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.
June 12, 2022: from the Algemeiner:
"Norway’s foreign minister has defended her country’s announcement on Friday that goods imported from the West Bank, the Golan Heights and eastern Jerusalem must be labeled accordingly, sparking the ire of the Israeli government.
"The government explained that the decision was taken in accordance with a European Court of Justice ruling in 2019 requiring products from these territories to be labeled as originating from an “Israeli settlement.' According to its guidelines, “foodstuffs originating in areas occupied by Israel must be marked with the area from which the product comes, and that it comes from an Israeli settlement if that is the case, especially wine, olive oil, fruit, vegetables and potatoes.'
"While Norway is not a member of the EU, it is a participant in the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), which promotes economic integration with the bloc. Defending the labeling decision, Huitfeldt cited Denmark, Finland and Sweden as three EU member states which had introduced similar policies regarding the labeling of Israeli exports."
June 15, 2022: from the Algemeiner:
"An Israeli-based company hopes to fill the void as the baby formula shortage in the United States continues with parents continuing to find store shelves bare, particularly for those seeking specialty formulas.
"Three weeks ago, the US Food and Drug Administration issued emergency guidance enabling the import of infant formulas produced abroad. Tel Aviv-based MyOr — an Israeli health-tech company — is among companies seeking FDA approval as its Mexican subsidiary, AlphaCare, produces and markets MyOr formulas from a plant in north central Mexico.
"Among the formula products AlphaCare makes are specialty ones in very short supply."
Time-Cap Labs Recalls Kroger Brand Aspirin and Ibuprofen Due to Failure to Meet Child Resistant Packaging Requirement; Risk of Poisoning
Recalled products: Kroger Aspirin, 300 count bottles and Ibuprofen, 160 count bottles
Consumer Contact: Kroger at 800-576-4377 (800-KRO-GERS) from 7 a.m. to 12 a.m. (midnight) ET Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. ET Saturday and Sunday, online at www.kroger.com/i/recall-alerts, or www.kroger.com and click on “Recall Alerts” at the bottom of the page, or www.timecaplabs.com and click on “SAFETY RECALL” at the top of the page for more information.
June 16, 2022 from CPSC
Recalled product: Walgreens Pain Reliever Acetaminophen, 150 count bottles
Consumer Contact: Aurohealth toll-free at 888-504-2014 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT, Monday through Friday, online at www.walgreens.com/topic/information/recall.jsp, www.walgreens.com and click on “product recalls” at the bottom of the page, or www.aurohealth.com and click on “RECALL” at the top of the page for more information.
June 16, 2022 from CPSC
Recalled product: Kroger Arthritis Pain Acetaminophen, 225 count bottles
Consumer Contact: Kroger at 800-576-4377 (800-KRO-GERS) from 7 a.m. to 12 a.m. (midnight) ET Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. ET Saturday and Sunday, online at www.kroger.com/i/recall-alerts, www.kroger.com and click on “Recall Alerts” at the bottom of the page, or www.aurohealth.com and click on “RECALL” at the top of the page for more information.
June 16, 2022 from CPSC
Recalled product: Acetaminophen, 650 mg extended-release caplets, 100 count bottle Location of batch number on bottle label of recalled product
Consumer Contact: Kroger at 800-576-4377 (800-KRO-GERS) from 7 a.m. to 12 a.m. (midnight) ET Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. ET Saturday and Sunday, online at www.kroger.com/i/recall-alerts, www.kroger.com and click on “Recall Alerts” on the bottom of the page, or www.sunpharma.com/usa and click on “Recall Alerts” at the top of the page for more information.
June 18, 2022 - from Times of Israel
"Belgian promoters of a ban on kosher and halal slaughter of animals saw their bill defeated in Brussels, the seat of the European Union and the only region of Belgium where the practice is still legal.
"The vote Friday in the parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region — one of three states that comprise the federal kingdom of Belgium — was on whether to scrap a bill proposing a ban. The bill, submitted by liberal and environmentally-centered parties, had been voted down in a committee that kicked it back to parliament.
"Out of the 89 lawmakers in the region’s parliament, 42 voted in favor of scrapping, 38 voted against scrapping, eight abstained and one was not present, preserving for now the legality of kosher and halal slaughter in Brussels, the news site 7sur7 reported.
"Had a majority of lawmakers voted against scrapping the bill, it would have come up to a vote in parliament, where lawmakers from diverse ideological backgrounds agree that any slaughter of an animal without prior stunning should be outlawed.
"A majority of lawmakers in the parliaments of Belgium’s other states — the French-speaking Walloon Region and the Dutch-speaking Flemish Region — voted in favor of banning the practice in 2017 and 2019, respectively. A ban in Brussels would have had Belgium join a handful European Union states where halal and kosher slaughter of animals are totally illegal.
"Multiple parties with a perceived bias against Islam, and at times also Judaism, support banning kosher and halal slaughter because they see the practices as signs of an unwanted foreign presence. Those parties also tend to support banning the non-medical circumcision of boys, which both Muslims and Jews are commanded to perform.
"Additionally, left-leaning parties with secularist and humanistic agendas oppose both ritual slaughter of animals and the circumcision of boys as unethical and unnecessary."
June 9, 2022 - from CPSC in conjunction with Healthy Canadians:
Hisense French Door Refrigerators with Ice Maker have been recalled because the refrigerator’s door hinge can break causing the door to detach when the consumer tries to open the French doors, posing an impact injury hazard to the consumer.
Consumer Contact: Hisense online at www.hisense-usa.com/product-safety-recall/french-door-refrigerator-2020, toll-free at 888-497-1189 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET Saturday and Sunday, email at recall.usa@hisense.com or online at https://www.hisense-usa.com and click on Recall Information at the bottom.
Description: This recall involves Hisense USA’s 26.6 cubic foot capacity stainless steel French door refrigerators with ice maker with model number HRF266N6CSE and with serial numbers C2020050100001 through C2020123109000. The brand name, model, and serial number for each unit are printed on a label located on the left side of the interior of the refrigerator, above the water dispenser. With the serial number, consumers can check to determine whether their refrigerator is included in this recall by clicking http://hisenseservice.com/recall. The refrigerators are 36 inches wide and 74 inches high.
Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the refrigerator if the recalled refrigerator’s doors fail to open or close normally until they are repaired. Consumers should contact Hisense USA to determine if their unit is part of the recall and to schedule a free in-home service appointment to have the refrigerator door hinges replaced.
Sold Exclusively At: Lowe’s stores nationwide and online at Lowes.com from August 2020 through February 2022 for about $1,500.
June 2, 2022 - from CPSC in conjunction with Healthy Canadians:
Frigidaire and Electrolux Side-by-Side, Top Freezer and Multi-door refrigerators have been recalled because the ice level detector arm in the ice maker can break into pieces and fall into the ice bucket, posing a choking hazard.
Consumer Contact: Electrolux toll-free at 833-840-5926 from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, by email at IceMakerRecall@electrolux.com or online at www.icemakerrecall.com or at www.electrolux.com or www.frigidaire.com and click on “Recalls” at the bottom of the page for more information.
This recall involves 13 models of Frigidaire refrigerators and one Electrolux model refrigerator. The refrigerators all feature an ice maker and come in stainless steel, white and black. The brand name, model and serial number for each unit is printed on a label located on the right panel in the interior of the refrigerator compartment. The refrigerators range from 23 to 36 inches wide.
The following model numbers and their serial number ranges are included in this recall.
|
Brand |
Model Number/ |
UPC Code |
Serial Range |
|
Frigidaire Prof. |
PRMC2285AF |
0-12505-64714-7 |
1K90974428 – 1K21374177 |
|
Electrolux |
French Door ERMC2295AS |
0-12505-64715-4 |
1K91272383 - 1K21374610 |
|
Frigidaire |
Side by Side FRSS2323AB |
0-12505-64786-4 |
4A11005907 - 4A21110079 |
|
Frigidaire |
Side by Side FRSS2323AW |
0-12505-64787-1 |
4A11010081 - 4A21112264 |
|
Frigidaire |
Side by Side FRSS2323AD |
0-12505-64788-8 |
4A11314335 - 4A21112489 |
|
Frigidaire |
Side by Side FRSS2323AS |
0-12505-64785-7 |
4A11005673 - 4A21201870 |
|
Frigidaire |
Side by Side FRSS2333AS |
0-12505-64789-5 |
4A11317863 - 4A21112732 |
|
Frigidaire |
Side by Side FRSS2623AB |
0-12505-64772-7 |
4A12104890 - 4A21204442 |
|
Frigidaire |
Side by Side FRSS2623AW |
0-12505-64773-4 |
4A12012169 - 4A12012280 |
|
Frigidaire |
Side by Side FRSS2623AD |
0-12505-64774-1 |
4A12219737 - 4A20906066 |
|
Frigidaire |
Side by Side FRSS2623AS |
0-12505-64771-0 |
4A04409324 - 4A21200876 |
|
Frigidaire |
Side by Side FRSS2633AS |
0-12505-64876-2 |
4A12012169 - 4A13402496 |
|
Frigidaire |
Side by Side FRSS26L3AF |
0-12505-64792-5 |
4A11203977 - 4A21116296 |
|
Frigidaire |
Top Freezer FFHI1835VS |
0-12505-64680-5 |
BA92424713 - BA21210491 |
Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled Frigidaire and Electrolux refrigerator ice makers, empty the ice bucket and contact Electrolux to schedule a technician to replace the ice maker with one that has a polypropylene ice level detector, free of charge.
Sold At: Lowe’s, Home Depot and appliance stores nationwide and online at Frigidaire.com from April 2020 through March 2022 for between $1,200 and $4,300.
June 1, 2022 - from JTA
"General Mills announced Tuesday it would be fully divesting from a business venture in Israel that had operated in an East Jerusalem settlement, in a move pro-Palestinian activists celebrated as the result of their campaign against the food conglomerate.
"The Minnesota-based company has operated a Pillsbury frozen-food factory in the Atarot Industrial Zone since 2002, in a joint venture with Israeli investment group Bodan Holdings. In a statement, the company said it would sell its majority stake in the venture back to Bodan as part of a larger international investment strategy.
"General Mills’ statement did not mention politics and noted that the company had previously moved to sell off its European dough business, as well. Reached for comment, a company spokesperson redirected the Jewish Telegraphic Agency to its statement.
"The company has been a target of pro-Palestinian activists since it was included in a 2020 United Nations database of companies doing business in Israeli settlements.
"American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker-affiliated activist organization that has been pushing the company to end its Israel operations via a campaign called 'No Dough For The Occupation,' took credit for the divestment in a statement."
May 31, 2022 from The Food Dive:
"As companies making meat from cells raise money, create prototypes and improve their technology, they are getting closer to having products to make available.
"And that leaves a question hanging in the air: What can those products be called?
"The USDA — which formally agreed in 2019 to jointly regulate products in the cell-based space with the FDA — put out a formal request for input in September. The department asked a battery of questions about how these products should be described on packaging labels, especially compared to animal derived products. Which terms work best for this type of product? Which terms would be misleading?
"The comment period was open for two months. And in that time, 1,179 comments came in.
"Eighty-seven of them came from companies, trade groups, policy groups and international entities. State agriculture departments, companies involved with cell-based meat, traditional meat producers and an array of groups connected to the food industry commented. A total of 157 individuals left comments anonymously. One U.S. senator made his opinion known.
"And while the comments offered a wide variety of viewpoints on cell-based meat, one sentiment was nearly universally shared: These new products represent something new and different, and they deserve regulators’ attention and specific labeling."
"When reviewing a few of the comments herself, Kulkarni saw a lot of differences of opinions. But she saw one thing that most commenters agreed on: Cell-based meat should be labeled in a way that differentiates it from products that come from slaughtered animals."
Food Dive tracked the comments here on May 31, 2022.
May 23, 2022 - from the Forward
"It’s easy, in theory, to say that courts should stay out of religious matters. But what happens when money and faith collide? How should judges balance the government’s responsibility to regulate commercial conduct against the constitutional separation of church and state?
"For over a century, one of the prime areas where these two core principles have repeatedly come into conflict is kosher certification. Disputes over the business of kashrut have become a regular feature on the dockets of U.S. courts, though most have been dismissed out of concern that adjudicating them could inappropriately make judges the arbiters of religious validity.
"That’s why a Long Island judge recently dismissed a restaurant’s lawsuit claiming that it had been disparaged by a local kosher certification company, a decision that once again tested the legal system’s ability to balance two competing needs. On the one hand, the courts must protect the right of religious leaders to set religious standards for their communities. On the other, they must ensure that the commercial marketplace, even in niche aisles, remains free of malfeasance and monopoly.
"The decision by the Nassau County Supreme Court came in a civil case filed last year by Chimichurri, a kosher Portuguese barbecue restaurant in Cedarhurst, against the Vaad Hakashrus of the Five Towns and Far Rockaway, the main kosher-certification company serving the Orthodox communities in those areas.
"According to the complaint, Chimichurri ended its five-year relationship with the Vaad in July of 2020, choosing instead to use Mehadrin, a different kosher certification company. The restaurant claims the Vaad retaliated by circulating a letter falsely claiming that it was no longer kosher, which Chimichurri said led to $150,000 in lost revenue over a year. The court dismissed the complaint, saying that the First Amendment prohibited the court from getting involved in this type of religious dispute.
"Chimichurri’s claim, legally, hinged on the word “falsely,” which raises the spector of what, exactly, is kosher — a red flag for the court.
"The restaurant said the statements in the Vaad’s letter were false and untrue, and intended “to increase the Vaad’s monopoly power” by casting doubt on Mehadrin’s credentials as an arbiter of kashrut.
"The Vaad, in turn, said it was simply trying to maintain the integrity of local kosher standards, not denigrate the restaurant.
"The letter is not explicit about the Vaad’s grounds for its skepticism, but implies that Mehadrin is willing to apply religiously inadequate kosher standards in pursuit of profit.
"Whose description of the facts is correct? The pursuit of that question could run afoul of what is often termed the “religious question doctrine,” which prohibits judges from resolving issues of religious practice.
"There are many different — and, sometimes, competing — justifications for this doctrine. But maybe the most intuitive version is that when a court picks one religious view over another, it is using the coercive power of the state to determine which version of a faith is the true faith. And that is tantamount to establishing religion, in contravention of the First Amendment.
"This is why most courts have, for the past 70 years, consistently refused to resolve kosher cases. Consider the 2012 lawsuit accusing Hebrew National of falsely advertising its meats as kosher. Multiple courts dismissed the case, with a Minnesota judge concluding that 'It would be unholy, indeed, for this or any other court to substitute its judgment on this purely religious question.'"
May 19, 2022 - from World Israel News
"British Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged Monday to help the Northern Ireland Jewish community overcome problems regarding delivery of kosher meat caused by post-Brexit bureaucracy.
"During a visit to Belfast’s one and only synagogue, Johnson called the level of red tape “insane” and said he was “heartily sickened” by the situation that was leaving families short of a basic need.
"When Great Britain broke away from the EU two years ago, its territory on the northern tip of Ireland stayed in the European Single Market in relation to goods, and the subsequent problems related to border controls has been an ongoing issue between the two sides.
"The Belfast Jewish Community Synagogue imports chicken and meat in bulk several times a year from Manchester, as the 500-strong Jewish population cannot support a local kosher slaughterhouse. Considering the community’s size, the amount it requires is not large, but small suppliers have even more difficulty than larger ones in cutting through the bureaucracy.
"The community’s leaders have complained several times about the difficulty receiving goods from across the Irish Sea. Community chairman Michael Black told the Jewish News in February that it has been 'very embarrassing having to push this issue' with government officials but they will continue to “rattle cages” if necessary.
"Last year, Rev. David Kale, rabbi of the Belfast synagogue, asked that an exemption be made on the import controls based on religious grounds.
"The post-Brexit trade problems between Northern Ireland and Great Britain in general were a large part of the reason Johnson visited Belfast. The Catholic, nationalist Sinn Fein party won the elections earlier this month, but according to the 1998 Good Friday Agreement that brought peace to the region, it must share power with the Protestant, pro-U.K. Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). The DUP is currently balking due to all the customs difficulties the Northern Irish Protocol of the Brexit deal is causing to the free movement of goods.
"Johnson, who would like to renegotiate the Protocol even though the EU is refusing, has threatened to act unilaterally on the issue. He has been urging the parties to form a government despite their disagreements."
| The information posted is from secondary sources. We cannot take responsibility for the accuracy of the information. |
| Comments to webmaster@kashrut.com
© Copyright 2024 Scharf Associates |
|
|||||||||||