Notes
2022-12-23 KosherGram PDF PRODUCTS MARKETED FOR CHANUKAH are not necessarily Kosher, and should be used only when bearing reliable Kashrus certification. The following two products sold locally do not bear any certification: “HAPPY HANUKKAH” and “LATKE” MILK CHOCOLATE COINS at T.J. Maxx MOSER ROTH “8 NIGHTS OF HANUKKAH” “KOSHER” CHOCOLATES at Aldi BELL PEPPERS FROM ISRAEL (red, yellow and orange) are now being sold in the U.S. and require taking of Terumos and Maaseros. (They are no longer subject to the Shemitah restriction of “sefichin”.) Carefully check the fine print on the package, or the sticker on peppers sold loose, for the country of origin. Often the same brand has some peppers from Israel and some from other locations, so each individual package or pepper should be checked. Whenever buying produce, one should be careful to check the sticker, bag label or original case for the country of origin, due to issues of Shemitah (consult your Rav for details), or of Terumos and Maaseros if it is not Shemitah product. CITRUS FRUIT FROM ISRAEL will soon appear in U.S. stores, and will be Shemitah product well into 2023. This includes oranges, grapefruit, lemons, mandarins, clementines, pomelos and “Sweetie”. Some additional examples of Israeli produce commonly found in the U.S. include tomatoes, carrots, persimmons (“Sharon Fruit”), pomegranates, mangos, dates, dill and parsley. PRODUCTS LABELED OU-D may either contain actual dairy ingredients, in which case they may not be eaten after meat, or they may be made on dairy equipment (commonly called DE), in which case they can be eaten after meat but not together. To find out whether a product is labeled OU-D due to dairy ingredients, or due to dairy equipment, call the OU hotline at 212-613-8241 or e-mail at [email protected]. One cannot make a determination based on the ingredient or allergen listing, because many times the dairy ingredients are not listed openly. The OU has informed us that the following products labeled OU-D contain actual dairy, even though there may be no obvious dairy listed in their ingredient or allergen information: RITZ CRACKERS – all varieties, including Original TRADER JOE’S BLACK and STRAWBERRY SOFT LICORICE TWISTS RJ’s SOFT EATING LICORICE FRIENDLY FARMS PUMPKIN SPICE COCONUT WHIPPED TOPPING at Aldi MOCHA MIX NON-DAIRY COFFEE CREAMER bears an OU-D due to dairy equipment. BUDGET SAVER MONSTER CHERRY-PINEAPPLE SLUSHED POPS that bear a plain OU are pareve. Those that bear OU-D are dairy equipment. ALDI and TRADER JOE’S frequently change suppliers for their store brands [private label] products. The Kashrus status of these products can therefore change from week to week; and even at the same time, there may be a mixture of seemingly identical products on the shelf, some with acceptable Kashrus certification and some without, or some pareve and some dairy. Carefully check each individual item for proper Kashrus marking. Following are two recent changes in the Detroit area. (Other regions of the U.S. may differ.) EARTH GROWN ORGANIC TOFU [at Aldi] no longer bears certification. TRADER JOE’S THANKSGIVING STUFFING SEASONED KETTLE CHIPS no longer bears certification. THE FOLLOWING NEW SODAS ARE KOSHER, even without any Kashrus symbol: SIMPLE 7-UP MOUNTAIN DEW THRASHED APPLE MOUNTAIN DEW FRUIT QUAKE – Limited Edition COCA-COLA DREAMWORLD SODA LIMITED EDITION – regular and Zero Sugar – is Kosher and bears an OU on the bottle cap or engraved into the can lid. JELLY BELLY SNAPPLE MIX JELLY BEANS are Kosher and OU certified, even though the OU symbol is missing from the bags. FRANGELICO LIQUEUR is no longer OU certified. Bottles without the OU symbol are not certified. SYSCO CANOLA SALAD OIL mistakenly bears an OU-P on the case; it is only certified for year round use. The individual containers correctly bear OU Pareve. MIYOKO’S CREAMERY EUROPEAN STYLE CULTURED VEGAN BUTTER is certified Kof-K DE [dairy equipment], as stated on the box. Some inner wrappers mistakenly state Pareve. WORLD’S FAIR CARAMEL TOPPING sold at Save-A-Lot is certified OK Dairy. Some labels mistakenly bear a plain OK without the D. LUCKY CHARMS COMPLETE MARSHMALLOW PANCAKE MIX is not OU certified. Some boxes produced for Mexico bear an unauthorized OU-D. SHIN GOLD YAKI SUSHI NORI ROASTED SEAWEED distributed by BNT Int’l Trading bears an unauthorized Star-K symbol. PURAVIDA VEGETABLE MELANGE FIRE ROASTED FROZEN VEGETABLES (sold at Costco) is not OU certified. Some bags bear an unauthorized OU symbol. STONE HOUSE BREAD is not OU certified. Several varieties mistakenly bear an unauthorized OU symbol. US HONEY BEE FILLED HARD CANDY at Fruidles.com bears an unauthorized Kof-K symbol and claim on its web posting. The actual product does not bear a Kof-K on the label.