2018-6-28 Kashrus Alerts PDF available for download.
7-ELEVEN SLURPEES: The COR of Greater Detroit (Vaad Harabbonim) recommends that slurpees be bought only at stores that have store-level Kashrus supervision of their slurpees, to be assured that the syrup box that feeds the machine is actually Kosher and pareve. The flavor cards on the machine cannot be relied upon, even if they bear a Kosher symbol, because stores sometimes use syrups that do not correspond with the brand or variety posted on the machine. [Just recently, due to a syrup shortage, some 7-Elevens brought in non-certified generic brands of syrups, but still had the brand name flavor cards posted on the machines.] In addition, when changing flavors, stores generally do not clean the machine in-between, and during the transition there can be a significant mixture of flavors, one of which may be non-Kosher or dairy.
The COR provides supervision for slurpees at five local 7-Eleven stores, but only for the machine(s) specified on the COR certificate posted at each location, as follows:
• Lincoln & Greenfield: all three machines.
• 11 & Coolidge, 13 & Greenfield, 11 & Lahser, and 12 bet. Greenfield & Coolidge: only the left machine.
If one is in an area where no supervised stores are available, the COR recommends that the consumer request permission to inspect the label on the syrup box, and then check a reliable list of Kosher slurpees to verify the product’s Kashrus status. [The list is necessary because most Kosher slurpees do not bear a Kashrus symbol on the syrup box.] A list of Kosher slurpees from the Chicago Rabbinical Council is available at http://www.crcweb.org/slurpee_list.php
(Note: The box of syrup that feeds the machine is generally located in the back of the store, in an area that is off limits to non-employees, and cannot be entered without express permission from the store manager.)
New FRUITWORKS CAPTAIN CRUNCH BERRY FREEZE FCB slurpee syrup is Kosher and pareve. The name on the syrup box label should be inspected, as explained above.
THE ICEE MACHINE at Shell (10 & Greenfield) is now under supervision of the COR of Greater Detroit and is certified Kosher.
New CRUSH WATERMELON SODA is Kosher.
KONA ICE TRUCKS are not OU certified. Some trucks mistakenly display an OU symbol.
KEEBLER TOASTEDS CRACKERS in all varieties bear an OK-D due to dairy ingredients.
GOLIGHTLY SUGAR FREE HARD CANDY JUST CHOCOLATES (BONUS 10% MORE) packages sold at Dollar Tree stores have been mistakenly labeled Kof-K DE. In fact, this product contains butter, as listed in the ingredients, and is certified Kof-K Dairy.
SAN PAOLO brand CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES and CRANBERRY COOKIES are certified by COR [Canada] and are sold in the U.S. These products are dairy, but inadvertently were labelled without a dairy designation.
MEIJER DILL PICKLE FLAVORED POTATO CHIPS is certified OU Pareve and bears a plain OU. However, a limited amount of this product was mistakenly produced using undeclared Kosher dairy ingredients. The dairy product was packed in 9.5 ounce bags with UPC # 719283594365 and ‘Sell By’ dates between 07/16/18 and 08/13/18, and has been recalled.
SECOND NATURE – COCONUT ALMOND MEDLEY is OU-D certified due to dairy equipment. Packages currently in stores have a plain OU printed on the bag, plus an OU-D next to the Best By date that is either stickered or ink-jetted onto the bag.
CHEF’S QUALITY MULTI GRAIN TORTILLA WRAPS sold at Restaurant Depot mistakenly state “OU Pas Yisroel” on some bags. This product is OU certified, but is not Pas Yisroel.
STONE HOUSE BREAD products are not under Orthodox supervision and are not recommended.
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PASKESZ has suspended distribution of its SOUR WORX! XTREME SOUR CANDY due to reports of irritation to children’s mouths. See https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QPV7f4PCT5M/Wxq1pJKni2I/AAAAAAAAJ4Y/TPrP2qCQKDMaRXCJTq8_ey0-vGYKdubmQCLcBGAs/s1600/79.jpg
All KELLOGG’S HONEY SMACKS CEREAL, regardless of package size or Best If Used By date, has been recalled because it has been linked to a multistate outbreak of Salmonella infections. Details are available at https://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/mbandaka-06-18/index.html or 800-962-1413.
TISHA B’AV & YOM KIPPUR ALERT: TOMS SHOES canvas and material styles contain a suede leather insole, which may not be worn on Tisha B’Av and Yom Kippur. Only Toms special “Vegan” line of shoes are free of leather.
UPDATE: QUICKEN LOANS INSTITUTES HETER ISKA, resolving Ribbis concern. See details at http://agudathisrael.org/agudah-rabbanim-quicken-loans-institutes-heter-iska-resolving-halachic-concern/?cat=news and https://drive.google.com/file/d/1P6tx_iFOBB7gLrywNPLv4Qi-c9MuRDRe/view