2020-12-28 KosherGram PDF
BELL PEPPERS FROM ISRAEL (red, yellow and orange) are now being sold in U.S. stores, and require taking of Terumos and Maaseros. They are being sold locally at Kroger, Meijer, Aldi and other stores. The brands include Gilad, Sunset, Kroger and others, both regular and organic. Consumers should carefully check the fine print on the package, and the sticker on individual peppers, 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. Details of the tithing procedure can be found (courtesy of cRc Chicago) at https://www.crcweb.org/kosher_articles/Terumah_Maaser_Separation_(Dec%202016).pdf
Some additional examples of Israeli produce commonly found in the U.S. include tomatoes, carrots, citrus fruit (oranges, grapefruit, lemons, mandarins, clementines and pomelos), persimmons (“Sharon Fruit”), pomegranates, mangos, dates, dill and parsley. Check the sticker, bag label or original case for the country of origin.
EARTH KOSHER [Rabbi Sholom H. Adler] is an acceptable certification.
ORE-IDA POTATO PRODUCTS: Many, but not all, Ore-Ida frozen potato products are OU certified. Check each product for the OU symbol.
BROWNBERRY STUFFING: Most Brownberry Stuffing is no longer OU certified and does not bear the OU symbol.
HARIBO GUMMI CANDY in the general market contains animal gelatin and is not Kosher. Only special productions that state Distributed by Paskesz, with prominent Kosher marking from Rabbi O.Y. Westheim / Rabbi Shulem Landau printed on the front and back of the package, are Kosher, and are made with Kosher fish gelatin. Some packages found in Israel, and possibly other locations, have a sticker on the back stating in Hebrew “Kosher certified by Chug HaRambam of France”. This product is not Kosher and the sticker is fraudulent. It was applied without Haribo’s knowledge or approval.
Some ARTICHOKE HUMMUS PRODUCTS under the following brands bear an unauthorized KVH symbol; they are not certified: Cedar’s, Shop-Rite Supermarket, Joseph’s, Simply Enjoy, Sprouts Farmers Market, Green Way, Little Salad Bar [Aldi], Wellsley Farms [BJs], Lidl US, Price Chopper.
ENLIGHTENED brand DOUGH BITES, distributed by Beyond Better Foods, are missing the “Dairy” designation from their cRc symbol. These products contain dairy ingredients, as indicated on their ingredient panel. The following products are mislabeled:
Birthday Cake Cookie Dough Bites
Fudge Brownie Dough Bites
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites
Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Bites
Snickerdoodle Cookie Dough Bites