KOAOA, Jelly Belly make kosher strides
The Kosher Overseers Association of America (KOAOA, or Half-Moon-K) recently announced that they’ve completed their full and thorough review of “virtually all of the companies and products” under their purview, and brought their practices up to “all of the standards that the Kosher-consuming public has the right to demand.” It’s instructive to note that one of the signatures on the press release is that of Senior Kashrus Administrator Rabbi Zushe Blech of Monsey, a major figure in the kashrut industry with ties to the Orthodox Union and Montreal Kosher. I guess there’s no better way to get a foundering heksher up on its feet than to pull in a nationally-respected authority: the Seattle Va’ad HaRabanim has already updated its rather strict list of recommend hekshers to include the Half-Moon K. (Hat tip to readers Elanit and Zorach for the details.)
This one’s for the gipper: Also shaping up is the Jelly Belly Candy Company, whose jelly beans are now under Orthodox Union supervision. Left behind in the wake of the kashrut switch is Ko Kosher Service of Pennsylvania, Jelly Belly’s former certifier, which is probably best known for allowing carmine in its certified products and the silly music and dancing rabbis on its aging website. (Hat tip to NonMevushalMarc for this one.)
Nicely done, Jabbett, with the Reagan reference.
Oooh, I’m glad to hear that Jelly Bellies will be under better supervision. I love sour jelly bellies. If anyone is ever on vacation in the San Francisco Bay Area the Jelly Belly factory tour is a really fun place for kids to visit.
Also, thanks for the info about Half Moon K. I saw their heksher on something the other day and didn’t recognize it, I’m glad to know that they are a reliable kosher certifier.
Woo Hoo! Happy days!
We’re always looking for pareve non-perishable treats to serve in case of emergency. This is good news, indeed.
KosherBlog gets the scoop again.
Thank you!
Thank you for the information!!! Lets see if triangle K can now surprise us…
If you have allegations that kosher agencies permit ingredients you believe to be non-kosher, please give sources both that they permit the ingredient, and sources that the ingredient is non-kosher.
There was a rumor that triangle K permitted carmine, which R Ralbag says is not true. See:
http://www.canonist.com/?p=322
Some people won’t eat grape products certified by triangle-K, as though triangle-K is relying on a shady opinion. According to the interview, they allow grape juice pasteurized at 175 F, rather than 180 or 190 of other agencies, following a tshuva of Rav Moshe. If Rav Moshe permits 175, certainly we can agree it’s permitted, and only a stringency to require higher. People can prefer the stringency, but they do not have license to violate a Torah commandment and speak rechilut about Rabbi Ralbag.
Sunkist fruit Gems (one of a very few pareve national brand candies) changed producers recently to the Jelly Belly co. and I was pretty scared that they would use KO and we wouldnt be able to use them anymore. I actually called and talked to someone about the concept of reliable hechshers. I doubt my little phone call made the difference, but who knows?
Joe, if that’s true, then thank you!
We get Hot Tamales and Mike&Ikes at Wal-Mart for 88 cents a box. I keep a cabinet full of them for evening meetings.
Our shul has Sunkist Fruit Gems written into their simcha contracts! Really. It’s the only candy allowed for throwing.
Our shul has Sunkist Fruit Gems written into their simcha contracts! Really. It’s the only candy allowed for throwing.
LOL, mine too!
Rabbi Eidlitz of Kosherquest.org has endorsed the new standards of KOAOA as well, which means the products are now allowed in my house. I had a friend pick me up some Pace Thick & Chunky on the way to our cookout yesterday. :)
And for anyone who is not familiar with Rabbi Eidlitz & Kosherquest, the man is probably the pre-eminent Rav when it comes to Kashrus agencies & how they stack up. His “accepted” list is what I use. He also is quite accessible via email, and always very helpful & responsive to queries.
While R. Eidlitz published the above-referenced announcement from KOAOA and has deemed acceptable every Half-Moon K product I have ever asked him about, the KOAOA has yet to be officially added to his list of reliable symbols. I hope this happens soon.
KC,
I too didn’t think that him including the press release without comment was enough of a surety, so I asked him directly. “Does your including this in your update mean that you would now recommend KOAOA, with the exception of those points listed??
His response was “That is correct. Kol Tuv”
Thanks for the info. SLS!
Does anyone have a product listing for Half Moon K? Their website is pretty useless!
I can confirm SLS’s comment 11 as I asked the same question. Additionally, I asked what the status of stuff sitting on store shelves is. He replied that anything from the last 6 months should be OK, and to ask on an item-by-item basis for anything else.
They are NOT on the Seattle Vaad page, nor the cRc page or the Kosherquest. I hope that changes soon.
It WAS added to the Seattle Vaad site, but when I checked last week it had been removed. I also sent e mails @ 7/15 to kosherquest.org and the CRC seeking their confirmation that it was now acceptable and have yet to hear back.
Kosherquest.org never writes back.
that’s not true;he has written to me
According to R. Eidlitz (Kosherquest), there are two remaining companies being reviewed. Once these are done he will list KOAOA on his Website. I wrote to the crc, but they have not yet responded.
Has anyone contacted the Seattle Va’ad to see what happened? Kosherquest reports that HMK has reviewed the outstanding products (Crown Prince and Dole). I second Alyssa - R. Eidlitz is very good about responding to e-mails. M.R. - the CRC is very conservative as to its list (note e.g., the absence of the London Beit Din and Rabbanut HaReshit) and I would not expect to see the HMK added anytime soon.
This is the response I received from the Seattle Va’ad to my inquiry as to why HMK is no longer on their list:
Because, although we do not doubt that it is acceptable, our Rabbinical Board has not officially approved it. They are waiting for the national agencies to issue a statement. It is more a procedural issue than anything.
—
Seattle Va’ad Administrator
what’s hmk?
BS”D
Half-Moon K
B/t/w, when I wrote to Rabbi Eidlitz a second time, he did respond and advised that the HMK is now acceptable.
Warren
are jelly belly beans kosher or not?
they are going to be under the OU;the packaging does not reflect the change as of yet
Pre-eminent or Post-eminent Rav? Please stop throwing terms around.
FYI: Eliezer Eidlitz gets “all” of his information and all directives are from the Star K. He has been the unofficial Star K person on the West Coast for years.
BS”D
Does that mean the Star-K koshered my smoker? Wow, that’s fantastic. I thought it was Rabbi Furst and Rabbi Eidlitz. And I wasn’t charged a cent- does that mean that the Star-K doesn’t charge for hashgacha? Why does the star-K need unofficial people on the West Coast when it has official representatives, such as Joel Weinberger? It’s true that he gets some information from the Star-K, as he does from the OU and OK and Kof-K (I remember once he got incorrect info from one of the hashgachas, not Star-K- and that’s enough to disprove your statement). And it’s true that he has an association with Rav Heinemann, such as being one of those bringing him out to pasken the Valley Eruv. Well, he associates with many people. But what’s your beef against the Star-K, or against Rabbi Eidlitz?
from rabbi eidlitz
KOAOA (Kosher Overseers/Half Moon K) is joining the O/U as one kashrus agency. New products will either continue to bear the Half Moon K symbol or the the O/U
Winchell, as usual you make comments you think you know something about but actually you don’t. You bad mouthed someone you know nothing about on another site. If you sat in yeshivas for many years (which we know that is not the case) you might know something. Eliezer Eidlitz is a mere mouth piece for Moshe Heineman & that which he says is kosher is doesn’t question. Since Eidlitz gives a hashgacha he is no longer a private individual. You really should move to Brooklyn to be near your imaginery rebbe. Eidlitz was sent out before Weinberger. Star K never started in 1947 as Moshe Heinenman was in diapers at that time.
Rav Shmuel Vitsik, z”l, Rav Menechem Mendel Poilakoff, shlita, Rav Bik were the Vaad HaRabbanem & more trustworthy than the Star K is today.
Goodbye and good riddance to Ko on Jelly Belly. The so-called supervision is an uncle & nephew. The uncle was a rabbi in conservative syngogue of his own choicing for 35 years. There is no orthodox minyan in Feasterville and there never was. The nephew lives in West Chester, PA and has never been seen in the occasional orthodox minyan in the area.