Kosher Kahlua returns (When it rains, it pours…)
On the coattails of news that Starbucks coffee liqueur would receive OU certification, Kosher Today reports that Kahlua Licor de Cafe will once again be certified kosher:
Kahlua liqueur will once again be available as kosher when bearing the OU on the label. This OU certification is at the moment only for Kahlua – Licor De Café with the Spanish label/produced in Mexico. This product with the OU will be available in several weeks in Mexico, at Duty Free shops around the world and possibly at other specialized locations. Many kosher consumers complained bitterly when Kahlua removed the OU several years ago.
The product is listed in the OU’s “Newly Certified” section. Too bad you can’t carry liquids onto planes these days.
(Thanks, Paul!)
¶
Is the Mexican production widely available here in the States?
more L’chaims for the OU
I confirmed with the OU that these kosher liqueurs will have hekshers on the label, it’s not something clandestine like finding a special batch number on the bottle.
Unfortunately, the Mexican production is not available at all in the states (although I don’t know about duty free shops). Bottles from Mexico have the word “Original” on the label. Bottles in the U.S. have “Imported” on the label.
Awesome. Before we really paid attention on liquors, my sister-in-law got us a bottle of the Starbucks coffee liquor, and it’s delicious. This is absolutely wonderful news.
In August I found a chocolate bar made by Astor, called Kahlua, and it had an OU on it.
Hey Alex- can I ask where you purchased the kosher starbucks liqueur? Can’t find it anywhere yet.
And Isaac, I too saw the Kahlua bar at Closeout Connection in Downtown Bklyn, seems like Kahlua flavoring is Kosher- Arizona Bev. Co. also makes a Kahlua drink that’s been kosher for years.
where is it possible to buy kosher kahlua who is the exportator a lot of people are interesting to
get in israel
re: Kosher Kahlua returns (When it rains, it pours…)
Cerebos, a South African brand of salt which including an anti-caking agent in its formulation, has a similar motto: “It pours when it rains.”
The absence of anti-caking agents such as cornflour permit salt to be described as kosher for Passover.
Has anyone spotted the kosher-certified Kahlua in the Boston area yet?
According to the London Beth Din, all Kahlua is now kosher, “except when purchased in the USA”. With or without a hechsher printed on the label.
what’s your source?
http://www.kosher.org.uk/documents/June2007.pdf
My question: is the except when purchased in the USA for some legitimate reason, or to avoid treading on the toes of the OU?
that is bizarre…hmmm
Little known fact – when Kahlua crosses the border from Mexico to US, they add a bit of lard to the beverage.
They’re crafty, those Kahlua manufacturers…
I sent an email to LBD about their statement ‘Except in the US’, here is their response:
For reasons of confidentiality we are unable to disclose details concerning
the kosher status of products.
Kind regards,
Elisheva Wieder
Kashrut Researcher
Kashrut Division
London Beth Din
http://www.kosher.org.uk
—–Original Message—–
Message:
In the PDF June2007.pdf, you state that all Kahlua is kosher except when
purchased in the United States. What is the reason that you state it is not
kosher when purchased in the United States?
“We cant tell you why a product is or isnt Kosher” well, isnt that contrary to the idea in the first place? Smacks of politics to me.
Bingo, Harlan.
It is probably not politics.
Many companies will not reveal details of a production process w/o a confidentiality agreement (all industries, not just food). The inspecting agency obviously needs all the details so they do it under such an agreement. (I’ve been involved here on the local level with some companies and we guarantee them the same). So the LBD and others should have a standard no-comment answer to the question “why”.
I can also see that the kahlua in the US would have been kosher but there is probably something in bottling or handling it for the US market. I remember about 20 years ago using a Carnation product that dropped its hechsher. I contacted them about it and they said that they switched production plants – nothing about the product had changed but there were other, non-kosher items being made on the equipment in the new plant. My guess is that the US receives kahlua in bulk and that the bulk trailers, tanks, bottling line, etc. is also used for a non-kosher product.
Politics is more likely. While confidentiality can indeed play a legitimate role as you suggest. In this case were your speculation of multiple production lines accurate, then it could be disclosed without concern. However, given that overt political acts undertaken in the kashrut oversight industry routinely, the inference in response to the LBD answer is quite reasonable.
While it’s natural to be skeptical — and I certainly am — I think exiled2tx has more first-hand experience in the industry, and we shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss the potential for actual kashrut issues.
I do believe, however, that the proper response would be to explain that it’s an issue of production lines, etc., rather than to be completely silent. I understand the need for confidentiality with regard to product formulations, or the makeup of a manufacturing plant, but in the post-Monsey kashrut climate, we consumers deserve a certain minimum amount of information about how these certifiers operate. I’m getting kinda tired of sitting here trying to guess why we’re being yanked around, Kahlua or otherwise.
A high level of skepticism is also warranted here, I think, since the loss of the hashgacha was, I believe, purely economic/financial and had nothing to do with the kashrut of the product itself.
Where can I buy kosher kahlua in the New York area or upstate N.Y area.
You probably can’t.
Dear & Kind People,
My friend who went to medical school in Guadajara, Jalisco, Mexico(transfered up to the U.S.) went through the plant years ago & went through it before the “holier than thou” OU declared that Kahlua needed a ko$her $ymbol on it.
There is nothing in the fine Kahlua beverage that is prohibited it i$ a matter of $$. The London Bet Din is most correct in its ascertion that the product is ko$her without $ign on the bottle. L’Chayim. Not KFP.
Kosher Certification
The problem with Kahlua bottled in the US is, indeed, related to the production facility-specifically the storage tanks. Cynicism about financial motives on the part of the OU is unwarranted.
Roy,
What you say may be true. That doesn’t make suspicion of the OU unwarranted.
I’ve consulted an authority I trust who has specific information about the matter. I’m waiting for his permission to post his response publicly – but it sounds like there are indeed legitimate concerns with Kahlua. Furthermore, the London Beis Din may have outdated information.
This is from Rabbi Eliezer Eidlitz, an independent kashrus authority, when asked about the London Beis Din’s position on Kahlua (ok unless purchased in the US). Rabbi Eidlitz’s website, http://www.kosherquest.org/ is an excellent resource.
I think they have old information. It used to be that the Kahlua produced in Mexico was done on it’s own lines. Now even there it is an issue of contamination. Hiram Walker bottles for the U.S. and has machinery issues. As far as I know this is now a problem anywhere in the world.