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Food News

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.

Newer news

Anaheim and Moen Recall Garbage Disposals Due to Impact Hazard

April 11, 2017: The CPSC in conjunction with healthyCanadians:

Barracuda 3/4 HP Disposer (model no. 681-4001) Garbage disposals have been recalled because a metal component inside the disposal can break off and come out of the disposal during use, posing an impact hazard.
This recall involves 3/4 and 1 horsepower disposals. Recalled brands, model numbers and serial numbers are listed below. The disposal housings were sold in silver, gray, black and blue and have the brand name printed on them. The brand name, model number and serial number are printed on a label on the bottom or side of the disposals. The list is here.
Sold At: Best Buy, HD Supply, Menards, and plumbing supply stores nationwide and online at Amazon.com, Costco.com, HomeDepot.com, Walmart.com and other websites from December 2015 through March 2017 for between $80 and $370 for ¾ horsepower models and $100 and $450 for 1 horsepower models.

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled garbage disposals and contact Anaheim Manufacturing to arrange for a free replacement disposal to be installed at no cost to the consumer.
Anaheim Manufacturing at 800-628-0797 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or online at www.anaheimmfg.com and click on “Product Recalls” for more information.

The previous item can be cited with the URL: http://www.kashrut.com/News/?alert=W558

Teavana Recalls Flip Tumblers Due to Burn Hazard

April 11, 2017: The CPSC in conjunction with healthyCanadians:

Teavana Flip Tumblers have been recalled because the flip tumblers can leak hot liquid, posing a burn hazard.
This recall involves 14 oz (approximately 414 ml) Teavana flip tumblers used for steeping tea. The recalled tumblers have a clear plastic cap with a black base that screw onto a steel tumbler. The tumblers were sold in black (Item/SKU 011069053) and silver (Item/SKU 011069064), and measure about 10 inches (25.4 centimetres) tall by 3 inches (7.6 centimetres) in diameter. "TEAVANA" is printed in white on the outside of the tumbler.

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled flip tumblers and return them to a store location for a $45 store credit. F
or more information, consumers may contact Teavana by telephone toll free at 1-877-832-8262 from 5:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. PT Monday through Friday, and 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. PT Saturdays. Consumers can also visit the company's website, click on "Recall Information" at the bottom of the page and then select "Teavana Flip Tumbler" for more information.
Consumer Contact: Teavana toll-free at 877-832-8262 from 5:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT Monday through Friday and 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. PT on Saturday or online at www.Teavana.com and click on “Recall Information” at the bottom of the page and then select “Teavana Flip Tumbler” for more information.

The previous item can be cited with the URL: http://www.kashrut.com/News/?alert=W557

Cost Plus World Market Recalls Windsor-Style Dining Chairs Due to Fall Hazard

April 18, 2017: The CPSC:

Stafford Windsor-style dining chairs have been recalled because the legs on the chairs can break, posing a fall hazard to consumers.
This recall involves wooden Stafford Windsor-style dining chairs with four legs. The chairs have a walnut finish and are intended for indoor use. Purchase order number 200519526, 400519526, 200519525, 400519525, 200524057, 200536057, 200536058 or 400524058 is printed on the UPC label attached to the underside of the chair seat.
Sold Exclusively At: Cost Plus World Market and World Market stores nationwide and online at www.worldmarket.com from June 2016 through December 2016 for about $100.

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled chairs and return them to any Cost Plus World Market or World Market store for a free replacement chair.
Consumer Contact: Cost Plus toll-free at 877-967-5362 from 7 a.m. to midnight ET daily, or online at www.worldmarket.com and click on “Product Recalls” for more information.

The previous item can be cited with the URL: http://www.kashrut.com/News/?alert=W556

Food Dehydrators Recalled by Greenfield World Trade Due to Fire and Burn Hazards

April 20, 2017: The CPSC:

EZDRY Food Dehydrators have been recalled because the food dehydrator can overheat, posing fire and burn hazards.
This recall involves white, EZDRY, six-tray food dehydrators. The dehydrator weighs about 4 pounds and measures 12 inches tall by about 8 inches deep by 10 inches wide. EZDRY is printed on the front of the dehydrators. EZDRY and the model number EPD60W are printed on a white label on the bottom of the unit. They were sold in a white box labeled “EZDRY by Excalibur” Home Dehydrator with a picture of the product. These products are marked “Date Code: 2116, 2416, or 3316” engraved at the bottom of the label located on the bottom of the unit.
Sold At: Kohl’s stores nationwide and online at Amazon.com from June 2016 through February 2017 for between $40 and $50.

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled food dehydrators and contact Greenfield for instructions on returning the recalled food dehydrators with a prepaid shipping label for a free replacement or full refund.
Consumer Contact: Greenfield toll-free at 877-881-0065 from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, email at a productrecall@thelegacycompanies.com or online at www.greenfieldworld.com.

The previous item can be cited with the URL: http://www.kashrut.com/News/?alert=W555

Eretz Yisrael: Strauss Cottage Cheese Contains Kitnios

April 3, 2017- from the Arutz 7:

"adatz Mehadrin, the hashgacha of Rabbi Avraham Rubin Shlita, alerts consumers that while during the year, Strauss brand cottage cheese is under its hashgacha and is mehadrin, this is not the case on Pesach as the product contains kitnios."
This is especially important for many if not most consumers would not think to check for kitnios in cottage cheese."

The previous item can be cited with the URL: http://www.kashrut.com/News/?alert=W554

Inmate Wins Right To Kosher Meals For Orthodox Jews; Twelve-Year Lawsuit Dropped After Receiving Kosher Diet

April 3, 2017- from the Arutz 7:

"An Orthodox Jewish inmate won a twelve-year legal battle with the state of Texas Friday, voluntarily dropping his lawsuit after convincing the Texas prison system to provide a kosher diet not only to him, but to all Orthodox Jewish inmates in the state. This win is another one of Becket’s victories on behalf of prisoners’ religious liberty, including the 2014 Supreme Court case Holt v. Hobbs."
"The vast majority of states provide Jewish inmates with kosher meals, and studies show that allowing prisoners to practice their faith leads to better behavior in prison and fewer crimes after release. Nevertheless, Texas refused to provide Orthodox Jewish inmates with kosher meals, arguing concerns about cost. So in 2005, Max Moussazadeh sued. The court ruled in Moussazadeh’s favor, concluding that the denial of kosher meals violated his faith and that the cost of kosher meals was “minimal”—“less than .005% of the food budget.” The lawsuit prompted Texas to begin offering a kosher diet to all of the state’s Orthodox Jewish inmates."
"Currently, more than thirty-five states and the federal government provide a kosher diet to observant Jewish inmates."

The previous item can be cited with the URL: http://www.kashrut.com/News/?alert=W553

New limitations on shechita in Belgium's Flemish Region

March 30, 2017- from the Arutz 7:

" A cabinet minister in Belgium’s Flemish Region announced that a majority of lawmakers have decided to impose new limitations on ritual slaughter of animals in 2019."
"Contrary to some reports in the media, the Flemish parliament did not vote on a ban, according to the De Morgen daily. Instead, the plan to introduce the new limitations was announced Wednesday as the result of an agreement between the coalition partners of the center-right New Flemish Alliance ruling party."
"According to Joods Actueel, the minister is seeking the consent of Muslim and Jewish faith communities to a proposal in which small animals would be non-lethally stunned with electricity before they are killed. Larger animals would receive “irreversible stunning” — a term which usually describes a bolt pin to the brain — within seconds of the slashing of their throats in a procedure known as post-cut stunning. Some Orthodox Jewish communities and their faith leaders, including in Austria, have accepted post-cut stunning."
"Antwerp, capital of the Flemish Region, has 18,000 Jews, roughly half of the Jewish population of Belgium. The city’s kosher abbatoirs provide meat to many Jewish communities in Europe."

The previous item can be cited with the URL: http://www.kashrut.com/News/?alert=W552

BlenderBottle Recalls Whiskware Glass Dressing Shaker Bottles Due to Laceration Hazard

March 30, 2017: The CPSC in conjunction with http://healthycanadians.gc.ca/recall-alert-rappel-avis/hc-sc/2017/62802r-eng.php"Healthy Canadians>:

Whiskware™ glass dressing shaker bottles have been recalled because the bottom of the glass dressing shaker bottle can break when the metal agitator strikes the glass bottom, posing a laceration hazard.
This recall involves Whiskware glass dressing shaker bottles with a white plastic combination lid and pour spout and an internal stainless steel, round wire agitator used to mix the shaker's contents. “Whiskware™” and a volume measurement scale are written in white letters on the side of the glass bottle. Only glass shakers that measure 8.7 inches tall by about 3 inches in diameter and hold 2.5 cups of liquid are included in the recall.
Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled shakers and contact BlenderBottle to receive two free replacement plastic shakers for each returned glass dressing shaker.
Sold At: Bed Bath & Beyond and other specialty stores nationwide and online at www.Amazon.com and other online retailers from July 2016 through January 2017 for between about $18 and $20. Distributor(s): Sundesa LLC, dba BlenderBottle Company, of Lehi, Utah
Consumer Contact: BlenderBottle toll-free at 855-906-5717 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. MT Monday through Friday or online at www.whiskware.com/recall or www.whiskware.com and click on “Product Recall” at the bottom of the page for more information.

The previous item can be cited with the URL: http://www.kashrut.com/News/?alert=W551

Low iodine putting Israel's population at high risk

March 28, 2017- from the Nutraingredients.com:

"The first nationally representative survey of iodine status in the Israeli population has found a high burden of iodine deficiency in the general population."

"Additionally, the research led by Professor Aron Troen from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem found that 62% of school-age children and 85% of pregnant women fall below the WHO's adequacy range – leaving them at risk of maternal and fetal hypothyroidism and impaired neurological development of the fetus."

"The International Child Development Steering Group has identified iodine deficiency as a key global risk factor for impaired child development, and the World Health Organization's recommends routine monitoring of population-based data on urinary iodine every five years as a means of sustainable elimination of iodine deficiency, noted the team."

"Iodine adequacy is defined by the WHO as a population median of 150-249 micrograms/liter for pregnant women and 100-199 micrograms/liter for school-age children."

Ed. note: Salt is iodized in the United States to prevent iodine deficiency.

The previous item can be cited with the URL: http://www.kashrut.com/News/?alert=W550

Paraguay to require more humane ways of kosher slaughter

March 28, 2017- from the Arutz 7:

"The government of Paraguay will move to require more humane ways of kosher slaughter by the end of year following the intervention of Israeli and international animal rights activists."
"Slaughterhouses will have to stop using the shackle-and-hoist method of slaughter and instead use the method of rotating pens, which is seen as more humane."
"Forty percent of the beef consumed in Israel comes from Paraguay, which does not export beef to the United States. The practice is not permitted in Israel, which has limited kosher beef slaughter."
"The shackle-and-hoist method is common in slaughter houses in Argentina and Uruguay, which do export to the United States."
"In a response to the petition, Veterinary Services said it had informed the governments in South American countries from where beef is imported to Israel that its slaughterhouses should stop using the shackle-and-hoist method."

The previous item can be cited with the URL: http://www.kashrut.com/News/?alert=W549

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