K A S H R U T . C O M_©

The following shmitta information and clarification is from the the editor on January 22, 2015.

Shmitta, When do Fruits take on the status of Shmitta?

This year 5775 is a shmitta year in Israel. It is a mitzvah to not till the land from Rosh HaShana till the evening before the next Rosh HaShana. Vegetables in the marketplace have started growing during the shmitta year had have the status of shiviis.

Migdaltorah.org stated the "Fruits get the staus of shiviis whey the bud duing the shiviis year. As such, there are no restrictions on the purchase of fruits until the end of winter. Slowly, as these fruits are used up, fruits with Kedushas Sheviis will enter the commercial marketplace."
Kashrut.com has links to articles from a number about Shmitta as well charts published by the London Beth Din and the Star-K at www.kashrut.com/consumer/vegetables/#SCHMITTA . The London Beth Din lists the first fruits being shiviis as peaches and nectarines in February. We don't typically see Israeli peaches and nectarines in the US. Grapefruits, oranges and persimmons will attain the shivvis status in September or October, 2015. Dates in the market will have the shivvis status in August, 2015.

Information on terumah and ma'aser is at www.kashrut.com/consumer/vegetables/#TITHING

The following milk allergy ingredient notice is from the FARE on January 20, 2015.

Murray Cookies: The Kellogg Company would like you to know that starting in February, 2015; Murray will be adding milk ingredients to the ingredient statement and milk to the allergen statement on six flavors of cookies under the Murray® label. The flavors, Murray®; Butter Cookies, Sandwich Crèmes Chocolate, Sandwich Crèmes Duplex, Sandwich Crèmes Lemon and Sandwich Crèmes Vanilla will contain Wheat, Soy and Milk. The Murray Coconut Cookies will contain Wheat, Coconut, Soy and Milk. No other Murray cookies will be impacted by the allergen composition of these cookies.
The new Murray® cookies allergen information statement will include Contains Wheat, Soy and Milk for the Butter Cookies, Chocolate Crèmes, Duplex Crèmes, Lemon Crèmes and Vanilla Crème varieties. The Murray Coconut cookies will include Contains Wheat, Coconut, Soy and Milk. Because product formulations may change from time to time, consumers are strongly encouraged to read the package label prior to every purchase. For more information, contact us at 1-800-962-1413 or visit our website at http://www.murrayfoods.com.

Austin Cookies: The Kellogg Company would like you to know that starting in April, 2015; Austin will be adding milk ingredients to the ingredient statement and milk to the allergen statement on three flavors of cookies under the Austin® label.
The flavors, Austin® Choco Crèmes®, Lemon OHs! ® and Vanilla Crèmes sandwich will contain Wheat, Soy and Milk. No other Austin cookies will be impacted by the allergen composition of these cookies.
The new Austin® cookies allergen information statement will include Contains Wheat, Soy and Milk Ingredients. Please be aware these cookies are also in Austin variety packs. Because product formulations may change from time to time, consumers are strongly encouraged to read the package label prior to every purchase. For more information, contact us at 1-800-962-1413 or visit our website at http://www.kelloggs.com.

The previous item can be cited with the URL: http://www.kashrut.com/Alerts/?alert=A4849

The following kashrus alert is from the OU on January 21, 2015.

Sommer Maid butter has been produced in OU certified plants and bearing the OU as well as non-OU certified plants, but not bearing the OU. This is a violation of OU policy and has caused confusion. The OU has insisted that the brand name on the non-OU product be changed. The non-OU butter will now bear the Country Maid brand.

The previous item can be cited with the URL: http://www.kashrut.com/Alerts/?alert=A4848

The following kashrus alert is from Kashrut Maguen David on January 21, 2015 and translated by google translate.

La empresa PICK A FRUIT, deja de contar con la supervisión de Maguen David.
Translation: The company PICK A FRUIT, is no longer supervised by Magen David.

The following South African kashrus alert is from the Beth Din of Johannesburg on January 20, 2015.

Please note that Woolworths tinned tuna with the Beth Din logo is kosher but not Mehadrin.
All other tinned tuna with the Beth din logo is kosher and Mehadrin.

The previous item can be cited with the URL: http://www.kashrut.com/Alerts/?alert=A4846

The following kashrus alert is from the Vaad of Denver on January 18, 2014.

Boulder Pita produced by Hajji Bakery bears an UNAUTHORIZED Scroll K symbol. Hajji Baba bakery is no longer certified by the Scroll K. However, they sell their pita brand “Boulder Pita” with a Scroll K symbol on the bag. This use of the Scroll K symbol is UNAUTHORIZED. Corrective action is being taken.

The following health alert is from the FDA and CFIA on January 18,2015.

Inventure Foods, Inc. of Phoenix, Arizona, has issued a precautionary recall of its RADER FARMS® Fresh Start Smoothie Blend, Fresh Start Sunrise Refresh Fusion, and Fresh Start Daily Power Fusion because of a potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.
These recalled blends themselves did not test positive for Listeria monocytogenes. However, Listeria moncytogenes was detected on spinach and/or kale ingredients on another lot which is currently placed on hold. These spinach and kale ingredients used to manufacture the recalled blends were supplied by the same outside party.
Fresh Start Smoothie Blend is distributed in 48 oz. (3 lbs.) packages at Costco in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan of Canada.
The Fresh Start Sunrise Refresh Fusion and Fresh Start Daily Power Fusion products are distributed in 35 oz. packages at Walmart in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
The packages carry the Rader Farms and Fresh Start logos and are sold in the frozen fruit aisle of the store. The products being recalled are identified in the table below:

Product Name	Retailer	Size	Item Number	UPC	Lot Code(s)
Fresh Start Smoothie Blend	Costco	48 oz.	911885	884038851489	30055A0201 30055B0220 30065A0201 30065B0220 30075A0201 30075B0220 30145B0220 30155A0201 32794A0201 32794B0220 33034B0220 33044A0201 33044B0211 33074A0201 33074B0220 33084A0201 33094A0201 33094B0220 33154A0201 33154B0220 33424A0205 33424B0220 33434A0205 33434B0220 33554A0220 33554B0211
Fresh Start Smoothie Blend	Costco Canada	48 oz.	911885	884038851489	30075A0201 30145A0201 30145B0220 32674A0201 32674B0220 32764A0218 32684A0201 32684B0220 32674B0220 32764B0211 32674B0220 32684A0201 32684B0220 32764B0211
Fresh Start Daily Power Fusion	Walmart	35 oz.	552888783	884038851533	32274A0201 32584A0201 33644A0220
Fresh Start Sunrise Refresh Fusion	Walmart	35 oz.	552888782	884038851540	33644A0220 32274A0201 32284A0201 32584A0201

Consumers who have purchased Rader Farms Fresh Start Blends are urged to return it to the place of purchase for a full refund.

Consumers with questions may contact Inventure Foods Customer Service department at 866-890-1004, Mon.-Fri., 8 a.m.-4 p.m. PST, email info@inventurefoods.com or visit RaderFarms.com/FreshStartRecall

The following chodesh information is from Rabbi Yoseph Herman on January 19, 2015.

"I sent out a reminder last week that since January 15 has passed, even items that contain malt for which dating codes are not known should no longer be purchased without verifying that the malt they contain is Yoshon. (Note that the safe purchase date of Jan 15 did not apply to beer. That date for beer was Nov 15.)"
Pretzels almost always contain malt for flavoring and coloring. That means that most pretzels may be Chodosh by now. However the malt in LIEBERS pretzels is always Yoshon, making these pretzels Yoshon. The mashgiach, Rav Weissmandl has determined that this uses malt that is Yoshon, made from dextrose or corn, as opposed to the usual malt made from barley."

The following chodesh information is from Rabbi Yoseph Herman on January 15, 2015.

The Chodosh Guide had recommended that all items that contain malt, for which the dating code is not known, may be purchased assuming that the malt is Yoshon up to the purchase date of Jan. 15. After that date, one should seek confirmation that the malt is Yoshon. (Note, as mentioned in the Guide, that malt in baking flour, is not a problem according to some poskim.)

• Liebers pretzels may contain Chodosh malt. We expect more details about this within the next few days.
• B'Gan/Eden breaded cauliflower is Yoshon.
• Kineret brownies are Yoshon.
• Pride of the Farm cookies and Cream ice cream is Yoshon.
• Items produced under the hashgocho of Chug Chasam Sofer of Bnei Brak are Yoshon, even if produced outside of Israel, for example, Turkey. (Note, this applies only to this hashgocho from Bnei Brak)

The following kashrus alert is from the Star-K on January 16, 2015.

Packages of Clearly Kombucha Classic Grape Probiotic Elixir bear an unauthorized Star-K symbol. Corrective action is being taken.
Other flavors of Clearly Kombucha bearing STAR-K are authorized.

The previous item can be cited with the URL: http://www.kashrut.com/Alerts/?alert=A4843

The following kashrus alert is from the MK on January 16, 2015.

Please be advised that "Sun Snacks" Nut products bear an unauthorized MK symbol. These products are not certified by MK kosher certifier.

The previous item can be cited with the URL: http://www.kashrut.com/Alerts/?alert=A4839