K A S H R U T . C O M_©

The following walnut allergy alert is from the FDA on September 12, 2014.

Taylor Farms Pacific, Inc. of Tracy, CA has been notified that specific lots of “Expo Fresh” Roma tomatoes supplied to Taylor Farms Pacific may be contaminated with Salmonella as a result of routine testing. No illnesses have been reported. This lot of Roma tomatoes was used in the following products made by Taylor Farms Pacific for Costco and Safeway and is being voluntarily recalled as a precautionary measure. Only the specific "use by" and "packed on" codes are affected.

• Costco: Tomatoes Roma Whole 1/25# (packed on 9/5 & 9/6 only)
  Shipped to:
  • Costco B2B Locations in:
  • Hawthorne CA
  • Los Angeles CA
  • Las Vegas NV
  • Lynwood WA
  • Tacoma WA
• Safeway: Sicilian Vegetable Salad Kit- (use by 9/20 & 9/21 only)
  Shipped to:
  • Vons El Monte CA
  • Safeway Warehouse Tracy Ca
  • Safeway Warehouse Tempe AZ.

The product was sold as “Sicilian Vegetable Salad” at deli counters in Safeway, Vons, and Pavilions stores in California, Nevada, and Arizona.
These products should not be eaten. Customers may return them to the place of purchase for a full refund. Taylor Farms Pacific has notified the FDA and USDA of this voluntary recall.
Consumers with any questions may contact Taylor Farms Pacific directly at 209-835-6300 ext 186 between the hours of 8am to 5pm PST, Monday through Friday.

The following is an answer from the OK on September 12, 2014 to a reader's question regarding Philadelphia Cream cheese:

The below list (see July 2, 2014) of current kosher varieties of Philadelphia Cream Cheese Spreads will remain kosher certified without compromising on any of OK Kosher's high kosher standards.

As previously communicated, the new bacon variety contains actual bacon and will not carry a kosher symbol on the package.

Please use extra care when purchasing Philadelphia Cream Cheese Spreads and verify that each package bears the OK-D symbol.

The following kashrus advisory is from the OK on July 2, 2014.

After communicating that certain varieties of Philadelphia Cream Cheese Spreads would no longer be kosher certified upon the launch of the new bacon flavor, Philadelphia heard from some fans who expressed disappointment.
As the brand is always listening to its fans, Philadelphia is happy to share that, in working hand in hand with the OK, it has been able to make adjustments to ensure the below list of current kosher varieties of Philadelphia Cream Cheese Spreads will remain kosher certified without compromising on any of OK Kosher's high kosher standards.

• Philadelphia Original Fat Free Cream Cheese Spread
• Philadelphia Strawberry Fat Free Cream Cheese Spread
• Philadelphia Milk Chocolate Cream Cheese Spread
• Philadelphia Chipotle Cream Cheese Spread
• Philadelphia Caramel White Chocolate Cream Cheese Spread
• Philadelphia Dark Chocolate Cream Cheese Spread
• Philadelphia 2x Protein Original Cream Cheese Spread
• Philadelphia 2x Protein Honey Cream Cheese Spread
• Philadelphia Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese Spread
• Philadelphia Brown Sugar & Cinnamon Cream Cheese Spread

As previously communicated, the new bacon variety contains actual bacon and will not carry a kosher symbol on the package.

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The following kashrus advisory is from the OK on June 13, 2014 with additional information on June 18, 2014.

Please be advised that Kraft Foods, Northfield, IL will be coming out with a new product PHILADELPHIA BACON CREAM CHEESE SPREAD.This product is not kosher certified. It contains actual bacon and does NOT carry a kosher symbol on the package.
This will unfortunately also affect other Philadelphia Cream Cheese Spread products. The following products will no longer be kosher certified:

• Philadelphia Original Fat Free Cream Cheese Spread
• Philadelphia Strawberry Fat Free Cream Cheese Spread
• Philadelphia Milk Chocolate Cream Cheese Spread
• Philadelphia Chipotle Cream Cheese Spread
• Philadelphia Caramel White Chocolate Cream Cheese Spread
• Philadelphia Dark Chocolate Cream Cheese Spread
• Philadelphia 2x Protein Original Cream Cheese Spread
• Philadelphia 2x Protein Honey Cream Cheese Spread
• Philadelphia Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese Spread
• Philadelphia Brown Sugar & Cinnamon Cream Cheese Spread

Please use extra care when purchasing Philadelphia Cream Cheese Spreads and verify that each package bears the OK-D symbol.

From the OK: The 10 varieties of affected Cream Cheese will likely still be available on store shelves with OK-D through the summer. The main production and release of Bacon Cream Cheese will begin in September. The OK will be resending the alert at the end of August. There is some Bacon Cream Cheese coming out on the market now from the trial run, which is why we put out the alert now.

Ed. note: The Customer service number at Kraft is 1-877-535-5666.

The following health alert is from the CFIA on September 11, 2014.

Premier Ingredients is recalling Premier brand and Konrads.ca brand spice products from the marketplace due to possible Salmonella contamination. Consumers should not consume the recalled products described below.

Brand Name	Common Name	Size	Code(s) on Product	UPC
Premier	Herbs Italian Seasoning	250 g	All Best Before dates from March 18, 2016 to September 9, 2016, inclusive	None
Premier	Herbs Italian Seasoning	500 g	All Best Before dates from March 18, 2016 to September 9, 2016, inclusive	None
Premier	Herbs Italian Seasoning	1 kg	All Best Before dates from March 18, 2016 to September 9, 2016, inclusive	None
Premier	Herbs Italian Seasoning	2.5 kg	All Best Before dates from March 18, 2016 to September 9, 2016, inclusive	None
Premier	Herbs Fine Provencal	75 g	All Best Before dates from March 18, 2016 to September 9, 2016, inclusive	8 76112 00751 6
Premier	Herbs Fine Provencal	90 g	All Best Before dates from March 18, 2016 to September 9, 2016, inclusive	8 76112 00751 6
Premier	Herbs Fine Provencal	500 g	All Best Before dates from March 18, 2016 to September 9, 2016, inclusive	None
Premier	Herbs Fine Provencal	2.5 kg	All Best Before dates from March 18, 2016 to September 9, 2016, inclusive	None
Premier	Herbs Fine Provencal	10 kg	All Best Before dates from March 18, 2016 to September 9, 2016, inclusive	None
Premier	Oregano	65 g	All Best Before dates from March 18, 2016 to September 9, 2016, inclusive	8 76112 00710 3
Premier	Oregano	100 g	All Best Before dates from March 18, 2016 to September 9, 2016, inclusive	8 76112 00710 3
Premier	Oregano	500 g	All Best Before dates from March 18, 2016 to September 9, 2016, inclusive	None
Premier	Oregano Rubbed	1.1 kg	All Best Before dates from March 18, 2016 to September 9, 2016, inclusive	None
Konrads.ca	Oregano Rubbed	2.5 kg	All Best Before dates from March 2016 to August 2016, inclusive	None
Konrads.ca	Oregano	500 g	All Best Before dates from March 2016 to August 2016, inclusive	None
Konrads.ca	Italian Herb	500 g	All Best Before dates from March 2016 to August 2016, inclusive	None
Konrads.ca	Herbs Fine Provencal	500 g	All Best Before dates from March 2016 to August 2016, inclusive	None

The following chodesh information is from Rabbi Yoseph Herman on September 9, 2014.

1. IMPORTANT CHANGE REGARDING MALT: Over the past several decades the Guide to Chodosh has stated that barley malt is Yoshon up to at least the manufacturing date of December 15. This was based on information gathered from many malt producers and is still the practice at some. Now at least one major producer of malt informed us that they will start using Chodosh barley to produce their malt by October 15! While products using this malt will not reach the consumers for some time, this is a warning to manufacturers of Yoshon products and mashgichim. Please note that the CHODOSH DATE RECOMMENDED BY THE GUIDE TO CHODOSH FOR MALT HAS CHANGED FROM DECEMBER 15 TO OCTOBER 15. This affects cereals and other items using malt. It also affects beer from barley malt (most beers are from barley malt.)
2. THE CHODOSH SEASON IS IN FULL SWING; By now all products using spring wheat, oats or barley must be checked to make sure that they are Yoshon. This includes freshly baked items from bakeries, pizza shops and bagel shops that should have hashgocho for Yoshon. It also includes packaged items. These should only be assumed to be Yoshon if there is Yoshon hashgocho on the package, or by confirming with dating codes that the item was manufactured before the cutoff date.
3. The August 14 information below should still be valid. Note that for Cheerios cereals the oats will become Chodosh starting a packing date of Oct 20. Those types of Cheerios that have WHEAT GERM in the ingredients, may be Chodosh as of the packing date of Aug 18 (date on the box would be Aug 25 15.)

The following chodesh information is from Rabbi Yoseph Herman on August 12, 2014.

The latest report from the US Dep’t of Agriculture confirms that the harvest and spring wheat and barley have begun. That is allowing us to formulate the recommended Chodosh cutoff dates for the forthcoming season. These are given below. Note that dates given below for oats used in Quaker and General Mills (such as Cheerios) cereals may still change.

• FRESHLY BAKED ITEMS USING SPRING WHEAT including breads, challahs, bagels, rolls, pizza and some cakes and cookies. May be Chodosh in the mid-West (such as Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Minneapolis) after a PURCHASE date of Aug 18. Elsewhere in the US, Aug 25.
• PACKAGED FOODS FROM SPRING WHEAT not including noodles and pasta may be Chodosh starting a PACKING date of Aug 18, PURCHASE date of Sept 1.
• NOODLES AND PASTA may be Chodosh starting a PACKING date of Aug 25, PURCHASE date of Sept 8.
• BARLEY such as pearled barley may be Chodosh starting a PACKING date of Aug 18, PURCHASE date of Sept 1.
• OATS in non-cereal applications, such as oats flour in cookies, may be Chodosh starting with a PACKING date of Aug 4, PURCHASE date of Aug 28. Oat meal and other oats products from Quaker may be Chodosh with a PACKING date of Aug 19, PURCHASE DATE OF Sept 3. Cheerios may be Chodosh starting a PACKING date of Sept 15, PURCHASE date of Oct 1. Cereals from most other manufacturers, the oats may be Chodosh with a PACKING date of Sept 1, PURCHASE DATE of Sept 15. Remember, the oats dates for Quaker and Cheerios will probably still be revised.

The following chodesh information is from Rabbi Yoseph Herman on July 29, 2014.

The following latest tentative Chodosh starting dates are based on the US Dep't of Agriculture Jul 28 US weekly harvest report:

• Oats
  • Oats other than cereals packing date of Aug 5, purchase date Aug 19
  • Oats in most cereals packing date of Sept 1, purchase date Sept 15
  • Quaker oats packing Aug 19, purchase Aug 29
  • Oats in Cheerios packing Sept 15, purchase Oct 1
• Spring wheat
  • freshly baked bakery products, pizza, etc Aug 13 in the midwest, Aug 20 elsewhere
  • packaged foods with spring wheat, packing date of Aug 13, purchase date Aug 29
• Barley packing date of Aug 20, purchase date Sept 3

The following chodesh information is from Rabbi Yoseph Herman on July 22, 2014.

Based upon the latest bulletin from the US Dep't of Agriculture, the harvest of the Chodosh oats crop is entering its 3rd week. The harvest of the Chodosh wheat and barley crops have not yet started.
The following are advanced estimates of the PURCHASE dates when items may start being Chodosh. These dates are subject to change.

• Oats in Quaker cereals September 1
• Oats in most other cereals September 15
• Oats in Cheerios and other General Mills cereals October 1
• Freshly baked wheat products such as breads, challahs, bagels, pizza August 15 in the Mid West, August 22 in the rest of the US.
• Packaged wheat products September 1
• Pearled barley September 15.

The following chodesh information is from Rabbi Yoseph Herman on July 15, 2014.

The harvest of the Chodosh crops have begun. As of this week 11% of the new oats have been harvested. Based on the experience of previous years, most of the new, Chodosh oats should not reach the cereals until September or later. This is to be confirmed for this year. The spring wheat and barley harvests have not yet begun.

The following kashrus alert is from the OU on September 9, 2014.

Poppy's Chicken Soup, Poppy's Soups, Deerfield IL, in small cups made for use in brewing machines, bear an unauthorized OU. This product does not contain chicken but does contain dairy. Corrective measures are being implemented.