2025-12-12 KosherGram PDF
BELL PEPPERS FROM ISRAEL (red, yellow and orange) will soon begin appearing in U.S. stores, and require taking of Terumos and Maaseros. Carefully check the fine print on the package, or 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 Star-K) at https://www.star-k.org/articles/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/KCSmall_Terumos.pdf [Note: A bracha is generally not recited, due to the possibility that the tithing was already done in Eretz Yisroel.]
Always be careful when buying produce to check the sticker, bag label or original case for the country of origin. Other 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.
KORDAS’ brand BREADS, ROLLS AND BUNS from Metropolitan Baking Co. that bear K-COR certification [Council of Orthodox Rabbis / Vaad Harabbonim of Greater Detroit] are currently NOT Pas Yisroel. An update will be issued when their Pas Yisroel status resumes.
JELLY BELLY PRODUCTS are Kosher only when bearing the OU symbol. Most retail-sized varieties sold in North America, and all bulk Jelly Belly jelly beans sold in North America, are OU certified. However, due to the termination of certification at an overseas plant, some items sold in the U.S. will not bear the OU, and there will be a mixture in stores of older product with the OU symbol and newer product without. Check every item for the OU symbol.
ALDI frequently has multiple suppliers, or changes suppliers, for its store brands [private label] products, which often results in a change of Kashrus status for those products. Even on the same shelf, there may be a mixture of product with different statuses. Always check each individual package for proper Kashrus certification and pareve / dairy status.
Following are some current examples at Aldi:
• BURMAN’S TOMATO KETCHUP in the Detroit area now again bears the OU symbol. Other regions may differ.
• MILLVILLE BRAN FLAKES, MILLVILLE KOOKIES and MILLVILLE COCOA PEANUT BUTTER PUFFS cereals bear an OU in some areas (including Detroit currently, but this can change), and in some areas do not. • CLANCY’S KETTLE CHIPS – SEA SALT & VINEGAR: some bags bear a plain OU and are pareve; some bags, product of Canada, bear OU-D and contain lactose, a dairy ingredient.
CLANCY’S PRETZELS – MINI TWISTS and STICKS at Aldi, which used to have a plain OK symbol, now bear OK-D due to dairy equipment, and should not be eaten together with meat. The OK advises that the status can change to actual dairy at any time without notice, since the product is already approved as dairy, and the consumer should therefore check with the OK office every few months to reconfirm the DE status. Also check the ingredients listing.
(Note: The same applies to Kroger and Great Value [Walmart] brands of pretzels that bear OK-D.)
ALDI’s FRESH TUNA STEAKS and FRESH TILAPIA FILLETS are not acceptable because they do not have Kashrus certification and are sold without skin / scales.
CHEF’S QUALITY SEMI-SWEET CHOCOLATE CHIPS [Restaurant Depot] that bears OU Pareve is correctly marked and is pareve. An OU alert that stated otherwise was retracted.
THE FOLLOWING PRODUCTS BEAR UNAUTHORIZED KASHRUS MARKING on some labels or online images:
• STARBURST ORIGINAL FRUIT CHEWS – unauthorized OU-D symbol on multi-pack of fun-size holiday candies distributed in Canada. The remaining products in the pack – Twix, Snickers, and Skittles – are correctly OU-D authorized.
• ZOOMI CANDIES including Gushmello and any other varieties – unauthorized OU symbol. • URBANXTRACTS OLIO GUMMIES – unauthorized OU symbol.
• ROOT GIVE ME BACK MY YOUTH SUPPLEMENTS – unauthorized OU symbol.
• SUN Q brand CAULIFLOWER IN BRINE and MILD GIARDINIERA in jars – unauthorized Star-K symbol. • ROSOLINI COOKING SPRAY – BUTTER FLAVOR – unauthorized Star-K symbol.
• RAWMIO ORGANIC RAW CHOCOLATE MINI TRUFFLE CAKE – unauthorized EarthKosher symbol.
THE FOLLOWING PRODUCTS CONTAIN DAIRY INGREDIENTS AND ARE CERTIFIED KOSHER DAIRY, but mistakenly do not bear the D designation on some labels:
• QUAKER CARAMEL MACCHIATO INSTANT OATMEAL [OU-D]
• WET HYDRATION KIWI STRAWBERRY PROTEIN WATER [OU-D]
• CIRCLE U FOODS DILL PICKLE SEASONING [cRc-D]
• GOODLES VEGAN IS BELIEVIN’ – PLANT BASED WHITE CHEDDAR WITH SPIRALS may contain undisclosed dairy ingredients in the following five lots and should be considered Kosher Dairy [OK-D]:
09725 N (Best Buy Date: Jul-7-2026) 09825 N (Best Buy Date: Jul-8-2026)
09925 N (Best Buy Date: Jul-9-2026) 10025 N (Best Buy Date: Jul-10-2026)
10125 N (Best Buy Date: Jul-11-2026)
PRODUCT RECALLS
URGENT – All batches of BYHEART WHOLE NUTRITION INFANT FORMULA products, including both cans and single serve “Anywhere” packets, have been recalled due to a multistate outbreak of infant botulism illnesses linked to this formula. Details are available at https://www.fda.gov/food/outbreaks-foodborne-illness/outbreak-investigation-infant-botulism-infant-formula-november-2025 or 833-398-2022.
GREAT VALUE [Walmart] PEAR HALVES in pear juice from concentrate and WEGMANS HALVED / SLICED PEARS in Pear Juice from Concentrate in 15 oz. cans have been recalled due to high lead levels. Details are available at https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/ires/?Event=97563