Kosher Blog

New Coca-Cola Blāk certified kosher dairy

Coke is releasing new “Coca-Cola Blāk” in several countries this year, combining the flavors of their traditional soda with coffee.

From a press release:

Coca-Cola Blāk is an invigorating and stimulating blend that has a perfect balance of the effervescent taste sensation of Coca-Cola and natural flavors, with real coffee. The lightly carbonated, mid-calorie beverage, which is designed to appeal to adult consumers, is yet another example how The Coca-Cola Company reaches out to new audiences and addresses new beverage occasions.

I assume that “new beverage occasion” is “breakfast”?

Coca-Cola Blāk is not just a flavor extension. It is a blend of unique Coke refreshment with the true essence of coffee and has a rich smooth texture and has a coffee-like froth when poured. We believe we have created a new category of soft drink – an adult product in a carbonated beverage – and a whole new drinking experience. This brand is ideal for any part of the day when people are looking for renewed energy or simply to take a break

So, it’s a frothy AM coffee-soda hybrid. But where there’s coffee there’s milk, and the Orthodox Union will be providing a dairy designation to this flavor.

UPDATE: Had a chance to try Coke Blak… it’s actually pretty tasty. Only forty-five calories in a single bottle (uses a combination of corn syrup and artificial sweeteners) and offers a pleasant combination of Coke Classic and coffee.

Update on Half-Moon K (KOAOA) improvements

Kosher Blog reader Jeff writes in with the latest on Half-Moon K, the Kosher Overseers Association of America:

A couple years ago you mentioned … something about the Half Moon K raising its standards and how at the time, Rabbi Hissinger would mention to people inquiring which Half Moon K products were up to acceptable norms of the general Orthodox community and which ones weren’t…. There is some new news about the Half Moon K and in case you haven’t heard, I thought I’d share with you the scoop I found out.

A few months ago, I and a few other observant Jews here in Des Moines (there is a small but dedicated and slowly growing Orthodox community here) called or e-mailed the cRc and asked them which Half Moon K products were acceptable (other than items which didn’t need a hechsher) and they told us: Matt’s Cookies, Rosen’s breads (some of which just say PARVE), canned veggies, and Kikkoman soy sauce. But recently, given the fact that I should try to give someone benefit of the doubt in most cases and that the Half Moon K has been working on raising their standards for quite a while, something inside of me decided that I should contact Rabbi Zvi Boruch Hollander (the Half Moon K’s current Rav HaMachshir) directly to find out more. Rabbi Hollander has been in charge of the Half Moon K since fall 2003.

So I e-mailed Rabbi Hollander a week ago (got his e-mail form the agencies section of the Kosherdelight website) and asked him if there were any other Half Moon K items that were now up to the acceptable kashrut standards of the general Orthodox Jewish world and he e-mailed me back saying that he wanted to talk with me personally on the phone about this. I called him back the next day and he told me that he and Rabbi Hissinger (who was the Rav Hamachshir for a few years before Hollander) have been spending several years getting the Half Moon K’s standards up to par and they worked tremendously hard on that task. Rabbi Hollander directly told me that the task is now fully completed to the extent that there isn’t a single Half Moon K product currently made that he wouldn’t recommend.

In other words, Rabbi Hollander believes the Half Moon K is now completely up to acceptable kashrut standards. I was so happy to hear this news, but then I asked him why the cRc, etc., only consider the Half Moon K reliable on a handful of items, he was guessing that the cRc and other hashgachot were probably relying on old, possibly outdated information. He also said that the local Chabad-Lubavitch rabbi has been doing some kashrut supervision work for the Half Moon K. Finally, R’ Hollander said that Rabbi Dovid Jenkins (who used to work for the cRc and Chof K) will either be running the Half Moon K or will at least be one of the head honchos for it.

So if you have any questions for Rabbi Hollander concerning Half Moon K items, he can be reached at:

E-Mail: rabbizbh@kosher.org
Fax: 1-323-567-4371
Half Moon K’s headquarters: 1-323-870-0011 (ask for R’ Hollander)

Another unsupervised DC affair receives unkosher food

Woman claims Papa John’s served at what she thought was kosher event (Washington Jewish Week)

You’d think after the bogus Ridgewell’s fiasco, people in DC would realize: without honest-to-goodness kosher supervision, you can’t assure kosher food.

Though this is no fault of the caterers, they should do themselves a favor and just add a disclaimer to all their contracts: Without payment of the religious certification fee to provide full rabbinic supervision of our catering facility, we cannot guarantee the kashrut of any food served at this event.

In the words of Walter Sobchak — has the whole world gone crazy? Am I the only person around here who gives a crap about the rules?

Mark it treyf, dude.

(And happy second anniversary to the Kosher Blog!)

Bugs and Lettuce

Despite how it may seem, I am not obsessed with insect infestation. Nevertheless, I thought I’d bring to your attention R’ Gil Student’s recent post on the Star-K certified lettuce hullabaloo.

Gevinat Akum Executive Summary

Judging by the type of conversation that’s developed over issues surrounding kosher cheese, I figure we all need a little more background on the subject. In the past, I’ve suggested reading The Gevinat Akum Prohibition by Rabbi Chaim Jachter, but I have a hard time remembering the details. Perhaps you do too. So I’ve summarized the rabbinic opinions on why we can’t eat cheese made without Jewish involvement in a handy chart.

With our chart, we now know that the Rambam, Maggid Mishneh, and Rama all conclude that even if the real reason for the prohibition (whatever it is) no longer exists, the prohibition still applies — davar sheb’minyan tzarich minyan acheir l’hatiro (Beitza 5a).

Okay, we can’t eat unkosher cheese. But what makes a cheese kosher? I had a hard time putting this into a chart, so, first, here’s the major dispute:

1. The Rama says that a Jew simply needs to monitor cheesemaking, in parallel with our understanding of chalav akum (milk).
2. The Shach says that a Jew must participate in the cheesemaking, in parallel with our understanding of pat akum (bread).

The Shach, however, has an interesting proof. The mishnah on chalav akum (that his opponent relies on to be lenient) states fully that non-Jewish milk is prohibited if a Jew does not watch the milking. The mishnah on gevinat akum, however, states only that non-Jewish cheese is prohibited — no mention of whether if it’s watched or not.

A slam dunk, right? Well, there are significant supporters on both sides.

In the end, R. Zushe Blech, author of Kosher Food Production, concludes that the generally accepted practice is to follow the Shach.

Caterer serves treyf at $41,000 kosher wedding soiree

To keep up with the big trends in kosher food that somehow slip by me and my worldwide network of culinary spies, I subscribe to an online news service that alerts me to articles with kashrut-related words in them. Most of them are pointlessly unrelated, a bunch are about prisoners petitioning for kosher food, but every now and then, an article really gets me hot and bothered.

The latest?

A prominent Jewish family in Washington, D.C. plans a wedding for their daughter, who is to be married to a fellow whose family keeps kosher. Several other guests also observe the dietary laws. The caterer (which has a ‘kosher division’), however, decides to serve shrimp, eel, and octopus in the sushi spread, cream cheese in the salmon canapes, and butter with the dinner rolls — at a meat affair — and all in violation of their contract which listed non-shellfish sushi, non-dairy hors d’oeuvres, and margarine for the rolls!

Naturally (it’s D.C., after all), the family filed suit in U.S. District Court — Siegel et al vs. Ridgewell’s, Inc (PDF, 732K) for violations of a consumer protection act, breach of contract, infliction of emotional distress, and, unusually, battery. Apparently, “subjecting [kosher] persons to the consumption of shrimp, octopus, or eel produces an ‘offensive contact’ with those persons” and, thus, “all such persons were victims of battery committed by the Defendant.” (Who knew?)

The complaint includes two exhibits. The first is the complete catering agreement, listing full menu. While the menu is kosher in spirit, I found it peculiar that nowhere in the agreement is it stated that the affair is kosher and would be performed by the caterer’s kosher division.

Additionally, while the complaint mentions that one of the “event designers” employed by the caterer had been a mashgiach at a nearby Conservative synagogue and was thus “fully familiar with the Jewish religious dietary rules,” there’s seems to have been no other assurances that the food production and service would be under religious supervision.

So, it makes you wonder: what exactly does this caterer do for its “kosher” events? When they don’t screw up, are they just using kosher meat, and avoiding dairy? Do they have separate kitchens, or do they kasher their treyf ones? Is there a reputable outside organization supervising the operation? Or, is everything really just ‘kosher style’?

Legally, this family probably has a case. But if they had asked the right critical kashrut questions, or chosen a caterer that was only kosher, I doubt they’d be in this unfortunate situation.

UPDATE: The Washington Jewish Week has also covered the issue, and their article provides some interesting details. The family “specifically declined” a fully kosher affair, preferring to avoid the substantial price difference. Additionally:

The plaintiffs say that they had contracted with Ridgewells’ kosher catering division to serve only kosher meat at the reception and to not serve any dairy products or nonkosher fish. They did not believe it was necessary to have a mashgiach on the premises to supervise the operation or serve the meal on kosher dishes.

Siegel said that the decision was based on the “level of kashrut everyone was comfortable with” in the bride and groom’s families.

So, while the Siegels may be able to argue their contract was violated, they’re just as guilty of misrepresentation as the caterer. “Kosher” isn’t just foodstuffs and utensils, it’s a system of trust. Operating outside that system, the wedding simply was not kosher, and to inform guests that the wedding was kosher was grossly irresponsible. Though the Siegels and Barons were comfortable with halachically unkosher food, was it reasonable for them to expect that other folks, like their rabbi, would also be okay eating off of treyf plates, etc.? Did they even bother to explain the complexities of their pseudo-kosher arrangement to their guests?

But the head of the kashrut authority that works with Ridgewells’ kosher catering division said that using a mashgiach is the only way one can ensure a kosher meal.

“You’re either kosher or you’re treif,” said Rabbi Zev Schechter, director of the Metropolitan Rabbinical Kashrut Association, or Metro-K.

Schechter said he has not had any problems working with Ridgewells on kosher events in the past. He had no involvement in the Siegel affair.

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Fruit Problems - not just bugs anymore!

According to the New York Times, the next big thing is going to be tattooed fruit:

A new technology being used by produce distributors employs lasers to tattoo fruits and vegetables with their names, identifying numbers, countries of origin and other information that helps speed distribution. The marks are burned onto the outer layer of the skin and are visible to discerning consumers and befuddled cashiers alike.

…They are also visible to shomer Shabbat Jews, who may be wary of violating the melacha (prohibited work-like activity) of “erasing” on Shabbat by biting into or peeling such produce. As I recall, on Shabbat one may bite into a piece of cake that has writing on it, but one may not actually cut through the letters on the cake. This situation seems similar enough.

Not to give the rabbis any crazy ideas, but I can see easily some kind of ban being place on consuming these fruits and vegetables on Shabbat and yom tovim (festival days). And I’m not so sure I’d disagree with them, at least as much as it applies to cutting and peeling.

Any more info on this out there?

Cross-posted at Devarim.

Biblical Nutrition

Would you eat something called “Noah’s Nuggets”? How about “Abraham’s Bossom”? House of David, an online retailer billing itself as the “the world’s premier distributor of biblically based health products“, offers these products and more, in their “Foods of the Bible” line. The products appear to be kosher - or at least the product photos on the website show kosher symbols. Caveat emptor.

My favorite is the Bible Bar:

…a highly effective appetite regulator based on the seven foods from the Book of Deuteronomy 8:8 - “A land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey”.

Wouldn’t that be a great treat on Tu B’Shvat? The closest local retailer is a place called Gospel Den - maybe I’ll stick to ordering my bible-foods online.

Off the Table (in London): Onions and Strawberries

First strawberries, and now onions. I’ve never been so glad to not live in London.

I have to say, I’m not sure where to draw the line between use of modern technology and basic knowledge of biology on the one hand, and common sense and following the spirit of the law on the other. Sure, there probably are teeny-tiny insects in our onions and on our fruit, but there are certainly even tinier things living on just about everything we put into our mouths. The halachic standard, as far as I know, is that you can’t eat those bugs that are visible to the naked eye. That’s…arbitrary. Many of these little critters are made to be hard-to-see - green bugs on green vegetables, black ones on seeded fruit, white ones inside onions - so we’re already at a disadvantage there. Obviously, different people have different levels of visual accuity, and just because your near-blind grandfather is the one checking the lettuce, that doesn’t mean you’re allowed to eat half-inch long insects. There has to be some kind of objective standard.

But…are we losing our minds here? Remember, there’s always going to be something small that you don’t see. They didn’t have lightboxes and vegetable wash two hundred years ago, and I’m pretty sure no one was pulling apart onions layer by layer and rinsing each piece off in vinegar before cooking. From the sound of it (I haven’t seen these infested onions first-hand), I’m guessing that the average person wouldn’t notice one of these bugs without first having it pointed out to her, and even then it may be tough. I won’t even approach the issue of these new issurim (prohibitions) and complicated cooking preparation methods are being put forth by rabbinical councils made up of (drumroll, please) men, when the vast majority of the people shouldering the extra work with each new edict are (wait for it) women.

(Both links from Bloghead.)

(Cross-posted at Devarim.)

Baking Soda on Passover

In short — baking soda is kosher for Passover. It’s a chemical leavening agent, it doesn’t work through fermentation like yeast (which is prohibited). Additionally, matzah, once baked, is kosher for Passover, and simply cannot be made “unkosher” for Passover by the introduction of seltzer, eggs, or baking soda. (Note that there are folks who avoid “gebrokts” — matzah that has been prepared with liquid.)

While any year-round baking soda is acceptable on Passover (so long as it’s a new box), baking powder is not acceptable unless it is made without cornstarch and thus specifically marked kosher for Passover.

Of course, especially on Passover, if you’re uncertain about what’s okay and what isn’t, ask your local halachic authority.