THIS SECTION IS FOR NEWS AND INTERESTING STORIES RELATED TO FOOD, NUTRITION AND FOOD PROCESSING. THEY ARE NOT NECESSARILY RELATED TO KOSHER BUT MAY BE OF INTEREST TO THE KOSHER CONSUMER, MANUFACTURER OR MASHGIACH.
May 13, 2025 from Food Dive:
May 9, 2025 from the Israel National News:
"In a dramatic and unsettling revelation, Hussein Jaber of Abu Ghosh, the man entrusted with purchasing Israel’s leavened food ahead of Passover, has disclosed that representatives from Qatar, Dubai, and Kuwait made covert offers to buy the entire stockpile he legally acquired from the State of Israel. The offers, first reported by Matzav Haruach, were not business ventures but what Jaber calls an attempt to 'cause severe economic damage' to the country.
"'These were not offers based on need or trade,' Jaber claimed. 'They were designed to invalidate the religious legality of the sale and to eliminate vast inventories of leavened food, everything from warehouses and food plants to dairies and even industrial machinery.'
"The timing and nature of the proposals suggest a calculated effort to exploit a critical religious-economic tradition in Israel. Under Jewish law, leavened food must be removed or sold to a non-Jew before Passover. Any leavened food owned by Jews during Passover becomes forbidden even after the holiday ends.
"To avoid massive economic waste, businesses and institutions sell their leavened food in a legal transaction under Jewish law. For years, Jaber has served as the state's non-Jewish buyer in this arrangement, a trusted, if symbolic, role now revealed to carry geopolitical weight.
"Jaber noted that this is not the first time he has faced such pressure. 'In the past, even Saudi Arabia approached me with a similar offer,' he said, recalling that they, too, had no real use for the goods. 'Saudi Arabia didn’t need Israeli biscuits,' he remarked wryly, “they just wanted to cause damage.”
May 9, 2025 from the Yeshiva World:
"In a late-night vote, New York lawmakers passed the FY2026 state budget, delivering a win for yeshivos and nonpublic schools across the state. The budget includes significant increases in funding and expands key programs that support thousands of students in Jewish day schools and other nonpublic institutions.
"One of the most significant achievements is a $10 million increase to the state’s innovative STEM reimbursement program, bringing the total allocation to $85.5 million. This boost will enable more nonpublic school students to access high-quality instruction in science, technology, engineering, and math.
"Additionally, nonpublic schools will now be included in the state’s newly created Universal Free Meals program. This landmark policy ensures that all students, regardless of the school they attend, will receive free, nutritious meals each day—a long-standing goal of education advocates who have fought for equal treatment.
"Security funding for nonpublic schools was also renewed and expanded, with $70 million allocated for the Nonpublic School Safety Equipment (NPSE) program and $35 million set aside for the Securing Communities Against Hate Crimes (SCAHC) initiative.
"The state also maintained funding for other vital programs, including $230 million for mandated services reimbursement (CAP/MSR) and $5 million to support arts and music instruction in nonpublic schools.
March 21, 2025 from Agfunder News:
"The race is on to find more sustainable, functional, or healthy alternatives to animal and tropical fats (coconut, palm, cocoa). But does the next generation of “designer fats” fit the bill?
"While several startups in the novel fats space are coaxing microbes or animal cells to produce some of these more saturated fats, San Jose, Calif.-based Savor is deploying a thermochemical approach which it claims is more scalable, whereby it takes a carbon source and a hydrogen source, heats them up and oxidizes them to create fatty acids.
"The company launched its first product from its pilot facility in Illinois: animal-and-plant-free butter.
"Labeling is still to be determined for the butter alternative, which has self-GRAS (generally recognized as safe) status in the US, and is targeting baking, confectionery and dairy applications. A cocoa butter equivalent will follow soon.
"To date, Savor has developed multiple prototypes that replicate the functional properties of milkfat, cocoa butter, lard, beef tallow and liquid vegetable oils
"The 25,000-square-foot pilot production facility in Batavia, Illinois, has the initial capacity to produce metric tons of fat, said the firm, which has 10 pending and issued patents covering its process 'from feedstock to final products as well as several families of product formulations.'"
May 1, 2025 from CPSC in Conjunction with the Government of Canada-->:
SharkNinja Foodi OP300 Series Multi-Function Pressure Cookers have been recalled because the pressure-cooking lid can be opened during use, causing hot contents to escape, posing a risk of burn injuries to consumers.
Consumer Contact: SharkNinja toll-free at 888-370-1733 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET Saturday, email at sharkninja@rqa-inc.com, or online at https://www.rqa-inc.com/client/SharkNinja/ or www.ninjakitchen.com and click on “Recalls” under “Support” at the top of the page.
Description: This recall involves all Ninja Foodi OP300 Series Multi-Function Pressure Cookers. The cookers have functions that include pressure cooking and air frying. They were sold in black and have a 6.5-quart capacity. “Ninja” is printed on the front of each unit and on the product label. Model numbers OP300, OP301, OP301A, OP302, OP302BRN, OP302HCN, OP302HAQ, OP302HW, OP302HB, OP305, OP305CO and OP350CO are included in this recall and are printed on a label on the side of the cooker. An additional code following the model number is not part of that model designation. For example, a unit labeled “OP301 I07” is a model OP301 unit. Any OP300 series replacement pressure cooker lids purchased as an additional part are also included in this recall.
Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the product’s pressure-cooking function and contact SharkNinja for a free replacement lid. Consumers can continue to use the product’s air frying and other functions.
Incidents/Injuries: SharkNinja has received 106 reports of burn injuries, including more than 50 reports of second- or third-degree burns to the face or body, with 26 lawsuits filed.
Sold At: Walmart, Costco, Sam’s Club, Amazon and Target stores nationwide, and online at www.Ninjakitchen.com, www.walmart.com, www.costco.com, www.samsclub.com, www.amazon.com and www.target.com from January 2019 through March 2025 for about $200.
April 28, 2025 from Israel National News:
"Following Tnuva's announcement that the prices of dairy products not under government price controls will rise, dairy giants Strauss and Tara have announced similar hikes.
"Strauss' price hike will take effect in early June, while Tara's will take effect on May 18.
"In its announcement, Strauss stated: 'Following the government’s announcement of the increase in the cost of price-controlled dairy products, Strauss is announcing an update to the retail price list. The update will apply to price-controlled dairy products and related dairy products, which make up to half of all dairy products, at a rate of up to 1.5%, and an average rate of about 1% on all dairy products. The update will take effect after the Shavuot holiday, on June 3, 2025.'
"Earlier, Unilever also announced an average price increase of 3.5%, with the prices of some products increasing by up to 9%."
April 24, 2025 from JTA:
"As soon as news broke this week that the Food and Drug Administration was suspending federal testing of commercially produced milk, the Orthodox Union’s hotline lit up.
"The flood of inquiries was “off the hook … crazy: emails, calls, WhatsApp, everything,” said Rabbi Avrohom Gordimer, chair of the dairy committee at O.U. Kosher, the most recognizable kosher certifier in the United States.
"The callers were all anxious about the potential implications of the policy change on the kosher status of milk. Since 1954, most kosher-keeping American Jews have relied on an influential rabbi’s determination that government oversight of milk production is sufficient to render commercially produced milk kosher.
"The rabbi, Moshe Feinstein, was dealing with an age-old problem of Jewish law when he made his ruling.
"According to halacha, or traditional Jewish law, milk is only kosher if it comes from a kosher animal. One way to ensure that is the case is to consume only milk produced in a facility where Jews oversee every step of the process — relatively easy to accomplish in the pre-modern world, but less practical in the contemporary United States.
"Feinstein — considered one of the most important Jewish legal authorities of the 20th century — addressed the challenge by ruling that government regulations could effectively take the place of some aspects of Jewish supervision. Because the U.S. government both requires that only cow’s milk be called milk, and because inspectors are regularly dispatched to milk production facilities to ensure that all legal requirements are upheld, Jews could assume that commercial milk does not contain milk from non-kosher animals, Feinstein concluded.
"His opinion was so decisive and pivotal that the Orthodox Union cites it on its landing page for queries about milk. But what happens if the federal government overhauls or abandons its oversight of milk?
"Nothing, at least for now. That’s what Gordimer and his team have concluded after seeking to understand just what has changed at the FDA.
"This development has no impact whatsoever on the kosher status of ‘chalav stam’ (regular commercial milk) that Rabbi Feinstein permitted in the US, as the primary oversight of farms and dairy factories is performed by state governments; the FDA is a mere secondary body for this purpose,” he said by email.
"What’s more, Gordimer said, the testing that Kennedy suspended is meant only to detect certain contaminants and prohibited additives. Physical inspections, which he said are continuing uninterrupted, are different, and key to Feinstein’s ruling.
"'There has been no change in inspections, which are ongoing,' Gordimer said.
"Plus, the law prohibiting anything other than cow’s milk being sold as “milk” remains on the books."
April 23, 2025 from Israel National News:
"Following the Agriculture Ministry's announcement that prices for price-controlled dairy products will rise 1.41%, dairy giant Tnuva announced that it would raise prices for additional products as well.
"The new pricing will take effect on Friday, May 2, 2025.
"According to Tnuva, the prices of non-price-controlled dairy products will rise approximately 1.4%, while the price of dairy will rise an outstanding 4.45%. However, Tnuva clarified that the prices of milk substitutes will remain unchanged.
"The Agriculture Ministry's supervisory order is based on the periodic updating system, which examines changes in the key production inputs. According to the Ministry, "The changes are affected by the ongoing rise in price indices."
"The price hike is caused, among other things, by the 1.3% rise in the price of raw milk, which stems from the expected rise in the price of fodder due to the lack of rainfall. In addition, the wage index has risen 6.5%, and the consumer prices index has risen 3.4%.
"Among the products affected are fresh milk sold in bags, fresh milk sold in cartons, "Ha'emek" 28% fat yellow cheese, "Hagilbo'a" 22% fat yellow cheese, 5% fat white cheese, Eshel yogurts, Gil yogurts, 15% fat sour cream, and 38% sweet cream."
April 23, 2025 from Vinnews:
"The Israeli economic newspaper Calcalist recently published an in-depth article on the growing trend of non-kosher restaurants converting to kosher—a shift that, until just a few years ago, was considered unthinkable in Tel Aviv, a city long associated with secular, free-spirited, and innovative cuisine.
"The story begins with the opening of “Rova Aleph”, a kosher restaurant led by chef Evyatar Malka, launched at the location previously occupied by “L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon”, a branch of the famed non-kosher French chef’s chain. The new restaurant now operates under an official kashrut certification from the Israeli Rabbinate.
"But this isn’t an isolated case. Celebrity chef Haim Cohen, known for his unapologetically authentic Israeli cuisine, recently opened a kosher restaurant in Bnei Brak. The MachaneYehuda Group, headed by Assaf Granit, a Michelin star winning Israeli chef, opened two kosher establishments, and Yuval Ben Neriah—another Tel Aviv culinary icon—also made the shift last summer.
"Yossi Ettinger, co-founder of the “DatiLicious” community with over 200,000 followers, says this change stems from genuine demand: 'Chefs who never considered this audience before are now realizing it’s a serious consumer force.'
"'The charedi middle class has grown. Many are in high-tech, and since they don’t go to the movies or theater, dining out has become their main form of entertainment—even in upscale restaurants. You see couples spending 1,500 shekels($400) on a meal, and they keep kosher.'
"Even Itzik HaGadol, one of Israel’s oldest meat restaurant institutions, recently opted for kosher certification. Owner Ben Assouline explains that the war and a personal spiritual awakening led to the decision: 'If I didn’t have a kosher certificate, I couldn’t serve 70% of our clientele. I’m a political person, and I don’t want to be closed off to only one group.'
"The open question remains—is this just a passing trend, or a permanent transformation that will reshape the boundaries between religion and secularism, tradition and culinary creativity? One thing is certain: the success of these kosher chefs is leaving no one indifferent."
April 14, 2025 from Market Watch:
"The limited-time Coca-Cola product is made with cane sugar rather than high-fructose corn syrup. Some people can’t get enough.
"The key ingredient difference between the kosher-for-Passover Coke and the rest-of-the-year one? The former is made with cane sugar, while the latter uses high-fructose corn syrup — corn is considered a verboten Passover item by some Jews. But the yellow-cap Coke, as it’s often simply known, is now finding a significant fan base among non-Jews, because they consider it the 'real' Coke.
"That is, the cane-sugar version hearkens back to how the soft drink was made decades ago, before high-fructose corn syrup became a popular substitute in many food and drink items as a cost-savings measure.
"The kosher-for-Passover Coca-Cola appears to be similar to Mexican-made Coca-Cola, which uses cane sugar and can be found in some U.S. stores and restaurants. But the south-of-the-border Coke typically costs more — it’s an imported product, after all — whereas the kosher-for-Passover one is priced similarly to the standard Coke, shoppers have found.
"Does all this add up to increased sales for Coca-Cola, notwithstanding the fact it generally costs more to produce products with cane sugar versus high-fructose corn syrup? The company didn’t respond to a MarketWatch request for sales information. Nor did it comment on any taste differences, perceived or real, between the two versions.
"But a Coca-Cola spokesperson noted that the company has been offering kosher-for-Passover products since the mid-1930s. Even though high-fructose corn syrup wasn’t an issue decades ago, there can be other factors that make a product kosher-for-Passover, according to experts familiar with the Jewish dietary laws."
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