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.
November 7, 2025 from The Shelby Report:
"Village Super Market has debuted a expanded Kosher Market at the ShopRite in Livingston, New Jersey, on Nov. 6 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony featuring members of the Sumas family ownership, store management and Rabbi Teichman from the Vaad of MetroWest.
"The store boasts one of the most comprehensive kosher destinations in the area, with product variety increased by more than 50 percent.
"The redesigned space brings together Kosher deli, prepared foods, meat, grocery, dairy, frozen and seafood into one location, making it easier than ever for customers to find everything they need.
"Highlights of the expanded ShopRite in Livingston include:
November 11, 2025 from Shemesh:
"Israeli food-tech startup Remilk has partnered with Gad Dairies to launch a new line of non-dairy milk products, The beverages are created using proteins that are identical to the ones found in real milk, but grown in a lab.
"These products will be available to restaurants and coffee shops within the next few weeks, and are expected to be available in grocery stores in January. So far, there are three varieties, all meant to be used with coffee and tea, as they have less protein than real milk and no casein. (Remilk's founder, Aviv Wolff, has stated that future non-dairy milk products can be formulated with identical protein content to real milk, but that this was not necessary for products meant to be added to beverages.) The three varieties are Barista, meant for making foamed milk, a basic version for coffee and tea, and a vanilla flavored variety that is fortified with vitamin E, magnesium, and folic acid, in addition to the vitamin D that is included in all three.
"Gad Dairies has stated that these products are kosher pareve, but it is unclear which kosher certification they will carry. They also have significantly less sugar than cow's milk. For the 66% of Israelis that keep kosher, and perhaps for diabetic Israelis as well, these products will add more dietary options to grocery shelves."
November 5, 2025 from JTA:
"Just off East Prairie Road in this suburb of Chicago is a sign that says, 'Welcome to Hersh’s Fridge.' At the bottom is a line in Aramaic, quoting the Passover Haggadah: 'Let all who are hungry come and eat.'
"It may not look like much, but the sign points to a pioneering project: an outdoor kosher community fridge that offers free, fresh foods and prepared meals that anyone can take anonymously. The food, provided by volunteers and local kosher restaurants, is available at any time of day or night.
"The effort is aimed at providing food support for strapped kosher-observant households in the heavily Jewish neighborhood northwest of Chicago. In the week since it opened, the fridge has been heavily used, said Rabbi Hody Nemes of Skokie Valley Agudath Jacob Synagogue. As one of the organizers, he had already received several letters of gratitude from people who have visited.
"While the initiative has been in the planning stage for a year, it has opened at a time of particular need. Tens of millions of Americans who depend on SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, to feed their households, are expected to lose SNAP benefits during the government shutdown, leading to long lines at food banks across the United States. At the same time, disruptive immigration enforcement raids by federal agents in Chicago — including, last weekend, in Skokie and adjacent Evanston — are putting additional pressure on needy families.
"The project is named in honor of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, the Israeli-American kidnapped from the Nova music festival in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 and subsequently murdered by Hamas. Hersh’s parents, Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin, are originally from the Chicago area and met while attending Ida Crown.
"The initiative is led by Solu, a local Orthodox Jewish organization that regularly partners with non-Jewish groups to address social issues. Solu, which has been working on food insecurity since the COVID pandemic, came up with the idea of a kosher fridge last year in response to spiking kosher food prices. After Hersh was murdered, they decided to name the initiative in his honor.
"The initiative is led by Solu, a local Orthodox Jewish organization that regularly partners with non-Jewish groups to address social issues. Solu, which has been working on food insecurity since the COVID pandemic, came up with the idea of a kosher fridge last year in response to spiking kosher food prices. After Hersh was murdered, they decided to name the initiative in his honor."
October 27, 2025 from CBS:
"For evidence that the cost of food in the U.S. remains hard to stomach for many households, look no further than the price of bananas, beef and coffee.
"Banana prices were up 6.9% in September from a year ago, ground beef has risen 12.9% and roasted coffee has jumped an eye-watering 18.9%, according to the most recent Consumer Price Index data for September. And now for the bad news.
"'"One of the questions that I'm asked a lot is, when are prices coming down? And my answer is simple: never,' Phil Lempert, food industry analyst and editor of SupermarketGuru, told CBS News. 'The best that we can hope for is stabilization.'
"So what's behind the surging price of such foods? There are a mix of factors, ranging from the impact of climate change on crop harvests and U.S. tariffs on imports to the simple laws of economics.
November 1, 2025 from JTA:
"Earlier this month, Josh Katz noticed a dip in sales at his kosher restaurant, Ben Yehuda Pizza in Silver Spring, Maryland.
"He knew the culprit, and it wasn’t antisemitism or an anti-Israel boycott. The federal government’s shutdown had left hundreds of thousands of federal employees across the country furloughed, and his regular customers were tightening their belts.
"n Silver Spring alone, the headquarters of the Food and Drug Administration draws over 10,000 federal employees. In the greater Washington, D.C. area, roughly 280,000 workers are employed by the federal government. With all of those workers going multiple weeks without paychecks, Katz said he’d heard from members of his community who were feeling the financial strain.
"So last week, he posted an offer on Facebook: “Order now, and pay us down the road when the paychecks come in.” Soon, the first requests started rolling in.
"The post did not take a stance on the shutdown, which has hinged on a stalemate between Democratic and Republican senators over competing spending bills and does not appear to be near resolution."
May 16, 2025 from Israel National News:
"Conclusions Both sugar and artificially sweetened beverages were linked to an increased risk of T2DM. The findings highlight the need for public health measures to control the intake of sweetened beverages."
October 29, 2025 from Israel National News:
"Ben Cohen, co-founder of the iconic ice cream brand Ben & Jerry’s, says that parent company Unilever prevented the company from launching a new flavour intended to show solidarity with Palestine, BBC reports.
"Cohen announced that he will move forward independently with the project, creating the flavour as part of a personal series highlighting social causes that he claims Ben & Jerry’s has been barred from addressing publicly.
"Ben & Jerry’s, long recognized for its outspoken stance on political, environmental, and humanitarian issues - including the Israel-Gaza conflict - has often found itself at odds with Unilever, which purchased the brand in 2000.
"According to Cohen, both Unilever and its soon-to-be-separated ice cream division, Magnum, have “unlawfully blocked” Ben & Jerry’s from fulfilling its social mission.
"In a video posted on Instagram on Tuesday, Cohen revealed that he is developing a watermelon-flavoured sorbet and invited suggestions for the product’s name and ingredients. The watermelon has become a symbol of solidarity with Palestinians because its red, green, black, and white colours mirror those of the Palestinian flag.
"The new flavour will be part of Cohen’s activist brand, Ben’s Best, which operates separately from Ben & Jerry’s. In a press statement, Cohen said the flavour will be produced independently and will represent issues the original company was prevented from addressing.
"The rift between the co-founders and Unilever has widened in recent months. In September, Jerry Greenfield, the company’s other co-founder, stepped down, saying that Ben & Jerry’s independence had been compromised by Unilever’s efforts to limit its activism."
October 29, 2025 from Food Ingredients 1st:
"Research concludes that insect farming’s impact on the food system’s sustainability is far less positive than initially promised
October 27, 2025 from J-Feed.com:
"Florida catering company exposed for falsely claiming ORB kosher certification and serving non-kosher food at Jewish events. Kashrut authority plans legal action against fraudulent caterer.
"A major kashrut controversy has erupted in the South Florida area after a large event, marketed and presented as serving kosher food, was allegedly discovered to have served entirely non-kosher items. The incident has prompted a swift and stern warning from a leading kashrut authority regarding the verification of kosher status at public functions.
"The controversy centers on an event organized by a planner who contracted HaShuk Catering, a Moroccan-style cuisine company. The company’s chef and owner, Rachid Zitani (who is non-Jewish), allegedly advertised his business, including its website, as being fully kosher and under the supervision of the Florida-based ORB kashrut authority.
"During the event, which was attended by numerous Jewish participants, Zitani reportedly assured guests that the food carried the ORB certification. However, alarm bells were raised when observant attendees inquired about the supervising mashgiach (kosher supervisor). The chef allegedly responded that the mashgiach had "just stepped away for a short while."
"Following the shocking discovery that the food was not kosher, the incident has highlighted the severe risks of relying solely on verbal assurances."
October 16, 2025 from Israel National News:
"MK Tzvi Succot (Religious Zionism), chairman of the Knesset Subcommittee on Judea and Samaria Affairs, sent an unusual letter this week to the Chief Rabbis and members of the Chief Rabbinate Council, warning of a serious loophole in the kashrut (kosher supervision) system.
"According to Succot, importers purchase meat in Palestinian Authority territories, obtain a kashrut certificate from the Chief Rabbinate to pass customs - and then sell some of the meat back to Jews.
"Last Thursday, the Chief Rabbinate’s Kashrut Committee held a special meeting on the topic of kosher meat imports to the Palestinian Authority.
"Succot explained that he has dealt several times with the issue of meat smuggling into the State of Israel's territory, under the label “goods transferred to the Palestinian Authority.” He noted that according to the State Comptroller’s report, 57% of meat destined for the PA from abroad never actually entered PA territory - and was instead sold within the sovereign territory of the State of Israel.
"Succot emphasized to the rabbis: 'According to the law, once a kosher certificate is issued for the imported meat, the importer can legally sell it as ‘kosher’ within the State of Israel’s borders without violating the "Kosher Fraud Prohibition Law."'
"He added, 'Since the matter under discussion was brought to my attention, I felt it appropriate to share with the esteemed rabbis the serious concern that issuing kashrut certificates for meat supposedly intended for the Palestinian Authority could, God forbid, worsen the problem of meat being smuggled and marketed as kosher - thereby creating a de facto bypass of the Chief Rabbinate’s oversight of meat entering Israel.'"
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