Kosher Australia

The complexities of Pesach generate many questions, some of which can only be solved by asking one’s Rabbi.

A famous story is related concerning R’ Chaim Brisker who, hours before Pesach, received a knock at the door. Outside stood a poor villager.

“Rabbi, I need to ask you a question about Seder night. Is it permissible to drink milk for the four cups at the Seder?”

Since my start with Kosher Australia over a year ago, I have visited many factories to see if they can be kosher certified or re-certified. One aspect of an audit is checking the cleaning processes. Sometimes I feel that as there are so many regulations, like hallel, organic... the company is usually subject to that getting kosher re-certified would be one of the easier processes. Don't we all wash with a detergent, hot water and put our pots and pans clean away in the cabinet?

by Kasriel Oliver

Many people cannot conceive of the types of challenges encountered when we audit processed food manufacturing, with the aim of maintaining or initiating kosher status. Here are some examples of challenges we face:

The Natural Flavour Challenge

by Rose Mehlman

by Rose Mehlman

Kosher Australia’s raison d’être is to assess and advise the local community about which foods are kosher.

A lesser known fact is that we also materially assist many far flung communities from Asia to Europe.

A log of help desk calls reveals queries from Rabbis in Hong Kong, Singapore, Candy, Auckland, Wellington, Dunedin, Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, Sydney, Mumbai, Bangkok and London. In fact, there is one Kosher consumer in Crown Heights (New York) who rings us regularly with Kashrus questions. He claims that our Rabbonim give him clear answers!

Kosher Australia is a Kosher certification authority. But as our brief is not merely to verify that products are Kosher, but to make acceptably kosher food more available for the Australian community, we often find ourselves in the role of Kosher ‘enablers’. It may come as shock to readers, but not every company that seeks Kosher certification actually obtains it. Despite the best of intentions, we cannot Kosher certify the manufacturer of crocodile burgers who had an export contract for the US.

I would like to introduce myself to the readers of the newsletter. My name is Mordechai Hoenders and I started working for Kosher Australia in May 2010. I am involved in carrying out audits in the food industry. I have a Chemical Engineering degree from The Netherlands and I also previously studied in Tiferes Bachurim yeshiva in New Jersey (US). During the yeshiva period in 2006 I became excited about the idea of working in an area combining the disciplines of Torah and chemical engineering.

If we were to ask people what they think is covered by Kosher certi­fication, most people would probably answer simply – the food and drink that is being supervised of course!

A lubricant is a food addi­tive, a “processing aid” that reduces friction. A lubricant is used in food processing when the food must move rapidly while in contact with the surface of the machinery. It reduces the friction, also known as “surface-tension” between the surface of the manufacturing equipment and the foodstuff in contact with the surface. Thus the contact is caused to be slippery. The food slips along the surface and is not slowed down by sticking to the surface.

I recently met a relative who is a pharmacist. He excitedly said, “I have a great idea for Kosher Aust­ralia. Why don’t you look into kosher certifying vitamins? I hear so many requests for kosher vitamins.” My heart sank. How could I explain to him what an enormous job it is to check out the 50 or so ingredients in your average multi vitamin or the 70 plus ingredients in a food supplement for body building or weight loss?

It is quite clear in Halachah that the prohibition against eating milk and meat com­bined is extended to also include restrictions on eat­ing milk and meat separately but in close proximity to each other time-wise. The Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh Deah 89:1) rules, in accordance with the most widely accepted opinion, that the waiting period between eating meat and dairy products is six hours, although the Ramo and others, commenting on this law, bring other minority opinions and customs, such as waiting for one hour or three hours.

Most people would be familiar with the ban on Shechitah imposed suddenly and unilaterally by the New Zealand Govern­ment under the guise of humane treatment of animals. (Apparently shooting the animal through the head or bludgeoning it to death is seen as more ‘kind’ to animals.)

At the time of writing, this ban has been temporarily suspended pending legal action to be heard in March 2011.

The NZ ban is not the first time that shechitah has been attacked or banned.

For many of us, the first meal of Rosh Hashanah is filled with interesting foods. Starting with apples dipped in honey, some people eat gourds, fenugreek, leeks, beets and dates. The reason for these culinary customs comes from the Talmud (Krisus 6a) “Abaye said ‘Now that you have said that an omen is significant, at the beginning of each year, each person should accustom himself to eat gourds, fenugreek, leeks, beets and dates…’.”

Last week I mentioned the three main concerns that a consumer raised with me.

Her second complaint was why there are few Kosher symbols on products that we list in the Kosher guide.

A fair question. If one ventures into a supermarket in the US, say Publix, Ralphs or Wall-mart, 60-70% of all products carry a reputable Kosher certification. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to find an ice-cream or a cereal that does not carry an OU or an OK kosher symbol. So why not here?

There are couple of reasons:

Recall the shopper in Coles who approached me with three complaints?

The last complaint was that her children had been to a different city during the holidays where the Rabbis there had allowed products that the Rabbis in Melbourne prohibited. The children had therefore decided that Kashrus was just politics and decided to follow the less stringent ruling of the out-of-town Rabbis. She was furious and demanded that I ‘fix it’.

As Pesach inexorably approaches, most families are confronted with the need to acquire their food for Yom Tov. While many have the custom to purchase only raw foods (with the exception of wine, matzah and oil) and make everything from scratch, many people scour the Kosher retailers for Pesach equivalents of their year-round favourites.

The most confronting aspect of this dash for food is the cost associated with buying the ‘special’ Pesach food.

The laws of Kashrut demonstrate the great wisdom of our Chachamim and their foresight in protecting Am Yisrael.

The Gemara in Avodah Zarah (35b) relates a number of decrees that were enacted that related to Kashrut. These decrees were:

A common complaint we receive is the lack of kosher eateries in Melbourne. After I explain that we do the Kosher certification/supervision and don’t actually operate any restaurants (we get several calls a week asking if we home deliver Kosher food which leads me to think of alternate revenue streams to Kosher certification), the inevitable question is why can’t the Rabbis just authorise people to eat at vegetarian or vegan restaurants.

The world of Kashrut is, like most aspects of human endeavour, littered with so-called ‘Kosher myths’. Most of these involve the opening statement ‘but what could be wrong with ...’

I suppose it was to be expected.

For years we have listed all Twinings teas as being acceptable for use by the Kosher consumer.

One of the most common questions we receive at Kosher Australia is from the consumer in the supermarket.

“Hello, would you tell me if this product is Kosher.

As we are in the week of Purim, our thoughts turn to alcoholic beverages, and in Australia, the most popular of these is beer, or as some refer to it, Vitamin-B.

Many of us remember ‘Hypothetical’ aired on the ABC.

Here’s a ‘hypothetical’ in the Kosher market:

Since 1975, Kosher Australia has produced a Kosher food bulletin called the Kosher Australia Food Bulletin or the KAFB (because we like abbreviations). To the best of our knowledge, only the London Beth Din and the Beth Din of Johannesburg produce an annual guide in book form which lists acceptably Kosher products available for the local consumer.

During Pesach when all Chametz and Kitniyot are prohibited, we make radical changes in our diets. Gone are staples like bread and cereals which are replaced by matza and potato based products. And did I mention the eggs?

Two of the most commonly used ingredients in food production in Australia and indeed worldwide, are citric acid and ascorbic acid.

If you look at the ingredients on a food label they are often listed as Food Acid 300 (ascorbic acid) & 330 (citric acid).

(The answers below are extracted from the Kosher Australia Pesach Guide based on the rulings of Rabbi Mordechai Gutnick shli”ta, the Rav Hamachshir).

By now you should have received your copy of the 2008 Kosher Food Guide. If you haven’t received yours yet, please contact Gail at the Kosher Australia office on 1300KOSHER.

The differences in the way Kashrut operates in Australia drew the following email comment to me last week, “In my bubby’s day, if something was kosher, then it was kosher.”

When questioned, the writer explained that contemporary Kashrut seems to always be the subject of debate but in the ‘good old days’, everyone agreed.

A recent survey of Australian families indicated that many of the household chores that were once performed by family members are now outsourced. These activities included taking care of family pets, washing clothing, housekeeping and even buying gifts for the kids.

One of the most common ingredients that used (and often appears) in manufactured products is oil. Over the past few years in particular, Governments have brought in measures to reduce the levels of trans fats in foods which are a major cause of coronary disease.

Kosher retailers or specialty Kosher distributors serve an important function in Kosher communities, particularly smaller ones. These outlets source hard to get kosher products such as kosher cheeses, wines, fish and even meat products that may not be easily produced given the constraints of high level kosher supervision, skills and kosher ingredients.

One of the things my best friend, a local doctor, greets me every morning with at Shule is a crack about getting brown paper bags stuffed with cash for Kashrut supervision. And while I reciprocate with a joke about doctors spreading cold viruses to ensure a steady stream of patients during winter, the comment about money does raise some interesting questions.

Dr J, a Mizrachi member, contacted me the other week with a fairly obvious challenge that confronts most people who work in the non-Jewish world:

Your employer, fellow workers, salespeople or even fellow professionals wish to organise a meal or some food and invite you to participate.

One of the most common questions that we receive around Rosh Hashannah each year is ‘are all honeys okay or must we only use Kosher certified honey’?

Up until a couple of years back, the reasonably confident answer would be that all honey was fine.

One of the more popular products recently Kosher certified are the Vege Chips. These savoury snacks come in a variety of flavours and are unique in that the core ingredient used is cassava.

With the fall in the Australian dollar over the past weeks, the cost of feeding a family with imported Kosher foods will rise by 30%. This increase comes on top of the global increase in food prices that some analysts claim has been triggered by the conversion of feed stocks into bio-fuel sources.

In last week’s Kosher Korner, I mentioned that the drop in the Australian dollar should not reasonably affect the cost of keeping Kosher due to the availability of locally produced products.

One reader responded that there are still items that are imported for which there is no local equivalent.

There are those who solely attribute this country’s economic success over the past few years to the growing industrialisation of China and India and their thirst for resources. This double-edged sword means that a downturn in China affects its major trading partners.

While Kosher Australia does not advocate looking at the ingredients on a product to determine its Kosher status, occasionally statements or claims written on labels create questions in the minds of consumers. Some of the questions from confused consumers are:

By Rose Mehlman

A recent talkback radio segment was the forum for a debate on whether the ANZFSC (Australia New Zealand Food Standards Council) should further regulate or even prohibit the use of artificial/synthetic colours in the food industry, in line with other countries, such as the UK.

“Rabbi Michael Morris is a senior Rabbinic Co-ordinator with the Orthodox Union on a brief assignment in Australia. He spoke with me yesterday.

YW: What is your background in the Kosher food industry?

While the Kashrut office is manned from 8:30am through to 5pm daily and until 3pm on Erev Shabbat, we are frequently contacted at odd hours of the day and night. It’s not unusual for me to get a tap on the shoulder during my Friday early morning shop from a consumer asking a question.

Last week’s terrorist attack on the Chabad House in Mumbai has touched many communities. Being involved in the world of Kashrut, I was quite shocked as I had been correspondence with Rabbi Holtzberg HY”D in the past few weeks to discuss potential supervision opportunities.

The end of December and the start of January signals a mass exodus of families who take advantage of school holidays (and for some of us, summer camps) to get away. When packing for such an ‘adventure’, I always seem to find that the largest component of luggage is the food supplies.

Looking back over the past year in the world of Kashrus, we can point to four distinct influencers – one that has largely played itself out, one whose effects are yet to be determined, and two which are already influencing the Kosher food industry and will likely continue to do so for some time.

While I can be quite annoying at the best of times (just ask my teenage kids), once I started working for Kashrus I stepped up a notch. My friends now refer to me as the ‘Kosher cop’ since whenever I’m visiting, I cannot help but have a look in their kitchen pantry and point out things that really shouldn’t be there.

It always pays to get second opinion.

Reviewing the 2009 Kosher Australia Food Guide with a non Kosher Australia staff member proved a worthwhile effort as this person proceeded to pick apart comments that we thought were clear (or at least obvious).

Now that summer is finally upon us (what happened to December and most of January?), parents and kids^* have been contacting us about the acceptability of Slurpees.

(Slurpee is actually a brand name of a frozen carbonated beverages sold by 7-Eleven, and not to be confused with Squishies sold by Kwik E Marts.)

Sushi is becoming increasingly popular among Kosher consumers.

There are essentially five types of sushi:

Last week’s “Australian Jewish News” (24/2/09) led with a story about the blowout in the cost of Kosher food (‘Cost blow-out for kosher food’). The article interviewed a Kosher food distributor and the main Kosher caterer in Sydney who acknowledged that the cost of imported Kosher food would rise on the back of increased worldwide food prices and the weaker Australian dollar. The conclusion that could be drawn from this article is that keeping Kosher would be made more difficult as the majority of food is imported.

One of the most confusing concepts about keeping Kosher in Australia is the difference between what we call ‘approved’ products and ‘certified’ products. For a transplanted American this makes no sense – either the product is kosher or it isn’t?

Finally Purim is over and it’s now time to stress out about cleaning the house after the kids have dispersed their Mishloach Manot to the most improbable places – we find lollies and chocolate bars stashed away under pillows, in doll’s houses and even under the bathroom sink.

The second most stressful activity is buying food for the eight days of Pesach.

From the day after Purim, the phones start to ring off the hook with questions about Pesach – ‘which plastic plates can be bought?, ‘what’s the deal about cosmetics?’, ‘can I feed my budgie its normal feed?’. Each year the questions seem to get more complicated, particularly with the increase in allergens and the complexities of modern food production.

Finally the Pesach Guide is out and with it come the questions, clarifications and wishful requests from consumers. Despite the questions regarding lipstick, plastic cling wrap, pet food and raw nuts, the greatest source of confusion is medication and pharmaceuticals. Which medications need to be checked for the presence of Chametz and which don’t?

Last year I offered some last minute suggestions for Pesach. To add to my personal complexity, we now have a new born thus eliminating much of my time and my assistants’ time in doing the Pesach cleaning. That said, my older kids still ignore me when I walk in after work, look around the accumulated kid-inspired mess and exclaim ‘so I think we’re cancelling Pesach this year!’

While we don’t see it often here, it is quite common for Kosher certified companies to change their supervision. There are a number of reasons why companies change (almost all that can be traced to commercial decisions).

Over the past few days, the KCA (Kosher Consumer Association) has been posting a number of positive comments from Kosher consumers who do not necessarily live in areas where there are specific Kosher retailers and rely on the availability of mainstream products that are also Kosher certified. These consumer were complimentary of efforts to develop locally certified products.

An interesting discussion came up recently regarding the liability for damages with respect to Kosher.

As we all know, Kosher-Pareve products are those that do not contain any meat or dairy ingredients.

Most marketing spiels on Kosher certification imply that Kosher is better because of the more rigorous checking involved.

Of course, the Jewish Kosher consumer – having had the message of Kosher certification diluted by the nefarious Kosher ‘authorities’ who undermine kosher by saying that it’s all politics – will take that claim with a grain of salt.

Kosher Australia is a member of AKO – the Association of Kashrus Organizations – that is headquartered in Chicago and comprised of the larger reliable Kosher authorities worldwide. The organisation meets a number of times each year to discuss the burning issues of the day, to establish and review standards of Kosher supervision, and to liaise with smaller agencies who are under-resourced or lack sufficient expertise.

While there are many reasons cited for the consumption of dairy products on Shavuos, one type of dairy product is almost universally consumed – cheese cake. Ta’amei Minhagim explains that one of the names that Har Sinai is known by is Har Gavnunim which bears a similarity to the Hebrew word Gevina which means cheese.

An essential part of Kosher supervision and certification is the contractual arrangement that the Kashrut organisation, such as ourselves, have with the Company that we are certifying.

The contract is important as it provides a legal framework to ensure the Company’s compliance.

At least once a week, we’re called by Kosher consumers with a business idea. They want to prepare Kosher cakes or sorbets or soups in their home kitchen for small time retail sale.

Names of individuals and companies have been changed.

Dear Sam,

I would like to address a number of issues that you raised in our conversation re Kosher Australia’s certification of both your yoghurts and those of 'Delicious Dairy'.

Among the most recent articles to hit the media regarding Kosher comes the report from Israel that the Chief Rabbinate of Israel cancelled the Kosher certification of a bakery chain that is owned and operated by a so-called ‘Messianic Jew’ (see www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3739148,00.html).

After we sent out last week’s Kosher News update, I received a phone call from Sydney, ostensibly to thank us for the work that Kosher Australia have done and continue to do. Once I had recovered from the shock of a ‘thank you’ call, the caller made a comment that Kashrut seems to be more about politics.

The office set me a challenge this week – how to get Kyle Sandilands into an article about Kashrus.

For those unfamiliar with who Mr Sandilands is, this fine fellow is a DJ for a Sydney radio station who recently conducted a reprehensible stunt for his programme.

Everyone knows the Plotnick Diamond joke. But as this is a Jewish publication, so we are obliged to retell it.

Two women are sitting next to each other on an airplane.

Having come from the secular business world (how did I end up managing a Kosher certification authority? – possible Hashem’s Sense of Humour as my father ob”m, a shochet for more than forty years, told me to avoid working in Kashrus) I often marvel how everyday business tasks involve halachic and Torah concepts.

While the past two decades have seen a tightening of Kashrus standards in Melbourne to the point where all meats sold by Kosher butchers are fully kashered, one type is still regularly sold unkashered – livers.

1. There is apparent confusion regarding the Kettle Chip warning. Only packets that have a ‘2’ after the Best Before date are acceptable. Those with a ‘3’ on the same line or on the next line are not acceptable.

Last week I was copied in on an email that noted that the Union of Orthodox Synagogues of South Africa (UOS) had opened as investigation into the pricing of Kosher meat and poultry. This started me thinking on ways that an organisation such as Kosher Australia, which is not empowered to regulate prices, can assist with reducing the cost of keeping Kosher.