here is where Paul\u2019s\u00a0parve\u00a0product\u00a0poses a concern.<\/p>\n

Since his\u00a0plant handles dairy regularly, OU Kosher\u00a0could not confirm\u00a0that\u00a0the\u00a0parve\u00a0product is made on exclusively\u00a0parve equipment (e.g.,\u00a0pie pans and\u00a0cooking vessels).\u00a0We wouldn\u2019t be able to\u00a0determine\u00a0exactly which pie plates are being used simply by\u00a0viewing records.\u00a0In addition, we\u00a0couldn\u2019t\u00a0verify\u00a0that the oven would be\u00a0kosherized\u00a0prior to\u00a0parve\u00a0production.\u00a0Also, several proprietary parts of Paul\u2019s\u00a0parve\u00a0product are\u00a0similar to some of\u00a0his dairy Pecan Praline items.\u00a0Thus, the\u00a0OU\u00a0couldn\u2019t independently\u00a0substantiate\u00a0that only the\u00a0parve\u00a0ingredients would go into\u00a0his parve\u00a0productions without having an onsite supervisor present to confirm the\u00a0parve\u00a0systems were being\u00a0upheld.<\/p>\n

In fact, most of instances where\u00a0onsite supervision is required arise\u00a0from the same issue;\u00a0OU Kosher is not comfortable\u00a0sanctioning\u00a0that\u00a0the kosher systems would be maintained without our own representative watching the production, as is the case with any deviation\u00a0from standard practice,\u00a0such as\u00a0parve\u00a0on an otherwise dairy line\u00a0or kosher on a non-kosher line.<\/p>\n

Other examples of\u00a0required\u00a0onsite supervision:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fish fillet processing<\/strong><\/p>\n

In many OU plants, the removal\u00a0of the skin from a fish (which in kosher law can often render it unidentifiable)\u00a0would require onsite supervision. In order\u00a0to run a production, the onsite supervisor would first confirm the plant doesn\u2019t have any skinless fish prior to the start of production, he would\u00a0verify that\u00a0all\u00a0the fish received are \u201cskin-on,\u201d\u00a0of a kosher species, and that\u00a0no other fish are introduced to the\u00a0production or finished product-holding areas until the end of production.\u00a0He might\u00a0apply a signature or seal to the finished product to\u00a0indicate\u00a0to the recipient that the product was made with the rabbi present.\u00a0OU Kosher\u00a0may also\u00a0issue lot-specific letters of certification to indicate the day\u2019s production, and thus exclude products\u00a0not made under these conditions.<\/p>\n

Passover productions<\/strong><\/p>\n

The OU\u00a0requires\u00a0onsite supervision for\u00a0most products certified as OU-P or OU Kosher for Passover. Sometimes\u00a0the plant\u00a0had been\u00a0previously used for non-Passover products,\u00a0requiring\u00a0a\u00a0kosherization\u00a0prior to OU-P production, though OU-P production may require rabbinic supervision just to be sure. Onsite supervision is\u00a0also\u00a0essential\u00a0when\u00a0there are any small changes (even if they aren\u2019t noticeable) in ingredients to suppliers approved for Passover production.\u00a0The\u00a0OU\u00a0instituted the need for an onsite supervisor to act as an additional set of eyes to make sure Passover products are\u00a0made with the utmost concern for Passover requirements.<\/p>\n

Wine\/Hard Cheese productions<\/strong><\/p>\n

Due to their sensitivity in kosher law, the formations of certain food products require onsite supervision. Wine production demands onsite supervision from the beginning of the grape harvest through the end of the bottling; this is to ensure that no addition of non-supervised wine is made and that the entire process is done in accordance with OU requirements. In the case of OU Kosher hard cheeses, the onsite supervisor may be asked to kosherize equipment, substitute dedicated-kosher equipment (for the usual pieces of equipment) or add the rennet to the processing. He may also need to apply special OU Holograms to each package to further guarantee his presence to the end-user of this product.<\/p>\n

Compatible ingredients<\/strong><\/p>\n

To\u00a0meet a kosher order, a plant\u00a0might\u00a0need\u00a0to handle multiple\u00a0editions of the same ingredient. They also might need to\u00a0purchase a more expensive kosher\u00a0version\u00a0of an item\u00a0(normally dealt with in-house) that wasn’t acceptable for use in OU products. Under those circumstances,\u00a0an onsite supervisor may be required to confirm that only the kosher version is being used.<\/p>\n

If a kosher glycerin is comparable to the non-kosher form, or the kosher beef gelatin would accomplish the same result as the non-kosher\u00a0gelatin,\u00a0the OU\u00a0may stipulate that a rabbi be present for the production. Occasionally a plant that uses a dairy chocolate may need a\u00a0parve\u00a0chocolate for an OU\u00a0parve\u00a0production\u00a0or\u00a0is handling\u00a0a\u00a0kosher\u00a0flavor\u00a0that comes with a rabbi\u2019s signature of seal.\u00a0In such\u00a0cases, onsite supervision would be necessary.<\/p>\n

So, it\u2019s\u00a0not that the rabbi can\u2019t tear himself away from the plant\u2013 although he certainly enjoys his work. It\u2019s because\u00a0he\u2019s needed there.<\/p>\n

Your OU rabbinic coordinator would be happy to explain why onsite supervision is required and offer\u00a0viable\u00a0options\u00a0that\u00a0your company\u00a0may be able to use to avoid the need.\u00a0Concerning\u00a0Paul and his Perfect Pies, due to the presence of dairy on the production equipment, the ultimate decision was to revert to OU-D, despite the lack of dairy in the product.\u00a0We wish him success.<\/p>\n

Rabbi Chaim Goldberg has been manning the fish desk at the OU for 14 years, managing roughly 400 OU certified manufacturing plants and traveling to five continents to inspect and establish kosher protocols at processing plants of all types. Rabbi Goldberg\u2019s tackle box can be found in his family home in Brooklyn, NY.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Paul\u00a0Pendelton\u00a0of\u00a0Paul\u2019s Perfect Pies\u00a0finally\u00a0perfected his\u00a0Pecan Praline Pudding\u00a0pie \u2013confident\u00a0that\u00a0prosperity would\u00a0soon\u00a0follow.\u00a0He figured it was all systems go. He learned otherwise. The\u00a0product would be his first\u00a0OU Kosher\u00a0non-dairy item manufactured in\u00a0an all dairy plant.\u00a0If\u00a0Paul planned on producing his pudding pie with an OU, and not OU-D (indicating to consumers that it was dairy-free),\u00a0he\u00a0would need onsite rabbinic supervision (referred to as\u00a0Hashgacha\u00a0Temidis). […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[5],"class_list":["post-721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-btus","tag-winter-2016"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe RFR Who Wouldn\u2019t Leave: Onsite Supervision Explained - Behind the Union Symbol<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/oukosher.org\/btus\/2017\/01\/30\/rfr-wouldnt-leave-onsite-supervision-explained\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The RFR Who Wouldn\u2019t Leave: Onsite Supervision Explained - Behind the Union Symbol\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Paul\u00a0Pendelton\u00a0of\u00a0Paul\u2019s Perfect Pies\u00a0finally\u00a0perfected his\u00a0Pecan Praline Pudding\u00a0pie \u2013confident\u00a0that\u00a0prosperity would\u00a0soon\u00a0follow.\u00a0He figured it was all systems go. He learned otherwise. The\u00a0product would be his first\u00a0OU Kosher\u00a0non-dairy item manufactured in\u00a0an all dairy plant.\u00a0If\u00a0Paul planned on producing his pudding pie with an OU, and not OU-D (indicating to consumers that it was dairy-free),\u00a0he\u00a0would need onsite rabbinic supervision (referred to as\u00a0Hashgacha\u00a0Temidis). 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