21
votes
Accepted
Why does medical marijuana need a kosher supervision?
Rather than guessing, read it directly from the source.
Some have also suggested that a natural product, derived from the
Cannabis plant, for a life-threatening condition, does not require
...
- 14.2k
11
votes
Is there a problem with Triangle K? If so, what?
The OU has (at least) two specific problems with Triangle-K:
1- While halakhah has no minimum bound (shiur) for how often an establishment must be spot-checked (yotzei venichnas = someone who goes ...
- 9,368
11
votes
Accepted
What is this "vvk" or "AAk" hechsher?
It is the hechsher of Rabbi A Adler of Gateshead UK, see
http://www.hechshers.info/kashauth/147.htm
- 47.1k
10
votes
Accepted
Is there a concept of "bitul beshishim" with regards to fish?
As always, the answer is: "it's a machlokes!"
Open up a Shulchan Aruch to Yoreh Deah 116:2, where it says not to mix meat and fish.
The Taz's opinion is that because meat-and-fish is a health ...
- 131k
8
votes
Accepted
Why would spring water or mineral water need a kosher certification?
The OU says water does not need supervision. My guess is that it is not expensive to obtain the hekhsher and perceived as adding value so the manufacturers do it anyway.
Aish has a nice explanation ...
- 47.5k
7
votes
Accepted
Plain seltzer on Pesach
The CRC is the source of a detailed article (written January 2008) that explains the reasoning behind the discussion of the generation of carbon dioxide. The significant part is at the end where they ...
- 42.9k
7
votes
Accepted
What's with the plain-"K" hechsher?
Kosher organizations use trademark law to prevent unauthorized companies from putting their symbol on the box. So if you see an OU on a box of food, you can be relatively certain that the product is ...
- 24.7k
7
votes
Why are junk foods, which are poor for your health, certified kosher?
My Rebbe Rav Shmuel Dishon (mashgiach ruchni Karlin Stolin) once asked us how do we think Kashrus organizations are allowed to issue "kosher" status on things that are damaging to the human body (...
- 10.7k
7
votes
Accepted
Certified vs. Uncertified Costco Salmon
R Sholem Fishbane, the Executive Director of the Associated Kashrus Organizations (AKO), an umbrella group of major kosher-certifying agencies and the and the Kashruth Administrator of the CRC kosher ...
- 47.5k
6
votes
Plain seltzer on Pesach
OUKOSHER.ORG says that carbon dioxide used to be produced from grain fermentation. I imagine that the Star-K has determined it is not a concern and the CRC-Chicago has been unable to verify this to ...
- 139k
6
votes
If eggs have a hechsher, must you still check them for blood spots?
First of all raw eggs do not need a hechsher according to CRC, Denver Vaad HaKashrut and others. The presence of a hechsher on the box does not appear to be a factor in two major treatments of the ...
- 47.5k
6
votes
Accepted
Why would aluminum tins need a Kosher L'Pesach hechsher?
The OU has a long article explaining the possible issues with aluminum foil and aluminum pans. Due to the concerns raised in the article there are those who manufacture aluminum in a way to avoid a ...
- 139k
5
votes
Maris ayin and kosher certification
As Rabbi Yehuda Spitz explains, for many dairy-look pareve products there is an understanding among the general population that, even though it looks like it's dairy, it's not, and, because of that ...
- 73.7k
5
votes
Accepted
Who certifies the hechsher magen David with a K replacing the right side?
Trader Joes shows this hechsher as
79 Kosher in Greece Vassileos Irakliou 26, 54624. Thessaloniki, Greece
+302310-275.701 Rabbi Rav Shitrit Eliahu [email protected]
Kosher Food In ...
- 42.9k
5
votes
Accepted
Does anybody recognize this kashrus symbol? Rectangle K US
It looks like this is the trademark of "United Kosher Supervision", which is apparently headed by a R' Yaakov Spivak of Monsey, NY.
- 47.7k
4
votes
Accepted
Is Soylent kosher certified?
As of 2021, all products in Soylent's "Ready To Drink" product line are certified kosher by the OU: source on the OU website. (This does not include their "Complete Energy" energy ...
- 474
4
votes
Does soy milk need a hechshir
Per London Bais Din website:
"All plain soya milk is permitted. Other types of Dairy Free Milk are permitted if listed as approved or certified"
http://www.kosher.org.uk/koshersearch
However this ...
- 41
4
votes
Why would aluminum tins need a Kosher L'Pesach hechsher?
Although the OU includes disposable baking tins and Star-K (pg 5: "All disposable foil products may be used") as things which don't require a hechsher for Pesach, it seems the OK would require a ...
- 13.7k
4
votes
Why should a kashrus certification agency change their standards?
Without knowing any context or the underlying reasoning behind the policy change, it's difficult to know why the standard was changed. Certainly it is possible that politics and/or customer ...
- 17.7k
4
votes
Why should a kashrus certification agency change their standards?
Kashrus is a business where the certifier has to balance between the companies and consumers. The certifier determines whether consumers are looking for a higher or lower standard relative to the ...
- 139k
4
votes
Accepted
Need for Certification of Sake
In "Is Sake Kosher?", a 2009 article1, the OU, referring to (but unfortunately, not clearly citing) a responsum by R' Hershel Schachter, explains that one should not assume that uncertified sake is ...
- 47.7k
4
votes
Is Cup-K reliable?
Your question seems to beg two things - Is it reliable, as well as some info about the hashgacha.
As for info, I located this article about the supervising rabbi, Rabbi Israel Mayer Steinberg of Vaad ...
- 70k
4
votes
Is Cup-K reliable?
Cup-K shows the citation below. Note the Stringency line (Conservative) on the hechsher listing. This would raise a question in my mind.
One question would be what is done on Shabat and could the non-...
- 42.9k
4
votes
Frequency of inspection at vegan restaurants
It seems to me that a constant mashgiach would still be required.
For background, there are 4 main problems with a vegan restaurant without any mashgiach, as summarized from ok.org, and chabad.org:
...
- 1,344
4
votes
Accepted
Swallowed medicine hechser
First of all, Consult Your Own Local Rabbi (CYOLR).
Star-K writes with regards to taking non-kosher tablets:
In tablets, the most common possibly non-kosher ingredients are magnesium stearate, ...
- 8,513
3
votes
Accepted
Identity of Star-of-David kosher symbol
It's the Vaad Hakashruth of the Capital District, which the cRc currently says is acceptable.
Inside the star is a "V"-and-"h" combination with a "C" in the upper-left and a "D" in the lower-right: ...
- 73.7k
3
votes
Accepted
If a food product has a heretical/idol worship image on it, and a hechsher as well, may one partake of it?
I will try to briefly around the issue
Make it clear that I am not allowed to decide
1- You need to clarify if today a christian symbol as a cross is an idol,
There is a notion of association ...
- 22.7k
3
votes
Why doesn't Kellogg's print the symbol of their certifying agency on their boxes
Printing a typical Kosher symbol on a label represents a significant commitment on the part of the company. Not only do they have to maintain the item as Kosher, they have to maintain it as Kosher by ...
- 31.8k
3
votes
Shochtim who learned from translated materials
There are many rabbonim who won’t give kabbala to a Shochet that doesn’t show a strong grasp of the Hebrew terms and precise language of the text in Hebrew. Potential Shochetim have failed tests ...
- 346
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible