OCEAN SPRAY CRAISINS in a new 6 – 1 oz. package mistakenly does not bear an OU, but is nevertheless OU certified.

DUNCAN HINES MILK CHOCOLATE BROWNIES, which in the past contained cream and milk and stated OU-D on 19.3 oz. boxes, has been reformulated to a pareve formula and now bears a plain OU on new 18 oz. packages. Each box should be carefully checked, because some old formula product is still on store shelves.

Many PILLSBURY FROSTINGS which used to be OU-D have now changed to plain OU (pareve) status, even some with names such as Milk Chocolate, Cream Cheese and Butter Cream. Each container should be checked, because some OU-D product is still on store shelves.

QUAKER (and GENERAL MILLS) OU-D CEREALS: Since the OU marks both dairy and dairy equipment products as OU-D, we have requested and received from the OU the following current information regarding the status of various OU-D cereals. The OU cautions that even where it states that a product is DE (dairy equipment), the OU does not supervise the cleaning of the equipment between dairy and non-dairy productions, and also that the DE status should be periodically reconfirmed, since manufacturers frequently reformulate their products and may add dairy ingredients.

Quaker Cap’n Crunch cereals:

Chocolatey Crunch - DE
Cinnamon Roll Crunch - dairy
Crunch Berries - dairy
Crunch Treasures – DE
Oops! All Berries - dairy
Regular (original) - DE
[Peanut Butter Crunch (plain OU) is pareve.]

Quaker Oatmeal Squares cereals:

Quaker Oatmeal Squares - Brown Sugar - DE
Quaker Oatmeal Squares – Cinnamon - DE
Quaker Oatmeal Squares - Golden Maple - DE
Quaker Oatmeal Squares - Honey Nut - DE

Quaker King Vitaman - DE

General Mills Multi Grain Cheerios Peanut Butter - DE

MARKET PANTRY FROZEN FRUIT BARS (grape, lime & strawberry) and ICE POPS (assorted, blast-off & tropical) sold at Target mistakenly bear a plain cRc symbol. They should bear cRc DE (dairy equipment).

KIRKLAND SIGNATURE FUNHOUSE TREATS, sold at Costco, is a bag that contains a variety of small individually wrapped candies. Until recently, all the candies in the Funhouse Treats bag were OU certified. Recently, a candy that is not certified was added to the variety, but mistakenly some outer bags still bear the OU symbol. Costco is correcting this error and new bags will no longer have the OU. The candies that bear an OU or OU-D on their individual wrappings are correctly marked and are certified by the OU.

AIRHEADS PARTY MIX is a bag of candies that contains taffies and lollipops. The AirHeads taffiesare OU certified and bear the OU symbol on each individual taffy wrapper. The AirHeads lollipopsare not certified and do not bear an OU, but some of the outer Party Mix bags mistakenly bear an unauthorized OU symbol.

BARLEY: The Star-K, cRc and COR Canada have reported that there is currently an infestation issue of worms and crawling insects affecting barley. Consumers are therefore advised that all barley, regardless of brand or hechsher, be checked with one of the following methods:

• Gently agitate the barley in a white bowl of water. Let the barley soak in the water for 15-20 minutes and then check the surface of the water for insects. If none are found, the barley may be used.
• Place a small pile of barley – an ounce or two at a time – on a white plate or other white surface. Use a finger or credit card to drag a small amount of barley away from the pile, spreading that barley in a single layer. Visually inspect the spread-apart barley to be sure there are no insects between or under the kernels. Repeat this until the entire pile has been checked. Then do the same for the rest of the barley in the package.

Consumers who will store barley or other grains for extended amounts of time are advised to store such products in the refrigerator or freezer so as to prevent infestation.