K A S H R U T . C O M_©

• October 28, 2021 from the COR Detroit:

  ONLINE SHOPPING: When shopping online for grocery delivery or curbside pickup, be sure to check the actual label on each item when the order is received. This is essential because many online descriptions or pictures give inaccurate or outdated information regarding the product’s Kosher status. In addition, the store may substitute non-Kosher or non-approved products if the requested item is not available.

  One recent example: Kroger Hearty Vegetable Ready To Serve Soup in an 18.8 oz. can is still pictured online with an OU symbol, but the actual product does not bear an OU. In fact, this product lost its Kosher status over a year ago, but the picture has not been updated.

• June 4, 2020 from the OU:

  Clarification for Online Shopping: While consumers increasingly turn to online vendors for food shopping, please note that internet statements and images are NOT always reliable to confer kosher status. To confirm that a product is certified please contact OU Kosher at oukosher.org, kosherq@ou.org, 212-613-8241 or download the OU Kosher app at ou.org/apps. Certified products must physically bear the OU symbol on the label.

• May 20, 2020 from the cRc:

  Many people nowadays are utilizing various food delivery services, for both packaged products and prepared foods. Consumers who order food products using outside vendors (e.g. Instacart, UberEats) or a store’s own delivery service, should be aware of the following:

  • Outside vendors may not be sensitive to kosher requirements, and might innocently substitute a non-kosher item for the kosher one which you ordered. Thus, you might order Brand X of canned vegetables knowing that it is certified kosher, but if that brand is not available, the store may substitute it with canned vegetables from Brand Y which lacks supervision. Therefore, when a delivery arrives, be sure to check each product to be sure it is kosher.
  • The certification of a food item is only valid if it is stored in a sealed package. This is true of packaged foods and also for foods prepared in a restaurant. If the packaging is open, or if prepared food is delivered without “kosher tape” or some other seal, the product should not be accepted as kosher. Return the food to the store and/or speak to your Rabbi for guidance.
• April 30, 2020 from the COR Detroit:
  • WHEN SHOPPING ONLINE for grocery delivery or curbside pickup, be sure to check the actual label on each item when the order is received. This is essential because:
  • Many online descriptions or pictures give inaccurate or outdated information regarding the product’s Kosher status.
  • The store may substitute non-Kosher or non-approved products if the requested ones are not available.
  • Following are two recent examples:
    • When a search for EMPIRE KOSHER CHICKEN at Costco yielded no results, an online grocery delivery service company website offered, as a “related result”, a non-Kosher brand of chicken [Foster Farms] as “Kosher”.
    • SIMPLE TRUTH ORGANIC CANNED DICED TOMATOES IN TOMATO JUICE is pictured on the Kroger website with an OU. After pickup, a shopper found that some cans bear an OU, and other cans bear a different, non-approved symbol.
  • ALSO BE AWARE that due to the pandemic, some manufacturing plants are unable to obtain sufficient Kosher ingredients (e.g. cheese) for their productions, and some plants are expanding the range of products they make to offset lack of availability from their usual suppliers. As a result, some products will lose their Kosher certification, and some products will change from pareve to dairy. Every product label must be carefully checked for its proper status.
• April 23, 2020 from Kosherquest.org:
  Many people are turning to food deliveries during these times. One needs to be careful to check the labels of food they order to make sure they received actual kosher food. Sometimes the website puts wrong information as in the picture below, and sometimes the item that is delivered is not certified.
• April 24, 2020 Useful Shopping Info from the cRc:
  Due to Covid-19, more consumers have turned to online shopping for their groceries, which makes it more difficult to determine whether a given item is kosher-certified. To facilitate shopping in this new reality, the cRc has compiled a short list of items that do not require certification. These items are inherently kosher, and nothing is done to them during the manufacturing process that affects their kosher status. This list can be found on the cRc website here.
• May 13, 2020 from the KLBD twitter feed
  ONLINE SUPERMARKET ORDERS: Due to the Covid crisis, many people are receiving product substitutes in their orders with are not kosher, and these cannot be returned to the driver.
  Please note that when submitting your order, rather than allowing substitures for all your purchases, you have the option to select items for when you will accept substitutes.
  You are advised NOT to accept substitutes for products where only specific brands are kosher.

November 1, 2021 from the OU in response to the editor's question:

The Trader Joe's vanilla meringues are labeled OUD, but in fact, their true status, at the present time, is DE (Dairy Equipment).

What does DE mean? A DE product does do not contain actual dairy ingredients, but it is manufactured with heat on dairy equipment. DE items may be eaten after meat, but not with meat at the same time.

Many products qualify to be DE but are labeled OUD because OUD is a less confusing symbol for the kosher consumer. Also, to be a true DE product, the equipment must be properly cleaned of residue after dairy production, and that level of cleanliness is sometimes difficult to maintain and guarantee.

Please note that it is possible that the manufacturer will reformulate this product and add a true dairy ingredient. You will not be able to know this, since the OUD kosher symbol will remain the same. We recommend that you contact our office every few months to reconfirm the DE status of this product.

October 29, 2021 from the FDA:

Dole Fresh Vegetables, Inc. is voluntarily recalling a limited number of cases of garden salad due to a possible health risk from Listeria monocytogenes. Dole Fresh Vegetables is coordinating closely with regulatory officials. No illnesses connected to any of the recalled lot codes have been reported to date. The products being recalled are:

The lot code and Best if Used By date are located on the upper right corner of the bag and the UPC code is located on the bottom left corner of the back of the bag. The impacted products were distributed in AL, FL, GA, LA, MA, MD, NC, PA, SC, VA. This product is beyond its “Best If Used By” date and should no longer be on retail shelves. Consumers are advised to check product they have in their homes and discard any product matching these lot and UPC codes and Best if Used By dates.

This precautionary Recall notification is being issued due to a single sample of garden salad which yielded a positive result for Listeria monocytogenes in a random sample test conducted by the Department of Agriculture in Georgia.

No other Dole products (or products manufactured by Dole) are included in the recall. Only the specific garden salad products listed, with the exact Lot codes, UPC codes and Best if Used By dates identified above, are included in the recall. Consumers who have any remaining product with these Lot codes, UPC codes and Best if Used By dates should not consume it, but rather discard it. Retailers and consumers with questions may call the Dole Consumer Center at 1-800-356-3111, which is open 24 hours a day.

Ed. note: We have no informtion about the kashrus status of this product.

Updated Food Recall Warning - Goodfood brand Onions recalled due to Salmonella

October 27, 2021 from the CFIA

Goodfood Market Corp is recalling Goodfood brand Onions, Product of Mexico, from the marketplace due to possible Salmonella contamination. Consumers should not consume the recalled products described below.

October 19, 2021 - from the London Beth Din:

cCain products are no longer approved by KLBD

Remaining stock sold in kosher shops and bearing a KLBD & MKL sticker is still KLBD/MKL certified.

Some products are certified by SKA when bearing their logo on the packaging

Please note: Products not bearing any hechsher on the packaging may be coming from a non-kosher production site.

October 19, 2021 - from the Sephardi Kashrut Authority (SKA):

Following numerous enquiries regarding McCain Foods (GB) Ltd, I hereby confirm that all products that bear our logo are kosher and under the supervision of SKA. All products are thoroughly researched, and I have inspected the facilities in person.

For a complete list of certified products, consumers should contact the SKA office by email at info@ska.org.uk or by phone on 020 7481 7840.

Please note, McCain products are only certified kosher when bearing the SKA logo on the pack. One is advised to check each pack before opening. SKA takes no responsibility for products that do not bear its logo.