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 10, 2020 - from Hamodia:
"The e-commerce giant Amazon announced that it has relaunched its shipping services to Israel after deliveries had been halted following the coronavirus outbreak."
"Israeli consumers, however, might be left disappointed since the free shipping option – normally offered by Amazon on purchases over $49 – has not been renewed and it appears the company only offers express shipping at a much higher price."
"The company stopped shipping to Israel on March 22, saying it would focus on deliveries of essential goods within the U.S. and few other selected countries."
"Amazon in the past offered a cheaper shipping option with a longer waiting period, along with express shipping via companies such as DHL and UPS – which now is the only shipping option for Israeli customers, mostly due to the limited traffic of commercial flights during the pandemic."
"Amazon was not the only online retailer to resume shipments to Israel: British retailer Next also started to take orders from Israel after their website was closed for a few weeks. The clothing giant said that to ensure the safety of warehouse staff, it will only take a limited number of orders each day, then slowly start rolling out full service."
"According to Globes, the local retail industry estimates that Next makes hundreds of millions of shekels worth of sales in Israel every year, helped in part by its policy of free delivery on orders of over NIS 100 (approximately $28)."
"The resumption of deliveries to Israel by Amazon and Next comes as Israel has begun easing restrictions to contain the coronavirus after six weeks of closures."
May 14, 2020 USPS International service disruptions: Service to Israel no longer suspended.
From a reader: Israel was taken off the list on May 7, and they are accepting packages and mail for Israel.
April 27, 2020 - from Jewish Press:
"The USPS is suspending the international mail for certain destinations (not just Israel, by the way) due to service impacts related to the pandemic — including Israel — under the category of "Suspension Due to Unavailability of Transportation."
A service alert at the USPS International site page reads:
"Israel Postal Service: Can’t Promise 'Standards' On the Israel side of the ocean, the following applies:
May 7, 2020 - from The Grocer UK:
"Two fraudulent horsemeat shipments were seized in Europe last week, marking the start of an expected surge in food fraud."
"The seizures have reinforced concerns among food safety experts that criminals will target food supply chains disrupted by the pandemic."
"The horsemeat samples were held in the Netherlands and Denmark."
May 7, 2020 - from CPSC :
Poppin’ Cobs 10 Pack Microwave Popcorn have been recalled bucause the popcorn’s paper bag can catch fire in the microwave, posing fire and burn hazards.
This recall involves Poppin’ Cobs 10 pack of microwave popcorn on the cob. The popcorn is packaged in a brown box with a black top with 10 Poppin' Cobs individually wrapped and 10 brown bags for popping. “Poppin’ Cobs” is printed on the front of the box. Only boxes with date codes 042121 on the back of the box are included in the recall.
Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled Poppin’ Cobs 10 Pack Microwave Popcorn and contact the firm to receive free replacement bags. Consumers can order the replacement bags online at Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled Poppin’ Cobs 10 Pack Microwave Popcorn and contact the firm to receive free replacement bags. Consumers can order the replacement bags online at https://www.poppincobs.com/products/replacement-bags .
Poppin’ Cobs has received five reports of the popcorn brown paper bags catching on fire in the microwave. No injuries or property damage have been reported.
Consumer Contact: Contact Fully Popped toll-free at 866-767-2627 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, email orders@poppincobs.com or online at www.poppincobs.com and click on “Recall” at the bottom of the page or at https://www.poppincobs.com/products/replacement-bagsConsumers should immediately stop using the recalled Poppin’ Cobs 10 Pack Microwave Popcorn and contact the firm to receive free replacement bags. Consumers can order the replacement bags online at www.poppincobs.com/products/replacement-bags for more information.
May 4, 2020 - from Hamodia:
"The New York State WIC program has added more kosher certified foods to its list of accepted food products, in response to requests by Senator Simcha Felder, Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein and Assembly Health Committee Chairman Richard Gottfried."
"New York’s WIC Nutrition Assistance Program is a lifeline to thousands of families. But until now, the number of high standard kosher certified products included in the program was minimal, limiting the choices available to the many higher-standard kosher consumers."
"fter receiving many complaints from constituents regarding the lack of kosher options, particularly baby food, Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein joined with Gottfried and Felder to urge the New York State Department of Health to include more and higher-standard kosher products available through the WIC Program."
"Last week, WIC officially updated its list of foods now accepted, including kosher products by companies such as Kemach, First Choice and Mehadrin. Inclusion of these brands, which carry superior hechsherim, expand the choices for the kashrus-observant families that rely on WIC – particularly for baby food, a previously limited option on WIC."
March 18, 2020 - Food Safety News:
"The Agriculture Department said Wednesday that it would appeal a judge’s ruling that it would be 'arbitrary and capricious' to move forward during a global health crisis with food stamp changes that could force hundreds of thousands from the program."
"Federal Judge Beryl Howell, in a ruling late last week, stopped a set of changes that would have taken effect on April 1. On Wednesday, an Agriculture Department spokesperson responded to an Associated Press query with a terse email saying only that “USDA disagrees with the court’s reasoning and will appeal its decision.”
"Under the current rules, able-bodied adults without dependents must show they’ve worked at least 80 hours per month for more than three months in a 36-month period to stay in the SNAP or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — commonly known as food stamps."
"However, individual states have had the ability to waive that work requirement and time limit for areas of the state that have high unemployment rates. The changes, championed by Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, would have taken that waiver ability from the states, starting on April 1. Estimates from the Agriculture Department set the number of people who would be removed from the program at approximately 700,000."
May 7, 2020 - Food Safety News:
"Israel exports ready-to-eat fully cooked and not shelf-stable poultry products to the United States. And those exports may continue, according to a report by the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service."
"That’s because Israel has passed its latest foreign equivalency audit by the United States. The audit did not turn up any deficiencies that might represent an immediate threat to public health."
"The FSIS auditor did turn up some issues that Israeli authorities promised to work on during the exit interview, according to the May 1 report."
"The report details the outcome of the onsite equivalence verification audit conducted by FSIS in Israel from Nov. 3-20, 2019."
"'The purpose of the audit was to determine whether Israel’s food safety inspection system governing poultry products remains equivalent to that of the United States, with the ability to export products that are safe, wholesome, unadulterated, and correctly labeled and packaged. Israel currently exports ready-to-eat (RTE), fully cooked not shelf-stable poultry products to the United States,' says the report."
"The findings by the FSIS auditor included the following:
"The FSIS auditor visited two poultry slaughter and processing establishments, two laboratories, and regional and national inspection authorities during the audit."
"FSIS will evaluate the adequacy of the CCA’s documentation of proposed corrective actions and base future equivalence verification activities on the information provided."
May 4, 2020 from Foodt Dive:
April 28, 2020 - from Hamodia:
"Some New York City seniors who signed up for the city’s free home-delivered kosher meals received non-kosher food."
"As the coronavirus pandemic has swept across the city, it has devastated the economy and left many people homebound – particularly seniors, who are most vulnerable to the virus. To ensure that the elderly are properly fed without leaving their home, the city is using TLC-licensed drivers to home-deliver free meals to seniors, with a kosher option."
"But some Jewish residents" "received non-kosher meals. When they complained, the city said it had run out of kosher meals."
"In response to a request for comment from Hamodia, City Hall spokeswoman Laura Feyer said that the city is delivering over 30,000 kosher meals daily, for a total of more than 330,000 kosher meals; and more than 3 million meals overall."
"Meanwhile, the city Education department announced that starting Wednesday, it is opening new locations in Williamsburg and Crown Heights for distribution of its free kosher “Grab & Go” meals for people of all ages.
"The new Williamsburg location is at 300 Willoughby Avenue, in addition to the two current Williamsburg locations, at 60 Cook Street and 320 Manhattan Avenue. In Crown Heights, meals will be distributed at 791 Empire Boulevard, in addition to the existing location at 900 St. Marks Avenue. Another existing Crown Heights location, 655 Parkside Ave., will be discontinued, as it is far from the Jewish neighborhood and had been little-used. The new locations in Crown Heights and Williamsburg are more centrally located to the Jewish neighborhoods than the others."
May 3, 2020 - from the Hamodia:
"Enforcement of New York’s plastic bag ban has once again been delayed, as the state continues to battle the coronavirus pandemic."
"The state banned single-use plastic bags on March 1, with enforcement set to start in April and was then pushed off until May 15. But on Thursday, a state Supreme Court order directed the state Department of Environmental Conservation to enforce the ban only after June 15."
"'This does not affect the local laws in New York City, Suffolk County and Tompkins County requiring that the 5-cent paper carryout bag reduction fee must be charged on paper carryout bags,' the DEC said."
"The ban has been slammed during the coronavirus pandemic as it has been shown that reusable bags may help spread the deadly disease."
"Once enforcement does begin, the state will enforce the ban by issuing a warning to retailers who violate the law for the first time. Retailers could eventually face a $250 fine for a subsequent violation, and a $500 fine for violations in the same calendar year."
February 28, 2020 - from the New York Post:
"New York statewide plastic bag ban begins this Sunday — but actual enforcement won’t start for a month, officials said Friday."
"State authorities agreed Thursday to delay penalizing stores violating New York’s ban of single-use plastic bags until April 1 after grocers filed a last-minute lawsuit to try and block the law."
"Officials announced the deal after a closed-door preliminary Supreme Court hearing in Albany."
"A new law passed by state lawmakers Albany last March bans plastic bags at most stores and allows retailers to charge a 5-cent fee for each paper bag. The policy takes effect March 1, but the state will wait a month before dishing out fines."
"The legislation aims to reduce litter and help protect wildlife in the Empire State, where more than 23 billion plastic bags are used a year, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation."
"All shops that collect sales tax, including grocery stores, bodegas and retailers across Empire State."
"Once enforcement begins in April, stores caught in violation of the ban will first be issued a verbal warning. The penalty for a second violation is $100 and the penalty for a third or subsequent violation is $500."
"Plastic bags can still be doled out for uncooked meat, bulk items, takeout at restaurants and prescription drugs."
"Bring your own reusable bag made from cotton, recycled polypropylene or other materials. You can also buy one at some stores, or pay the extra 5-cent fee for a paper sack. That’s if one is available — retailers are predicting a shortage when the ban hits."
"Two cents is given to local government and 3 cents goes to the state’s Environmental Protection Fund."
March 1, 2020 - from the New York Post:
"New Yorkers were forced to begin grappling with a new shopping reality Sunday as the state’s ban on plastic shopping bags kicked in — and not many people were happy about it."
"About half the shoppers seen by The Post on the first day of the bag ban, including Kimmel, were compensating by bringing their own bags from home, while another quarter opted to just go bagless rather than pay the 5-cent paper-bag fee allowed under the law, and the remaining 25 percent coughed up the nickel charge per bag."
"The law, passed by state lawmakers last year, bars single-use plastic bags at any retailer — from supermarkets to bodegas — that collects sales tax at their store."
"It allows shoppers to bring bags from home, buy a reusable bag at the store, or pay the 5-cent fee for paper bags."
"Smaller retailers, including the Food Bazaar Supermarket in Woodside, opted to ease into the new world of plastic-less retail by pushing their remaining supply before tapping new stacks of brown paper bags."
"At the Bay Ridge Stop & Shop in Brooklyn, some shoppers were so ticked off that they blindly lashed out Mayor Bill de Blasio, who supports the ban but in reality did not pass it — the state did."
January 10, 2021 - from Hamodia:
"High Court President Justice Esther Hayut on Sunday rejected the Chief Rabbinate’s request to determine that the state can enforce not bringing chametz into hospitals during Pesach. This came after a request for a further hearing, following an order issued by High Court judges last April, which determined that hospitals have the authority to prohibit those entering their gates from bringing in chametz during Pesach."
"In a request for a further hearing, the Chief Rabbinate argued that the decision that the ruling would harm the kashrus of the food provided by the hospital.'But as it has been ruled,” Judge Hayut responded, “this concern does not constitute a source of authority for a substantial violation of the fundamental freedoms we have upheld, especially since the prohibition is explicitly based on religious considerations and involves sensitive issues of religion and state, without the legislature giving [its] opinion. '"
"Hayut added that 'it is to be hoped that the Rabbinate and the Health Ministry will find an appropriate solution that will preserve the rights of all patients as soon as this coming Pesach, so that those who wish to bring in chametz will be able to do so.'"
"Shas leader Minister Rabbi Aryeh Deri said that “it is inconceivable that in a Jewish state, hospitals will be required to allow chametz on Pesach.
"'Immediately after the election, the Shas faction in the Knesset will demand the promotion of the Patient Rights Bill as I instructed MK Moshe Arbel to submit in the 23rd Knesset, which seeks to maintain the status quo and authorize hospital administrators in this matter. After all, a hospital that serves a Jewish population is not similar to a hospital that serves minority populations,' said Rabbi Deri.
"MK Rabbi Moshe Gafni said in response to the High Court ruling: 'The impudent High Court judges take advantage of the period between one Knesset and another, that the amendment to my law cannot be raised in this matter, and do not consider Jews who do keep kosher who may need to go to the hospital on Pesach. We will strongly demand the Override Clause in order to stop and put order in the unlimited power of the High Court.'"
April 30, 2020 - from Jewish Press:
"Israel’s Supreme Court on Thursday ruled against the long-standing state ban on chametz in hospitals across the Jewish State on Passover in a 2-1 decision handed down in response to petitions submitted by the Adalah organization and The Secular Forum, both funded by the New Israel Fund (NIF)."
"Justice Neil Hendel was the dissenting opinion in the case."
"Writing for the panel, Justice Uzi Fogelman wrote in his ruling, “I find that the ban on bringing food items to hospitals during Passover that prevents patients from consuming food of their choice in the personal space at their disposal, violates the right to dignity, autonomy, and religious freedom."
"'The powers granted by hospital administrations do not include certification to restrict introduction of food into the hospital for kashrut reasons. In addition, using hospital security guards – in any form – for the purpose of enforcing the ban on introducing food into hospitals on Passover exceeds the restrictions set by the Public Security Law,' the justice wrote."
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