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.
December 1, 2025 from Matzav.com:
"A&B Famous, one of the most widely recognized names in the kosher food market, has announced a temporary halt in production of its flagship Original Gefilte Fish, citing an unexpected shortage of key fish varieties essential to its recipe.
"ccording to A&B, seasonal harvesting restrictions have made the specific varieties of fresh fish required for its classic recipe unavailable. As a result, the company said, it is currently unable to produce its Original Gefilte Fish in accordance with its rigorous standards.
"Despite the shortage, the company emphasized that several other products remain fully stocked. These include White & Pike, Salmon, and Gluten-Free gefilte fish varieties, all of which continue to be produced without disruption.
"A&B expressed cautious optimism that the issue will be resolved within two to three weeks, at which point they expect to resume full production and restock the complete line of products."
November 26, 2025 from the CPSC:
Baby High Chairs (convertible) have been recalled because the high chairs violate the mandatory standard for high chairs because they were sold without the required attached restraint system, posing a deadly fall hazard to babies. In addition, a child’s head can become trapped in the opening between the seat and tray, posing a deadly entrapment hazard.
Consumer Contact: Email Rotinyard at trailblazeramz@outlook.com.
Description: This recall involves baby high chairs sold in beige or pink with a matching removable seat cushion, detachable tray, and footrest. The high chairs convert into an infant swing and are reclinable and collapsible. “Product No.: HA-028” is printed on a tracking label on the seatback.
Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled high chairs and contact Rotinyard for a full refund. Consumers should disassemble the high chairs, cut the restraints and fabric seat cushion insert, and email photos of the destroyed restraints and cushion to trailblazeramz@outlook.com. Once the photos are received, Rotinyard will issue a full refund.
November 10, 2025 from the Wall Stree Journal:
"Your favorite Italian-origin fusilli and macaroni are poised to disappear from U.S. supermarket shelves.
"Italy’s biggest pasta exporters say import and antidumping duties totaling 107% on their pasta brands will make doing business in America too costly and are preparing to pull out of U.S. stores as soon as January. The combined tariffs are among the steepest faced by any product targeted by the Trump administration.
"The U.S. Commerce Department has announced a 92% antidumping duty on pasta made in Italy by La Molisana and 12 other companies, which import the bulk of pasta from Italy to the U.S. That is on top of the Trump administration’s 15% tariff on imports from the European Union.
"The Commerce Department acted after a long-running probe into pricing practices for the product that goes into everything from spaghetti Bolognese to mac and cheese. The severity of the decision has stunned one of Italy’s most iconic industries and has escalated into a diplomatic dispute between Washington and Rome, which is determined to combat the tariff.
"Antidumping probes into Italian pasta makers are nothing new. The Commerce Department has been inspecting them since the mid-1990s, when it found that many importers were flooding the U.S. with pasta priced below normal market prices in a bid to undercut their U.S. competitors.
"American pasta makers have regularly filed antidumping complaints against Italian imports since then. Reviews by the Commerce Department have often found one or more Italian companies guilty of underpricing their pasta.
"But the penalties were usually small. Italian makers shrugged and saw it as part of the cost of doing business in the U.S.
"This is the first time that so many of them face potentially trade-killing tariffs.
"The latest government review was triggered, as in the past, by a complaint from U.S. companies: 8th Avenue Food & Provisions, which owns Ronzoni pasta, and Winland Foods, which is behind brands including Mueller’s and Prince.
"People with knowledge of the case also say the Commerce Department assigned new analysts to scrutinize the filings who had little understanding of Italian accounting practices, leading the agency to view the companies as noncooperative. The Trump administration didn’t respond to questions about the analysts on the case."
Ed. note: Italian pasta is yoshon.
November 26, 2025 from the CPSC:
Ozark Trail Tabletop 1-Burner Butane Camping Stoves have been recalled because the stoves can explode or catch fire, posing a burn and fire hazard to consumers.
Consumer Contact: Walmart at 800-925-6278 from 7 a.m. through 9 p.m. CT or online at www.walmart.com/help or https://corporate.walmart.com/recalls for more information.
Description: This recall involves Ozark Trail Tabletop 1-Burner Butane Camping Stoves with model number BG2247A1. The model number is printed on a gray label on the inside of the fuel compartment. The camping stoves are dark green with an orange “Ozark Trail” logo printed on the front.
Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled stoves and return the product to any Walmart retail store for a full refund.
Incidents/Injuries: China Window Industry Co., Ltd has received 26 reports of the camping stoves exploding or catching fire, including 16 reports of injuries such as second-degree burns.
Sold At: Walmart stores nationwide and online at Walmart.com from March 2023 through October 2025 for between $8 and $45.
November 28, 2025 from JTA:
"On Thanksgiving morning, as volunteers gathered at Congregation Shearith Israel for the synagogue’s 11th annual “packathon,” they also marked a new milestone: Their synagogue was opening a kosher food pantry on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
"Over the summer, Shearith Israel reached out to Alexander Rapaport, the executive director of Masbia, a kosher soup kitchen and food pantry, to propose an idea: Masbia could open a location in their synagogue.
"At the event on Thursday morning where the new Masbia Relief Annex was announced, volunteers from local faith groups, including the Jewish Center, the Latter-Day Saints and the West End Church, watched the parade and assembled 2,000 packages of food.
"Solomon said Shearith Israel had pledged to contribute $50,000 to the new Masbia annex, and was asking local faith groups to collectively match their donation.
"The new food distribution center is scheduled to open sometime before Hanukkah, and will allow Masbia to serve Manhattan through the use of Doordash, which provides the nonprofit with free delivery services.
"Solomon said Shearith Israel had pledged to contribute $50,000 to the new Masbia annex, and was asking local faith groups to collectively match their donation.
"The new food distribution center is scheduled to open sometime before Hanukkah, and will allow Masbia to serve Manhattan through the use of Doordash, which provides the nonprofit with free delivery services.
"Masbia currently has three locations, two in Brooklyn and one in Queens. Now, Rapaport said the new space will allow the food nonprofit to provide delivery service in Manhattan as well."
November 24, 2025 - from the FDA:
Nine additional cookware products that may leach lead into food when used for cooking or food storage have been added to the table here.
The complete list of products can be found in the table below. Other cookware products may also be affected. FDA will continue to update this table with additional products as new information becomes available.
Consumers should check their homes for the products listed below and throw away any cookware that may be able to leach lead into food when used for cooking or food storage. Do not donate or refurbish this cookware.
September 19, 2025 - from the FDA:
Shata Traders Inc of Brooklyn, NY is recalling Chef Brand Milk Pan 24 cm, because it has the potential to be contaminated with significant levels of lead (Pb) which may leach into food. Lead is toxic to humans and can affect people of any age or health status, and there is no known safe level of exposure to lead. ven low levels of lead exposure can cause serious health problems, particularly in children and fetuses. Consuming food with elevated lead levels can contribute to elevated levels of lead in the blood. Children and babies are more susceptible to lead toxicity due to their smaller body size, metabolism, and rapid growth. At low levels, children may not have obvious symptoms but can still experience trouble learning, low IQ, and behavior changes. At higher levels of lead exposure, people may experience fatigue, headache, stomach pain, vomiting, or neurologic changes.
The Chef Brand Milk Pan 24 cm product was distributed in NY, NJ, CT, MD, VA and MA areas.
The product is sold as 6Pcs/Box which are sold individually at retail.
If you have purchased Chef Brand Milk Pan 24cm, you are requested to stop using the product and return it to the retail store from where you have bought it for a full refund.
For questions and concerns please contact (718) 369-7000 ask for Mahboob Rahman.
November 20, 2025 from the CPSC:
Name of Product: Defective portable electric car kettles, distributed by BLONGKY
Hazard: The car kettles can unexpectedly spew steam or hot water when opened by a consumer and can also burn consumers when the lid mechanism fails and the top unexpectedly opens.
Consumer Action: CPSC urges consumers to immediately dispose of the defective car kettles following local hazardous waste disposal procedures. Do not sell or give away these hazardous car kettles.
November 19, 2025 from Yeshiva World:
"On Friday, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order that includes, among other items, an exemption to the reciprocal tariffs on “bread…used for religious purposes” (e.g., Matzah) and on the Arba Minim – the plant species used by Jews during the holiday of Sukkos.
"As the overwhelming majority of these products come from Israel and other foreign countries, tariffs would have threatened access and increased costs of religious observance. This accommodation builds upon the precedent of other exemptions to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule for certain religious items and is consistent with the Trump administration’s focus on protecting religious freedom.
"'“Thank you to the Trump administration for once again accommodating religious practices by exempting the Arba Minim and Matzah from reciprocal tariffs and making it easier for Jewish families to celebrate their holidays,” said Rabbi A.D. Motzen, Agudath Israel’s national director of government affairs. “We appreciate that the White House took the matter seriously when we and others brought up these issues and worked with the relevant agencies to find a solution.'"
November 19, 2025 from Nutraceuticals World:
"Per an executive order issued on Nov. 14, several botanical ingredients and products have been placed in Tariff Annex II, exempting them from reciprocal tariffs issued by the Trump Administration earlier this year.
"Many tea and spice commodities previously in Annex III have moved to Annex II, making them fully exempt from the reciprocal tariff regime, including coffee and tea extracts.
Other commodities include saffron, turmeric, cocoa, several mushrooms, ginger, cinnamon, and turmeric. The full list of commodities that were exempted on Nov. 14 can be found here.
Ed. note: the list includes:
November 14, 2025 from Cleveland Jewish News:
"Kosher dining options are growing at Miami University in Oxford.
"New this fall is a kosher bagel kiosk, offering Marx Bagels, salads and other certified kosher grab-and-go items available for purchase through students’ dining plans, according to a news release.
"Marx Bagels, based in the Cincinnati suburb of Blue Ash, is certified kosher in Cincinnati by Cincinnati Kosher and in Columbus by Buckeye Kosher.
"The counter was added through the efforts of Chabad at Miami University, led by Rabbi Yossi and Mushka Greenberg. In collaboration with dining services, Chabad at Miami University helped to introduce many kosher products that can now be found in the fridge and freezer of the on-campus Market Street at MacCracken, the release said. From glatt kosher franks and cold cuts, to cholov Yisroel cream cheese, yogurts and more, the new offerings “significantly expanded” the availability of kosher food for Jewish students studying at Miami University."
November 14, 2025 from pbs:
"Months after being forced out as president of the University of Virginia, Jim Ryan is still pondering Passover food.
"More specifically, Ryan, who was pushed out of the role over the summer amid mounting GOP pressure on the public university, cited the topic as an example of why he was confused about the “DEI ban” imposed earlier this year by the public school’s board. The ban had been drafted by the office of the state’s Republican governor.
"'It’s not clear even today what it means to kill DEI,' Ryan wrote in a letter Friday to the UVA faculty senate telling his side of the story.
"He went on: 'For example, did it mean that we could no longer try to recruit qualified first-generation students from rural parts of Virginia, or offer financial aid, or even serve matzah in the dining halls during Passover, because each of those efforts would be advancing diversity, equity, and/or inclusion?'
"As for matzah in the dining hall, no school has yet been criticized as excessively inclusive for offering kosher food. In fact, several universities facing allegations of antisemitism tied to their handling of anti-Israel protests have expanded their kosher dining-hall offerings as part of their overtures to Jewish students."
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