K A S H R U T . C O M_©

February 3, 2022 from Kosherquest.org:

"As a Kosher Consumer, one must always check for the hechsher! Here is a story that happened this week.

"Chani recently went shopping at a local Costco to go pick up some of the kosher Empire chicken breasts. She noticed that some of the packages were repackaged by Costco and labeled Kosher, but did not have a kosher symbol on the package. (The picture is below.) She reached out to Rabbi Eidlitz to ask if she can rely on Costco’s packaging. Rabbi Eidlitz told her that those packages are considered non-kosher because the hechsher is only reliable when it is a sealed package. He followed up with the OU and received this reply:

"Please be advised that the OU can only stand behind product sealed in its original packaging. Any product which has been opened or repackaged should not be assumed kosher. Even if the original packaging was presented alongside the repackaged, the OU would recommend that it not be accepted.

"If the Costco store chose to declare the product kosher, this is their own claim. The OU would not corroborate that."