K A S H R U T . C O M_©

The following Kashrus alert clarification is from the KAJ on January 29, 2009.

"While we stand behind the notice posted on the internet, the notice was not meant for the public. It was meant to be posted in shul for the benifit of our members. Someone posted it on the internet without asking us, which made it seem that it was our intention to publicize it. Various brands of raisins were checked and found to be infested, including some originating from abroad. Our Rabbinate has spoken to experts in the field who have checked raisins here and abroad, including samples we sent them. Pursuant to these investigations and after discussing the matter with other Poskim, our Rabbinate decided that the problem is prevalent enough to warrant notifying our membership, as well as establishments under our supervision, that they refrain from using raisins until further notice. I believe that in the future supervision on the production of raisins will -as a matter of course- include checking for infestation by many kashrus agencies. Given the recent publicity on the matter, it is likely that raisins will become standardized as an item checked for infestation in line with strawberries and vegetables which need checking, for instance."