BEHIND THE & OVER 6,000 PLANTS WORLDWIDE S P R I N G // A PUBLICATION FOR OU CERTIFIED COMPANIES

Transcription

1 BEHIND THE & OVER 6,000 PLANTS WORLDWIDE S P R I N G // A PUBLICATION FOR OU CERTIFIED COMPANIES

2 BEHIND THE UNION K A S H R U T D I V I S I O N Rabbi Menachem Genack RABBINIC ADMINISTRATOR / CEO Rabbi Moshe Elefant EXECUTIVE RABBINIC COORDINATOR / COO DIRECTOR, NEW COMPANY DEPARTMENT Rabbi Yaakov Luban EXECUTIVE RABBINIC COORDINATOR Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu Safran SENIOR RABBINIC COORDINATOR VICE PRESIDENT, COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING Rabbi Nachum Rabinowitz SENIOR RABBINIC COORDINATOR Rabbi Moshe Zywica SENIOR RABBINIC COORDINATOR Rabbi Yerachmiel Morrison INGREDIENT APPROVAL REGISTRY Rabbi Abraham Juravel INGREDIENT APPROVAL REGISTRY Rabbi Howard Katzenstein DIRECTOR, BUSINESS MANAGEMENT Dr. Simcha Katz CHAIRMAN, JOINT KASHRUT COMMISSION Rabbi Kenneth Auman CHAIRMAN, RABBINIC KASHRUT COMMISSION Rabbi Emanuel Holzer CHAIRMAN EMERITUS O R T H O D O X U N I O N Stephen J. Savitsky PRESIDENT Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT David Olivestone NATIONAL DIRECTOR, PLANNING AND COMMUNICATIONS B E H I N D T H E U N I O N S Y M B O L Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu Safran EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Stephen Steiner EDITOR Yocheved Lefkovits ART DIRECTOR WE WELCOME YOUR COMMENTS & CONTRIBUTIONS FAX // SAFRANE@OU.ORG EDITOR S LETTER A Jam-Packed Issue The Hebrew language name for the holiday of Passover Pesach conveys conversation, with Pe meaning mouth and sach connoting speaking or conversing. The matzah referred to as lechem oni, poor man s bread, is seen not simply as a food consumed when hastily leaving Egypt, but as a medium for discussion and elaboration on countless Passover themes. The Bible instructs that we verbally communicate to our children on Passover night and tell them about the most consequential event in the annals of Jewish history. An actual and active dialogue must be at the core of the Passover experience, with the children as the focus of that life experience. The Haggadah text was specifically created as the vehicle through which all can be told and explained. There is no genuine Passover experience without adequate and meaningful conversation, discussion, analysis and talking. On Passover night silence is not a virtue; as a matter of fact, the more prolonged the discussion and conversation is on this night, the greater the reward. In short, on Passover, we talk it up. We therefore devote two major articles in this Behind the Union Symbol issue to communicate yet again the enormity of the Passover season marketplace and its prominence in the ever-growing kosher marketplace. For the kosher food industry, there simply is no season like Passover. Data consistently shows that Passover represents 40 percent of annual sales of the nearly $10 billion kosher market in the United States. The presentations by Bayla Sheva Brenner and Menachem Lubinsky communicate the Passover message with clarity and many current trends. Amid the explosive growth of the U.S kosher food industry, the recent survey conducted by WAC Survey and Strategic Consulting has found the OU symbol of the Orthodox Union to be consumer s preferred kosher certification. OU was the best known and most widely recognized kosher certification symbol by a wide margin among Jewish and non-jewish respondents. OU is the symbol most often on food purchased by respondents by a 3-to-1 margin. All of us at the Orthodox Union are truly gratified by these reassuring results, which strongly reaffirm the OU s leadership role in all categories of the kosher certification arena. Since the news of the survey has been released, several major OU certified companies have asked to discuss expansion of their OU certification for divisions not yet certified, while others have requested that the results be forwarded to suppliers whom they are eager to see become OU certified. A > > C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E // BEHIND THE UNION SYMBOL

3 ON THE BEAM: In Largest Liquor Kosher Certification in U.S., DeKuyper 60-Flavor Line of Cordials and Liqueurs Receives OU Symbol The close relationship between OU Kosher and Cincinnati-based Beam Global Spirits and Wine, which goes back to 1992, became even closer in March, 2007 when Beam s 60- flavor array of DeKuyper cordials and liqueurs, the best-selling line of those products in the United States, was certified OU Kosher. The 60-product certification was the largest liquor kosher certification ever in the United States. In late 2006, the OU announced that it was certifying Beam s Starbucks Coffee Liqueur and Starbucks Cream Liqueur products; it already was providing the famed OU symbol to Leroux Liqueurs. All of these products are crafted at the Beam Global Cincinnati facility. According to the OU, that facility produces the largest number of kosher certified spirits in the country. Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Inc. has had a long standing association with the Orthodox Union declared Plant Manager, Paul Houston. It is an honor to partner with the OU and to work with them on our kosher product lines, DeKuyper, Leroux and Starbucks Liqueurs. We appreciate the OU s expertise and professionalism in working together on the largest liquor OU certification to-date. Christine Mahoney, senior brand director of DeKuyper, shares Mr. Houston s enthusiasm. We are honored to receive OU certification for our portfolio of products. We appreciate the support of the OU in securing this important designation, she declared. Now, even more consumers can enjoy our products and add flavor to their cocktails. These products include our bestselling Pucker Sour Apple, Peachtree Schnapps and our newest flavors Red Apple, Pomegranate, Tropical Mango, Tropical Pineapple Coconut and Tropical Papaya. The feeling at the OU was mutual. We are pleased to recognize the largest liquor OU certification in the United States, stated Rabbi Eliyahu Safran, OU Kosher Senior Rabbinic Coordinator and Vice President of Communications and Marketing, who has worked with Beam Global officials on the DeKuyper project since completing the Starbucks OU certification more than two years ago. It is a testament to the quality and care that goes into crafting DeKuyper that these products will now carry the OU seal. Our ongoing partnership with Beam Global is a great example of how we can work together to make more products available to those who follow a kosher diet. He noted that for more than 80 years the OU has maintained the highest standard of kosher supervision. The OU certification mark indicates that the product may be consumed by all those who observe kosher dietary laws, as well as by many others who > > C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 4 2 SPRING 2008 // 3

4 China Goes Kosher Major Media Position OU as WORLDWIDE LEADER with the RIGHT INGREDIENTS B Y S T A N L. F R I E D M A N A N D I L Y A W E L F E L D It s the largest certification organization in the world, the most widely accepted, the most respected, and the leader in the field. It s perceived to be the standard, and among key consumer groups, the safest, the cleanest, most reliable and trustworthy. It s the symbol, by a wide margin, that is top-of-mind when the consumer thinks kosher certification. Those are among the key findings published as part of the Orthodox Union s (OU) recent Kosher Certification Symbol Study. Armed with quantitative evidence, the OU decided the time had come to augment business development efforts around the world with the launch of a targeted media campaign. The objective? To begin building 4 // BEHIND THE UNION SYMBOL

5 a business and financial media profile for the global leader in the kosher certification industry. The OU s Kashrut Division brought in Welfeld Public Relations (WPR,) a boutique communications and PR firm well-versed in the consumer packaged goods and food industries (including kashrut ) and the complexities of creating and executing the type of strategic media campaign that could amplify the Study s findings. The WPR team, encouraged by the Study s findings, set out to uncover newsworthy elements of the OU story that would support the organization s position as chief builder and market developer in the kosher certification category throughout the world. With more than SPRING 2008 // 5

6 6 // BEHIND THE UNION SYMBOL 500,000 products produced in more than 7,000 plants located in 83 countries around the world and an approximate 70% market share, it was not a difficult case to make. Yet, the media and communications challenge was clear: How does one build interest in the worldwide business media for a story that, upon first glance, appears to impact only a niche group of American consumers, many of whom purchase kosher certified products for dietary or religious reasons. A review of OU business objectives and recent history revealed areas where the organization had been looking to grow its global certification business and in what part of the world the nonprofit organization s worldwide expansion was occurring at the most rapid pace. In both cases, the answer is China. The OU s China and Far East team of Rabbi Mordechai Grunberg and Rabbi Donneal Epstein paved the way for WPR media strategy, writing seminal pieces in the spring 2007 issue of BYUS, describing the country s explosive short and long-term certification growth opportunities for the organization. While major mainstream U.S.-based press was displaying an unrequited news appetite for all things China, the trend story of China Goes Kosher had gone virtually unreported. Yet, for a trend story to make a major news or business page feature, it frequently requires a certain friction or tension around the subject matter at a specific time to provide the tipping point for piquing media interest. Enter the perfect confluence of world events providing the trigger for moving forward with the theme and storyline. The agency conducted an external media audit, researching and documenting a steady stream of recent media coverage around a series of alarming reports criticizing China s export food and consumer product safety and inspection rules and regulations. A September 19 Reuters story (reporting on a Reuters-Zogby poll) indicated that around 78% ofamericans worry about the safety of Chinese imports, and a quarter has stopped buying food from China. Additionally, media coverage commenced on the subject of scrutinizing the food supply for safety obstacles in conjunction with the August 2008 Beijing Olympics. The team then applied the well-known strict standards of food supervision, the second set of eyes associated with kosher certified products, to the media approach equation. On September 1, 2007, for example, the Chinese government, through its watchdog agency that certifies quality assurance, passed a law that makes it mandatory for a CIQ (Certification, Inspection, Quarantine) number to be affixed to each and every product. Before that, there was hardly a way to trace a product to its origin. However, over the last decade, the OU, according to Rabbi Grunberg, has insisted contractually that each CIQ number be imprinted on the product label with every manufacturer with whom it does business next to the U-Within-A-Circle symbol in order to clearly indicate the product point-of-origin. China, now the second largest exporter in the world, had become the fastestgrowing manufacturing supplier to transnational food corporations for food ingre-

7 dients, including botanicals, soy-related products, vitamins, dehydrated fruits and vegetables, additives, oils, enzymes, salt and spices and an increasing amount of finished goods, for example, fish, candy and baked goods. It has been estimated that ingredient exports (to the U.S. and rest of the world) make up a $2.5 billion industry, of which kosher certified products are estimated to comprise or be included in close to half, or $1.25 billion. These numbers solidify China s position as THE fastest growing kosher product producing country in the world. Most importantly, the OU has certified more than 300 of the full-time 500 total certifications within the country through Within the past two years, the OU has more than doubled the numbers of the past ten years, and is on a current pace to double each year moving forward. The OU plans to certify its first mass production kosher certified beef slaughterhouse in the country by the end of 2008, opening an entirely new export marketplace from which to exponentially increase kosher certification opportunities. Before the end of 2008, CHINA, NOW THE SECOND LARGEST EXPORTER IN THE WORLD, HAD BECOME THE FASTEST-GROWING MANUFACTURING SUPPLIER TO TRANSNATIONAL FOOD CORPORATIONS China will become the world s largest exporter, surpassing Germany, pushing the United States to number three. And OU certifications in the country throughout various product categories will grow right along with it. In reinforcing the OU Study s keen observations, these market insights illustrate the organization s reputation as the most influential kosher certification symbol in the world and the undisputed global kosher standard. The PR campaign s preparation and launch introduced the major news and business media to the category-building power of and respect for the OU symbol. The story first broke with the Bloomberg News Service and was picked by major dailies throughout the country and worldwide, including Newsday, Miami Herald and Jerusalem Post. Associated Press, one of the two leading news services in the world, followed with a story distributed nationwide. Among the first to reprint the story was the nations #1 circulation daily - USA Today. The Los Angeles Times, the #4 largest circulation daily in the U.S., in an unprecedented placement for any kosher food industry trend story, published a Page One, Column One story. National Public Radio s Weekend Edition followed as did mentions in numerous online and offline outlets, all positioning the OU as the leader in its category. Within days of the story breaking, media coverage reached more than 4 million people, with more on the way. The story proved to be of great interest to the media; and both the general business and consumer public appear to have a healthy appetite for more. Media outlets including The Financial Times, Washington Post, Business Week, New York Times and CNN all indicate intention to weigh in with coverage in what has become a rolling thunder story. So where on the planet will the OU s Next Big Thing occur? What product categories will provide the next sweet spot for the worldwide leader? We know but we re not saying! Stay tuned. Stan L. Friedman and Ilya Welfeld of Welfeld Public Relations Consulting can be reached at SPRING 2008 // 7

8 COPYRIGHT, 2008, LOS ANGELES TIMES. REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION. s Tuesday, February 5, 2008 designated area China s kosher takeout As exports of religiously certified foods soar, rabbis have their plates full with inspections and explanations. By Ching-Ching Ni Times Staff Writer Ningbo, China It isn t easy being a kosher food inspector in the land of moo shu pork. No matter how hard you try. Once, they got me into a restaurant and they ordered a whole plate of food and put it in front of me, recalls Rabbi Martin Grunberg, who has the unusual task of ensuring that Chinese factories that make food for export comply with ancient Jewish dietary laws. They were putting me to the test because they really don t understand why I can t eat Chinese cuisine. Keeping kosher is a breeze back home in Jerusalem, but it s a daily challenge here in China, where food is practically a religion and people say they ll eat anything with four legs except for the table. It means Grunberg can t travel light on his monthly trips through China: He carries two or three suitcases packed with dry goods, canned meats and vacuum-sealed packets, so he can feed himself breakfast, lunch and dinner. That way, he never has to step into a Chinese restaurant where about the only thing he can order is a fruit plate and can of Coke. Although many here have never heard the word kosher, China is now the world s fastest-growing producer of kosher-certified food, with more than 500 Chinese factories producing the approved products. That number is expected to soar, not because this country that is still officially atheist has embraced Judaism, but because it s good for business. I used to get this puzzled [See Kosher, Page A5] Explaining the concept of kosher in Communist China [Kosher, from Page A1] look, What is kosher? said Grunberg, 54, a field inspector for the New York-based Orthodox Union, which is responsible for certifying more than 300 plants in China. Now a lot of people know it as a marketing tool to increase their market share, especially in the United States. The largest kosher market in the world is the U.S., where a growing number of the consumers are non-jews who see kosher-certified food as generally safer and healthier. That s important in China, which is trying to recover from the recent spate of taintedfood scandals. Eager to regain consumer trust, the Made in China label has found an unexpected ally in the onceobscure kosher symbol. People have been looking for some other measure of security for products coming out of China, said Rabbi Shimon Freundlich, one of a handful of Beijing-based independent kosher field inspectors. They want to see quality control, and kosher is a standard people know. As China in recent years has become a factory for the world, practically anything can be made here at a bargain. The unlikely kosher business flourished simply because of supply and demand: The global appetite for kosher products exploded and China is happy to feed the frenzy. But even after the Chinese learned basic kosher rules no pork, no shellfish, no fish without fins or scales misunderstandings remain. As the calls poured in from Chinese companies looking for kosher approval, Freundlich recalls explaining why he couldn t certify a toy maker that produced plastic food. They sent me samples of fake apples, fake vegetables, Freundlich said. They were right about the food aspect. They didn t know we don t do wooden toys or plastic toys. Then there was the guy who makes dining room tables. Since food goes on the table he thought we needed a kosher table, Freundlich said. Of course, every table is kosher. It s even hard for many Chinese to grasp the meaning of rabbi. Sometimes they call me rabbit, Grunberg said. I start hopping. They don t get it. I let it pass. It doesn t pay to explain. In the frigid Chinese winter, Grunberg, a grandfather of five, keeps his white beard relatively short and covers his head with a wool hat. He keeps his yarmulke in his pocket and puts it on only when the room is warm enough. The Israeli resident has long given up on wearing his wide-brimmed black hat when traveling across China. They get squashed, he said, during the extended transits by plane, bus and train. It s harder for Freundlich, 34, to blend in. His black beard is much longer and bushier, and some Chinese he meets can t resist tugging at it with their fingers. They used to call me Santa Claus, said Freundlich, who moved to Beijing with his family in 2001 to start a Jewish community center. Then came the Sept. 11 attacks. They started calling me Bin Laden, which is unfortunate. But they don t mean any harm by it, he said. For the most part, rabbis are treated with respect, even if the Chinese know very little about the Jewish people and their religion. In China, we have very little contact with the Jewish people, said Lucy Qian, the general manager at Ningbo Gooddays Food, a factory that makes mostly novelty candies here in one of China s manufacturing hubs. We are doing this purely because of market demand. Since the factory went kosher a few years ago, sales have soared 40%, she said. Her primary customers are Israelis and Americans who want such things as kosher lipstickshaped Barbie candy, some of which ends up on the shelves of places like Wal-Mart. The tainted-food scandals, she said, had no impact on her business last year. In fact, sales grew. I m sure the kosher certification helped, Qian said. For now, finished products such as candy, fish and some dehydrated vegetables are a small component of the Chinese-made kosher market. The bulk of the business is in raw materials and food additives, but that is likely to change very soon, according to the Ortho- 8 // BEHIND THE UNION SYMBOL

9 dox Union, which expects huge growth in the demand for kosher snacks, soft drinks and even beef. Jewish dietary rules originate in the Hebrew Bible, particularly the Book of Leviticus. But rabbis working in China try to sidestep serious discussions on religion to avoid political minefields in a country where anything other than state-sanctioned church activities are strictly forbidden. Once, Grunberg said, an official asked him during a public function to explain what religious law kosher is based on. Caught off guard, the rabbi quickly emphasized the common ground between the Chinese and Jewish people, who share long histories of pride and persecution. I didn t bring religion or God into the equation, Grunberg said. That s just fine to pragmatic Communist Party officials, who see little contradiction in describing their brand of unbridled capitalism as socialism with Chinese characteristics. Tolerating unfamiliar foreign ideas seems a small price to keep the export-driven economy humming. The biggest benefit of going kosher is that it introduces more accountability, said Ray Cheung, a Chinese broker who acts as a bridge between Chinese companies seeking kosher approval and Jewish agencies that certify them. The rabbi inspectors need to know where each ingredient is made and be able to trace it back to the factory that made it. If you don t provide that information, we don t give you the certification. Certification can be laborintensive for the rabbis. During a recent trip to the Gooddays candy factory, which requires four annual inspections, Grunberg checked long lists of raw materials and poked around every warehouse and factory floor, picking up bottles of sweetener and food coloring, asking if there had been any changes in the suppliers and if the buckets on the floor were used to store anything other than kosher products. Sometimes, despite the best of intentions, he has to turn the applicant down. Once, he said, he traveled to far western China to watch Tibetan herders using a primitive method to turn yak milk into casein, a dairy protein used as a food additive. It was like a million Tibetans all privately cooking this on their stoves every home is a little factory, Grunberg said. It would be an impossible type of supervision. Then the Chinese government stepped in to form a company that supplied the Tibetans with cows and a place to milk them by machine. Grunberg went back and certified the liquid milk that will be used for the casein. The rabbi s requirements don t always go over well with productivity-crazed Chinese plant owners. Somebody once called me and asked me to come bless the fish, said Freundlich, referring to a company that processes Alaskan fish for the American market. I told him that s not the way it works. But even Freundlich wasn t prepared for what he faced when he got to the fish plant. Jewish law says fish must have fins and scales to be kosher. But with frozen fish, it is difficult to tell which ones do. So even though the plant had processed thousands of fish, Freundlich says he rolled up his sleeves to check them by hand. He and a partner worked three days straight, scratching each one of the 37,000 fish with their gloved fingers. So many fish in the sea look the same, said Freundlich. If I can t find the scale or the fin, it can t be eaten. Ching-Ching Ni Los Angeles Times INSPECTION: Rabbi Martin Grunberg pays regular visits to a factory that makes kosher-certified candy for export to the U.S. and Israel. Global demand has kosher booming in China. SPRING 2008 // 9

10 e Power Imagination N Inspirational and for Passover B Y B A Y L A S H E V A B R E N N E R No question food has always played an essential role in the celebration of Jewish holidays. But when it comes to Passover, it takes an extra dose of vigilance and knowledge to keep all the season s meticulous kosher laws properly. Those companies involved in the production of kosher-for-passover products have learned that, in order to keep the eight days of highly restrictive eating interesting, they ve had to crank up their creativity. Thanks to modern-day food technology, the past decade of Passover offerings have been plentiful and innovative. I m always excited about new products and we are seeing them now with the smaller players as well, says Yakov Yarmove, Corporate Category Manager Ethnic Marketing and Specialty Foods, SuperValu; banners include Jewel-Osco, Acme, Albertsons, Shaw s and Star Markets, Farm Fresh, Shoppers, Shop n Save, among others. One of the leading trends fueling new product ideas is the kosher public s increasing health consciousness a force so prevalent that it has prompted companies to investigate more nutritious ingredients for their Passover production. People are watching what they eat more carefully now, says Yarmove. It s no longer the attitude of: We ll start the diet the day after the holiday. Apparently it s not only the caloric concern being addressed. Producers are trying to springboard Passover into specific dietary needs, says Yarmove. Gefen has a line of gluten-free pasta for Passover; stores are carrying it throughout the year. Yarmove reports that anything whole wheat sells big and that includes whole wheat matzah. Aviv, Osem, Yarden, Yehuda, Yanovsky (under the Savion label), and Manischewitz are among the Passover-prominent companies that have chosen to include whole wheat in their matzah lineup. This coming season marks Manischewitz s 120th year as 10 // BEHIND THE UNION SYMBOL

11 Healthy Eating one of the oldest and most popular matzah and kosher products manufacturers. One of the keys to the company s enduring success is that it keeps a close watch on consumer interest. We conduct research to determine what new trends are taking place in the marketplace, says Jeremy Hausman, Associate Brand Manager for Manischewitz. Whatever we find the public is currently looking for, whether it s greater convenience or healthier items, we try to tailor products around those concerns. Just last year, the company introduced whole wheat matzah meal, as well as whole wheat matzah farfel; according to Hausman, it plans to continue moving in that direction. With customer convenience in mind, last year the centenarian company came out with a family-size matzah ball mix. Due to the new product s success, customers will also find family-size potato pancake mixes on the store shelves this Passover. Shoppers liked the fact that they could save money by not having to buy several packages of a smaller size mix, he says. It also features a resealable canister. Spelt, a recently unearthed healthful grain, has made its way into numerous Passover products. Shibolim, an Israeli manufacturer, has come out with a line of spelt, chocolate coated and carob coated matzos, to satisfy the consumers nutritional and sweet tooth quotient over the holiday. SPRING 2008 // 11

12 Michael Luftglass, Director of Marketing for Kedem, reports that kosher homemakers are not only moving towards healthier Passover fare, but also gourmet recipes. We will feature a line of chicken and beef gravy this year, he says. We expect them to be extremely popular. To add a gratifying cap to the meals, Kedem also brings a non-dairy coffee creamer to the festive table. My Matzah Box My Canvas Food manufacturers know well that before a product stands a chance at making it into a customer s cart, it has to first attract the eye. Aiming to please the consumer s visual palate this Passover, Osem, an Israeli company, commissioned an Israeli artist to do a complete makeover of their matzah products. Both consumers and distributors complained that our packages looked similar to each other, says Izzet Ozdogan, President of Osem, USA. They said we needed to do something to differentiate them. Each box displays vivid renderings of the events of the Passover story depicted in the traditional Haggadah, including the Burning Bush, the Parting of the Red Sea, and Moses coming down Mount Sinai with the Tablets, It s different from any other matzah package on the market, says Ozdogan. His imaginative idea could not only make a very noticeable but profitable splash. While some matzah products make colorful presentations, others come from colorful locations. One hundred and five years ago, the Yanovsky family of Buenos Aires began producing matzah literally from grain to box. The company switched hands three times and for the past six years, the Szpigiel family, has been importing their carefully harvested Passover products, (under the Savion label) to the U.S. Our purpose is to provide shmura matzah around the world at a reasonable price, says Steffi Romero-Szpigiel, daughter of the current owners. We consider our matzah a spiritual product, reminding us of our redemption, our tradition, and our convictions. The matzah used during the Passover seder must be shmura, which means watched, in order to assure no fermentation takes place from harvesting to baking. The company currently exports to countries throughout the world, including Chile, Venezuela, South Africa, Uruguay, Paraguay and Colombia. On the home front, America s top food manufacturers such as Breakstone (Kraft), Friendship Dairies, Dannon, Crowley (HP Hood), La Yogurt (in conjunction with Johanna Foods, Inc.), Coca-Cola, Starbucks, and more, continue to supply the country s kosher consumers with the products they ve come to rely on throughout the rest of the year, while making sure to meet the OU s impeccable kosher-for- Passover standards. Setting up for special kosher-for- Passover runs of products is no simple matter. According to John Lazowsky, Senior Director of Marketing- Cultured Product, Kraft Foods, it entails planning at least six months in advance for ordering materials and arranging schedules, and changing packaging, as well as specific ingredients. The plants are required to remove any material not designated as kosher for Passover to prevent accidental use. In addition, an OU Rabbinic Field Representative conducts daily inspections of the materials and oversees actual productions. Our aim is to ensure the prod- 12 // BEHIND THE UNION SYMBOL

13 ucts are placed on the shelf two to three weeks prior to the holiday, says Basil Maglaris, Senior Manager of Corporate Affairs, Kraft Foods, as consumers begin their preparations. Evidently, these companies deem it well worth going that extra kosher-for-passover mile every year. It s all about catering to our customer s needs, says Paige Pistone, Director of Marketing for Friendship Dairies. We are a New York-based company with a huge Jewish ethnic following. Friendship offers a wide variety of OU-certified cultured dairy products year round; it s only natural that we continue [this policy] during Passover. Michael Neuwirth, Senior Director of Public Relations at Dannon, the world s topselling brand of yogurt, agrees. The Jewish community is an important part of Dannon s history, he says. There is an obvious need for those who observe kosher-for-passover and want the benefits of yogurt. [Meeting that need] is a continuation of a tradition for us. Supermarkets across the U.S. have jumped on the make-it-kosher-for-passover bandwagon by offering an array of store-brand items for the holiday. Kosher consumers can find an OU-P on the labels of selected beverages from Giant, Pathmark/A&P, Key Food, Stop & Shop, Foodtown, and Shoprite. Pathmark, Foodtown, Stop & Shop, and Price Chopper also offer an array of dairy products. The Benefits of Cross-Merchandizing With much to accomplish in a limited amount of time, Passover shoppers tend to make a beeline to the designated Passover section, replete with hundreds of kosher-for-passover items. Unbeknownst to them, they could be missing out on a coveted addition to their meals. Most people know that Figi or spring water is generally kosher for Passover, says Yarmove, but if you put it in the Passover aisle, you d be amazed how they would sell. He illustrates his point with an eyeopening story. About four years ago, I caught onto the fact that caffeinated coffees in the bags were OU-P all year round. (Decaffeinated coffee undergoes a process involving the use of grain alcohol, forbidden on Passover.) Now, people are big into coffee, so I told the stores to merchandize these products in their Passover set. One day, one of our category managers and I were visiting a new store and there were gaping holes on the Passover shelf. I said: Let s bring over the caffeinated Starbucks from the everyday shelf and make sure it has the OU-P. A customer noticed us with our arms full of Starbucks bags heading down the Passover aisle and asked what we were doing. We explained that the item was kosher for Passover; he promptly whipped out his cell phone to notify his friends. He bought every bag. The crossover potentials are absolutely phenomenal; you have to bring it over so people will see it. Along with the Starbuck s pick-me-up for the holiday mornings, consumers can now enjoy a hearty l chaim with a premium vodka at night. Thanks to the resourceful efforts of the Atlantic Bottle Company of Ocean, NJ, kosher consumers will be able to make a kosher-for-passover toast on some quality liquor this year. The three-year-old company s uniquely flavored Zachlawi Fig Arak sold out quickly last year and this season s offerings include Estate Reserve Arak, Vodka Gimlet, Cranberry Flavored Vodka, and 7-Times Distilled Vodka. Most spirits are grain based, says Mordechai Klairey, owner. We wanted to produce premium spirits that would be kosher for Passover. He substituted with cane spirits, distilling the vodka seven times. The smell of alcohol is gone and the taste is smooth, he says. It is truly a handcrafted vodka. Consumers can look forward to eight days of inspiring eating to accompany their spirtual joy throughout the holiday, as manufacturers of Passover SPRING 2008 // 13

14 Sandwiches: Symbol or Meal? By Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu Safran A YOUNG CONSTRUCTION WORKER lies in bed, the shrill shriek of his alarm still echoing in his room. He groans. He doesn t want to get up to confront the day. He s comfortable under the blankets, with the early morning sun streaming in through the crack in the drapes and landing across his face. Another few minutes that s all. When the alarm s snooze control wakes him from his renewed slumber, he reluctantly pushes aside his blankets and begins his daily routine of shaving, showering, brushing his teeth. Once dressed, he goes into his kitchen, ready to make his lunch. He opens the refrigerator and quickly decides on the various ingredients a roll, lettuce, tomato, turkey, mustard that he will need to make his sandwich. After working hard all morning, his lunch break arrives. He finds a seat on a stack of roof shingles and removes his lunch from its wrapping. He pauses and takes a moment to gaze out into the distance. From his vantage on the roof, he enjoys his expansive view of the town and its surrounding hills and forests. He considers his own labors in helping to build the building upon which he now sits, contemplating the world about him. Then he takes his first bite of his sandwich, and for that moment, all is right in his world. The sandwich, a universally cherished food item, may be plain or elaborate, bland or delicious, but it is too rarely considered more than part of a meal; too rarely appreciated for its symbolic weight as well as its calories. For a sandwich can be so much more than its parts; it can represent freedom and independence. Lunch is seldom more than a brief break from the monotony of a working day and most don t bother to consider anything more than taste before it is gone. One is hardpressed to imagine a ten-year-old earnestly considering his own liberty while enjoying his peanut butter and jelly sandwich on the playground; he is more likely to gobble it down to allow more time to play with his friends. But the fact of the matter remains that the essence of the sandwich, the concept of placing various fillings between two pieces of bread, lies in a practice meant to reinforce a memory of slavery and hardship and, therefore, emphasize a sense of autonomy. It was Hillel who, to honor the gift God presented to the Jewish people in redeeming them from their bondage in Egypt, combined the Pesach offering, matzah, and maror (bitter herbs), at the Temple to remind himself of the blessing of geulah (redemption) without losing sight of the bitterness of galut (exile). For Hillel, it was not enough to eat the Pesach meat and matzah, both of which signify God s miracles in releasing the Jews from slavery, and maror, which serves as a reminder of those difficult times, separately; they must be eaten together so as to make sure that the happy and sad memories are as united as the separate sandwich items. For how could one truly appreciate geulah without 14 // BEHIND THE UNION SYMBOL

15 galut? And how could one possibly survive galut without the promise and hope of geulah? History, however, does not assign Hillel the honor of inventing the sandwich. That honor falls to John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich. History teaches that Montagu popularized the item by requesting roast beef between two slices of bread so that he would be better able to eat while continuing to play cards. And so, in the popular mind, the sandwich was created. A convenience to allow John Montagu to indulge in games and gluttony simultaneously. According to his example, men of the upper class began to order sandwiches while gambling. However, over time, the sandwich became more acceptable and spread to more refined venues among aristocrats in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Then, with the explosion of industry in Western Europe in the 19th Century, as well as the advent of pre-sliced bread, the sandwich s popularity rose significantly as its simplicity and portability made it a staple in middle- and working-class households. Its convenience and accessibility was key to its popularity. Soon, lands and cultures outside of Europe, including the United States, caught the sandwich bug. As bread, long the staff of life but not always so convenient and abundantly available, became a more essential part of the European and American diet, the sandwich became a quick, easy part of a meal oftentimes the entire meal itself, or sometimes nothing more than a snack. While most associated with European and American culture, the sandwich soon became a worldwide phenomenon, taking on many shapes and sizes. Almost every culture embraced its own version of the sandwich, using its own type of bread and filling, SPRING 2008 // 15

16 usually ingredients common within that culture s customs and traditions. For example, in Mexico and Central America where bread takes the soft, flat and pliant form of the tortilla, the sandwich is called the burrito with the tortilla grilled or steamed and wrapped around fillings such as beans, rice, and meat. Or, in Southeast Asia, where flatbreads called roti or chapati accompany most meals. Though they are not normally used to make what we might commonly think of as a sandwich, diners often make use of chapati to get every last bite of food by wrapping them around each morsel of the dish. If that is not a sandwich, what is? Also, a bánh mì is a Vietnamese sandwich made with a Vietnamese baguette and native Vietnamese ingredients like coriander, hot peppers, fish sauce, pickled carrots, meats, and tofu. Falafel, a fried ball or patty made out of chickpeas and spiced fava beans, is often served sandwiched in the pouch of pita bread and has become a principal food in the Middle East. The universiality of sandwiches and their significance to regional cultures and world culture cannot be overstated. McDonald s, following its introduction in 1940, quickly became the most successful restaurant chain in history all thanks to their signature sandwich, the Big Mac! Yes, sandwiches are universal and universally enjoyed. But they are not often more than the sum of their parts. The Torah teaches that man does not live by bread alone. It is with the wisdom of this insight we return to the significance and importance of that first sandwich Hillel s. Perhaps not as well known or universally enjoyed as the Big Mac, with its billions and billions served, the Hillel sandwich is much more than its parts; is much more than mere taste and calories; carries with it much more than the mere object of feeding the belly. The Hillel sandwich must also feed the soul. As with the entire Passover Seder and meal, which is not designed solely to gather with family and enjoy one another s company, have a satisfying meal and engage in conversation, the point of the Hillel sandwich is not simply to eat but to think and to feel as well. It is not to deny the pleasures of eating. Judaism does not deny or turn away from physical enjoyment. However, to reduce any action to mere physical satisfaction is to drain it of { With and matzah, the minimal you are combination reminded that of God maror always with the Jewish people. is } meaning and to diminish our understanding of God s role in our lives and in the world. To revel in the luxuries we have accumulated is our obligation, but it would be pointless and inherently disrespectful if that is all we did. So, when we celebrate the blessings of our freedom, it would be disrespectful if we did not also make sure to honor our ancestors hardships in Egypt. Noting how the Jewish people won their independence from slavery is as important as, if not more important than, taking pleasure in that independence. This complexity, this intricate idea of honoring the past and living in the present, of embracing two divergent feelings to create a single whole, is realized in the simplicity of the Hillel sandwich. You do not need meats, cheeses, vegetables, and sauces piled a mile high. No, since the Pesach meat cannot be eaten, only maror is necessary to stand for the bitterness of enslavement and only matzah to both recall the austerity of slavery and also to symbolize God s miracles. The Jews did not have time to allow their bread to leaven because God decreed that the time to be saved was immediate. With the minimal combination of maror and matzah, you are reminded that God is always with the Jewish people. Full faith is in God, that He is watching in prosperous times and in miserable times as well, is necessary. He certainly challenges you but will always be there to strengthen you and to help you overcome those challenges. What is the most significant part, though, is that after God has helped you overcome, after He has redeemed you, you cannot accept that redemption as an assured state. Salvation must always be looked upon as a precarious condition, one that could be taken away at any moment. By eating matzah and maror together we are reminded of this. Without all of the proper ingredients, freedom could not possibly taste as sweet. One could not exist without the other. Rabbi Eliyahu Safran is the author of Kos Eliyahu Insights on the Haggadah and Pesach. 16 // BEHIND THE UNION SYMBOL

17 PASSOVER 2008: A of the Old Blend and the New B Y M E N A C H E M L U B I N S K Y When Jews sit down to the seder on April 19 and 20, chances are that the set table will have a very traditional look. There will be the seder plates, the cups for the wine, the elegant flatware and dishes and so forth. But when the meal begins, the foods that are served may be reflecting some of the new products that have been introduced in recent years. For example, even the Kedem grape juice could be a dietetic version that has far less sugar than the traditional grape juice. The matzos may be spelt or whole wheat, the gefilte fish without sugar, and, of course, Diet Coke. An estimated 300 new products will be on grocery shelves this Passover with the emphasis being on products that are either healthier or gourmet, including foods made without spelt, low cholesterol, low fat and low or no sugar items. There will be some newcomers like Oxygen Imports, Ora s Organics, Pereg, Sweet Dreams, Castle Spirits, and Reisman s (a well known brand that is a first-timer this Passover). One good reason for the change in Passover brands and products is the changing demographics of the Jewish community, particularly among the Orthodox where the majority are now younger consumers with a rich appetite for new and different items. Even before the Passover season went into high gear, the kosher industry had received some extraordinary recognition. According to the Mintel Research Group, one of the largest research firms on consumer goods, of 5,000 new products to hit grocery shelves in the past 12 months, 4,200 of them had kosher certification. A good number of them will be on shelves for Passover, and a significant number are certified by the Orthodox Union featuring the distinctive OU symbol. Passover 08 will also be noteworthy for some of the brands that no longer dominate the shelves and which used to be so much a part of grandma s shopping basket. There have been huge changes in the industry, including mergers and acquisitions and a growing penetration by foreign manufacturers, mainly from Israel. There will be an unprecedented number of matzah brands from Israel as well as other products. Perhaps the biggest change in recent years has been the sheer number of new kosher for Passover wines, including a large number from Israel. The OU certified Royal Wines/Kedem recommended ten new wines and they literally cross the globe, including Portugal, California, France, New Zealand, and of course, Israel. A winner at the Kosherfest 2007 New Products Competition for Best New Wine, Beer or Spirit was Rimon Pomegranate Dessert Wine Other wineries like Tabor and Golan Heights also came out with new kosher for Passover wines. A visit to a kosher for Passover bakery can be an interesting experience. It is hard to believe that bakery products made with potato starch can look and taste that good. People used to think of Passover as a time when they deprived themselves of some of the foods they eat all year, but with every Passover, it seems to be a distant memory. This year s new product list includes innovation in almost every category. Even desserts can be a treat at the seder with such products as individual apple cakes, sliced cantaloupe puree, rocky road chocolate ice cream with marshmallow and brownie SPRING 2008 // 17

18 bits on a moist double fudge brownie, Boston cream pie and lollypop ice cream sticks, all from Elegant Desserts. Perhaps the most noticeable trend is just how many products target the health consciousness of consumers. Many of the new products tout the fact that they are made with natural ingredients, others with low or no sugar, appealing to a significant population of people for whom Passover was once a nightmare. Several new cookbooks specifically include low calorie items to ward off the automatic weight gain over the eight-day holiday. If eating healthy is one development for celebrants of Passover, the availability of new gourmet items is another. Grandma probably would be awestruck by the upscale chocolates and cheeses, preserves, coffees and teas, sauces, dressing, dips, and spreads. She would be wondering why anyone would need an organic honey and halva spread, spicy Mexican marinade, or imitation noodles and bread crumbs. The Israel factor is increasingly a major part of the Passover set. On some supermarket shelves, you are likely to see more brands of Israeli matzah than the American-made version. The Israelis too are adding light whole wheat bran matzah to their usual mix of plain and flavored matzah and otherwise focusing on health. The same will be true in the refrigerated case where low fat cheeses from Israel will be on display. This is part of the overall recent success of Israeli products in the U.S., which have grown by 35 percent in the last year to some $144 million. Children will not be deprived either as there will be more snack items than ever before, including candy, potato chips, chocolates and more. This is a far cry from the days when mothers packed hardboiled eggs and boiled potatoes as snack for the obligatory Chol Hamoed (intermediate days of Passover) trip. With an estimated 20,000 items, consumers will have an unprecedented choice of products to enhance their holiday. It represents nearly 40 percent of year-round sales of kosher foods. In some major cities, supermarkets designate special sections as their Passover store as do the independents, who occasionally rent an additional store for the holiday. While Passover is an eight-day holiday outside of Israel (where it is seven days), preparation for the holiday dominates a good part of the year for the industry. Distributors and retailers plan their Passover program as early as July and by the annual Kosherfest (trade show for the kosher food industry) which takes place in November, most of the plan has already been written. Typically, the show is where many of the new products are showcased and picked up by buyers. Some of the growth in sales of kosher for Passover has come from the new products, which is why manufacturers invest so much into the development of new items. It is impossible to write the story of Passover without acknowledging the role of the kashrut agencies, most notably the Orthodox Union, which begins its planning for Passover each year almost the day after the holiday ends. The OU supervises the majority of Passover products on supermarket shelves. Kashrut administrators and mashgichim crisscross the globe to prepare for the coming Passover as early as nine months before. They supervise special runs at major manufacturing facilities which may involve shutting down an otherwise busy plant for kosherizing for Passover. That s the good news. The not so good news is that kosher consumers will face steep price increases for Passover Distributors say that prices for a large number of products will increase by percent. Manufacturers say they are just passing along sharp increases in products that were already on the rise even before Passover. Prices for dairy products, for example, have soared as have foods produced with oil, shortening and wheat. As many as 30,000 people will spend Passover at a luxury hotel in a large number of resorts and big cities in the United States, Europe and Israel. They will be supplied by many of the kosher manufacturers who produce special lines for foodservice, but in many cases they will consume the very same products that will be available on supermarket shelves. Foodservice has become a huge category for the kosher food industry Passover and year-round. While the snow may still be falling, for the kosher food industry, Spring sprung a while ago! Menachem Lubinsky is President and CEO of LUBICOM Marketing Consulting, a full service marketing and business development firm. Mr. Lubinsky is the recognized authority on the kosher food market, and well known for founding and directing the growth and development of Kosherfest, the highly successful annual trade show for the kosher food industry. In addition to the international kosher food show, Mr. Lubinsky is the founding publisher of Kosher Today, the leading trade publication on kosher for the food industry. He is also responsible for the development of the weekly on-line version of Kosher Today ( www. koshertoday. com). In June 2003, after 15 years, Mr. Lubinsky entered into a strategic relationship with Diversified Business Communications for the management and marketing of Kosherfest and its related publications and web sites. Menachem Lubinsky and LUBICOM continue to be involved in Kosherfest and all aspects of the kosher food industry. 18 // BEHIND THE UNION SYMBOL

19 VODKA PRODUCTION AND OU KOSHER CERTIFICATION: Stolichnaya Sets the Standard THINK OF RUSSIA and what comes to mind? The huge size of the country, the vast steppes, Moscow and St. Petersburg, freezing winters and of course, vodka. Stolichnaya has established itself as the most trusted name in vodka, guaranteeing Russian authenticity and quality in each bottle. Decades after the brand s birth, Stoli remains the best selling Russian vodka in the United States, valued because it is produced to the highest standards of Russian vodka production. It is also the first major vodka brand to be certified kosher by the Orthodox Union, a milestone that occurred in Stolichnaya (meaning capital city ) was widely available in Russia for common citizens and became known as the People s Vodka made by the people of Russia for the people of Russia. It was synonymous to Russians for s m o o t h

20 tasting vodka. In the 1940 s, it was adopted by the Kremlin elite as the vodka of choice not only for state parties, but as their personal drink. In the historic barter agreement of 1972 between the Soviet Government and the Pepsi Company, known as the Pepski Deal, Stolichnaya was introduced as the world s first premium vodka. Since then, it has become a staple ingredient for cocktails worldwide. Stoli is now produced in the Russian town of Tambov, which is approximately 600 kilometers south of Moscow. The people of Tambov have a history and a tradition of vodka making that goes back centuries, which makes Tambov the perfect place to produce Stolichnaya. The region surrounding Tambov is known as the Black Earth Region, because of its rich, deep, black, fertile soil. A key point of difference between Stolichnaya and other vodkas is that Stoli controls one hundred percent of its production, from grain-toglass. Stolichnaya owns thousands of acres of Black Earth used for the production of its grain, therefore controlling every aspect of making vodka from the selection of the grain, to planting, harvesting, distillation, water management, and bottling. This vertical control is unique in the vodka industry and guarantees the consistency in quality in each and every bottle produced. Stolichnaya is made to the highest standards of Russian vodka production as established by the world-renowned scientist Dimitri Mendelev in The fermentation process starts with hands e l e c t e d R u s s i a n wheat and rye. It is then distilled four times through a four-column still ending up with spirit that is 96.4 percent proof. Using water from Stolichnaya s own artesian wells, the spirit is reduced to the standard 80 percent proof, or 40 ABV (alcohol by volume). The vodka then undergoes a quadruple filtration process. It travels through quartz, charcoal, quartz again and finally through a fine mesh cloth. The end result is the classic Russian vodka with its spicy, smooth taste, perfect for use as the base for any mixed cocktail or straight up as a martini. Stolichnaya has been a leader in the vodka category for years. Not only was it the first premium vodka imported into the United States, it was also the brand that created flavored vodka. The origin of flavored vodkas goes back centuries to the beginning of vodka production. In the beginning, flavorings were used to mask the harshness of vodkas that were produced back then. Over time, it became quite fashionable for Russian nobles to produce signature flavored vodkas to be used for parties and dinners. But the real innovator for the modern day flavored vodka was Stolichnaya. It all started with Nikita Khrushchev, premier of the Soviet Union between He was also a great lover of flavored vodkas. Premier Khrushchev commissioned Stolichnaya to produce two flavored vodkas a pepper (Pertsovka) flavored vodka and an herb (Ochotnichaya) flavored vodka -- which found their way into the U.S. market. But it was the introduction of Limonaya in 1986 that started the flavored vodka craze. In 1996, the year OU certification was achieved, Stoli expanded its flavor portfolio further, releasing six new flavors into global markets. In the past decade, this portfolio has grown and currently offers eight distinctly naturallyflavored vodkas: Stoli Razberi, Stoli Oranj, Stoli Vanil, Stoli Peachik, Stoli Cranberi, Stoli Citros, Stoli Strasberi, and as of May 2006, Stoli Blueberi. Stoli adds natural flavor essences prior to produce its award-winning taste. The vodka is blended with each natural flavor to achieve its distinctiveness. Although these flavored vodkas add flair and style to any mixed drink, they are best served ice cold and are smooth enough to drink on their own. Stolichnaya Elit is the newest innovation. It was introduced into the U.S. market in 2004 and has consistently won the highest award ever for a vodka. It is regarded as the most elegant and luxurious vodka in the world. The key is the patented freeze filtration process. The process is highly technical and quite complicated. Using only the highest grade spirit, called alpha, it is reduced to 80 proof and then quadruple filtered. It is then reduced in temperature to -25 degrees F to increase its viscosity, then passed through a Z Carbon filter with positively charged ion plates. This process changes the molecular structure of the vodka. It is then allowed to rest and stabilize for > > C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E // BEHIND THE UNION SYMBOL

21 CERTIFICATION OF VODKA Dear Rabbi, What is involved in the OU certification of vodka? The Orthodox Union receives many inquiries about certification of vodka. This is a typical response, as written by Rabbi Nahum Rabinowitz, Senior Rabbinic Coordinator. Dear, Thank you for your inquiry and interest in OU Kosher certification. Please be advised that typical straight Vodka presents few challenges toward its kosher certification. Although, grape or lactose derived alcohol can be problematic (both kosher sensitive), most vodka is grain or sugar alcohol based and therefore of kosher origin. The specific areas requiring kosher confirmation for vodka are three-fold: 1) Many processing aids and additives are inherently kosher but others may require substantiation (e.g., yeast, defoamer, glycerin). 2) For flavored vodka, any complex flavorings other than pure herbs and spices, will require kosher verification from the point of their manufacture. 3) The processing, blending, storage and bottling equipment that manufacture the vodka, if also used for kosher sensitive products, will need to be addressed to exclude any cross contamination concerns that may exist. When completing the OU s application please provide information about the alcohol source and any additives. These details will help insure that the evaluation and certification process will be a smooth one. Should you have further questions please do not hesitate to contact me. Regards, Rabbi Nahum Rabinowitz Senior Rabbinic Coordinator // OUCOMPANIESSPEAK THE MONK S TALE: Frangelico Liqueur from Italy Has a Distinctive Bottle and a Distintive Taste An OU Kosher monk? Yes, indeed. At least an OU Kosher bottle shaped like a monk. That s the story of Frangelico. Frangelico is a premium Italian liqueur with the irresistible flavor of hazelnuts. Consumers in the United States and around the world enjoy it both as a traditional liqueur -- straight, over ice or with/in coffee -- and as a fashionable and versatile cocktail ingredient. The distinctive monk-shaped bottle bearing the OU symbol with its hand-tied rope waistband, is an immediate clue to Frangelico s fascinating origins in the Piedmont hills in northern Italy. There, in the 17th century, a legendary hermit named Fr. Angelico used fine local ingredients to create a unique liqueur made from the local hazelnuts that grew in profusion. Today, in the small Piedmontese town of Canale, the same local hazelnuts are distilled with herbs, vanilla berries and other natural botanicals to create a wonderful golden liqueur named after the legend -- Frangelico. Its taste is smooth, warming and delicious. So popular has it become that Frangelico is now exported from Italy to over 90 countries and is the world s second largest selling Italian liqueur. And for the past seven years, Frangelico has been OU Kosher. While on the rocks is possibly the favourite way of enjoying Frangelico, it s a great cocktail mixer with other spirits, fruit and liqueurs. Among many award-winning recipes are Angel s Kiss with vodka, Frangelico Zesti with fresh lime and Nuts and Berries with raspberry liqueur. Frangelico is owned by C&C International, the international spirits group based in Dublin, Ireland. Distribution in the United States is handled by William Grant & Sons (USA). So it s an Italian liqueur, owned by an Irish company, distributed by an American firm and bearing a symbol recognized worldwide. That symbol, of course, is the OU. Rabbi Shaul Gold serves as Orthodox Union rabbinic coordinator for David Campari Milano SPA. SPRING 2008 // 21

22 Your Kosher HorOUscope B Y R A B B I A V R O H O M S T O N E What bigger advantage could a food producer have than being able to know the future? While there is no crystal ball that can tell us what tomorrow will bring, it is possible to get an inkling of what lies in store by reading the signs. As a service to our companies, BTUS is pleased to present Your Kosher Horouscope a look into what to expect from your OU Kosher program. THE SIGNS OF THE KOSHER FOOD ZOUDIAC: Dairies (The Milk Producer) Taurine (The Amino Acid) Gumini (The Confectioner) Cannedcer (The Canner) Leobster (The Non-Kosher Crustacean) Virgoil (The Olive Oil Press) Jellibra (The Condiment Maker) Ascorbio (The Preservative) Spaghettitarius (The Pasta Chef) Popricorn (The Salty Snack) Aquariacetylthiophene (The Flavor Chemist) Piecies (The Baker) Dairies > A comprehensive review of your production records and Taylor charts is in your future. An unscheduled visitor will arrive at your facility. Welcome him! His presence brings help in managing your kosher program and success in the marketplace. Look forward to a detailed evaluation of your cleaning procedures that will insure that your belly washers are completely non-dairy. Life is good; take pride in your clean and pristine pareve pasteurizer. Taurine > Raw materials meeting the Schedule A specs will put new energy in your sales. Your workday will be interrupted unexpectedly by a stranger with a beard. Welcome him! His presence brings help in managing your kosher program and success in the marketplace. Loosen up and enjoy your achievements; your customer s kosher energy drinks will overpower the noncertified competition. Gumini > Sticky issues will get unstuck with the surprise appearance of a man wearing a hat. Welcome him! His presence brings help in managing your kosher program and success in the marketplace. Chew on the prospect of a simplified system to deal with your kosher requirements. Life will feel sweeter knowing your sweeteners are all on the Schedule A. Cannedcer > Brite stock will never look so bright as it will after a man appears from out of the blue carrying an updated Schedule B. Welcome him! His presence brings help in managing your kosher program and success in the marketplace. A comprehensive review of your kosher certified lots and labels lies ahead. Relax; days and nights of confused canning codes will soon be a thing of the past. Leobster > Loneliness, frustration and worry will be your constant companions, as the world runs from your products. No bearded man will arrive to save you from your misguided decision to produce a product that cannot tap into the kosher market. Do not resent the wisdom of your competitors and their foresight; instead, regroup, reformulate and take action. Change can be good; do not fear it. Mock the naysayers by changing to all-kosher mock crab. Then, await a visit from a stranger with a hat. Welcome him! His presence will bring help and guidance in structuring a kosher program and new opportunities in the marketplace. Soon, you will be swimming with the big boys. Virgoil > victory will ooze from your efforts in kosher. Olive, palm, canola and soy will bring you joy from rising sales and increased market share. A mystery visitor with a Schedule A will show up at your doorstep. Welcome him! His presence brings help in managing your kosher program and success in the marketplace. Together, you will be certain that the tallow has gone fallow. Be slick, Slick - squeeze the seeds of success with kosher oleo in your product folio. Jellibra > A dreary today will turn to a sunny tomorrow with the unanticipated arrival of a dark suited man armed with a tablet-pc. Welcome him! His presence brings help in managing your kosher program and success in the marketplace. Sour grapes is a thing of the past when you use only concentrate that is strictly kosher. No more playing catch up to stay out of a jam; you ll be in a position that you will relish. Ascorbio > Preserving your market share will be a cinch after the unforeseen appearance of a bearded man at your facility. Welcome him! His presence brings help in managing your kosher program and success in the marketplace. A walk through your warehouse will bring new clarity to your ingredients. Stop to enjoy life; your business will be around for years to come with kosher as its catalyst. Spaghettitarius > Your business 22 // BEHIND THE UNION SYMBOL

23 HorOUscope continued might be strung out until a figure shows up without notice at the door of plant. Welcome him! His presence brings help in managing your kosher program and success in the marketplace. Anticipate a future where your carbs will be complex, but your kosher program is not. Popricorn > The chips might be down until a very special guest without an appointment materializes at the doorway of your plant. Welcome him! His presence brings help in managing your kosher program and success in the marketplace. Your corn might be curled, and your pretzels might be twisted, but your Schedule B and private labels will be straight on. Aquariacetylthiophene > Imagine your reaction when an unexpected visitor distills your kosher program into a few easy steps. Welcome him! His presence brings help in managing your kosher program and success in the marketplace. Confounding compounding won t occur when an expert does you the favor of making sure it is a pareve flavor. With a little guidance, you will know the taste of triumph. Piecies > Your fortunes will rise dramatically when a mystery visitor with a Schedule A appears at your doorstep. Welcome him! His presence brings help in managing your kosher program and success in the marketplace. No unapproved whey will get in your way when you know that your ingredients match the Schedule A. Relax; keeping to your kosher program will be a piece of cake. Rabbi Avrohom Stone serves as OU Kosher Senior Rabbinic Field Representative visiting with OU certified companies throughout the country. His instructive and entertaining articles appear frequently in Behind the Union Symbol. His How to Put the OU Symbol on Your Label, which appeared in the Spring 2006 issue, elicited many positive responses. OU KOSHER KIDZ VIDEO The How to Make Cold Facts: Kosher Ice Cream All across North America this winter students and their teachers in Jewish schools have been entertained and enlightened by OU Kosher s Kosher Kidz video, which takes them behind the scenes at an ice cream factory to learn what makes a product kosher and to see Jewish law put into practice in the manufacture of every kid s favorite food. Filmed at the Safeway Ice Cream factory in Seattle, with other scenes taking place in the kitchen of a young boy enjoying himself immensely as he samples the product, the purpose of the video, explains Rabbi Yaakov Luban, OU Kosher Executive Rabbinic Coordinator, who co-wrote the script and went to the factory for the filming, is that it is important for children to understand why products need supervision and for them to understand the complexity of what is involved it s not just some rabbi stamping OU on a package. Safeway officials were most cooperative, added Rabbi Luban. They went about their normal business and we shot each phase of production. The DVD was distributed free of charge by OU Kosher to at least 1,500 schools, but according to Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu Safran, Senior Rabbinic Coordinator and Vice President of Marketing and Communications of OU Kosher, many adults and families are enjoying it too and have requested their own copy. The video was directed, co-written and filmed by Rick Magder, the OU s outstanding videographer. It is available for purchase at $10, including shipping and handling, at SPRING 2008 // 23

24 Flying the KOSHER SNACKS such as potato chips, pretzels, cookies and in many cases, meals, are available on eight major United States airlines, and all the kosherkeeping traveler has to do to get them is to ask, the Orthodox Union Kosher Division has announced. OU Kosher revealed that its survey of eight major United States airlines has made it clear that all eight offer kosher meals and/or snacks on board and that guided by the OU, most of them are eager to expand on their offerings. No longer do those who keep kosher have to be hungry at 35,000 feet or in many cases have to bring kosher food with them on board. The airlines are American, Continental, Delta, JetBlue, Northwest, Southwest, United and US Airways. Until prodded to investigate by the OU, some of the airlines were not even aware that they had kosher food on board as part of their snack offerings. The study came about from an OU Kosher initiative, announced in September, to make it easier for the kosher traveler to eat on board given the fact that for economic reasons airlines have cut back on complimentary meals, which formerly gave the kosher passenger the opportunity to order food in advance. Rabbi Eliyahu Safran, Senior Rabbinic Coordinator and Vice President for Communications and Marketing of OU Kosher, wrote at that time to vice presidents for food services and other airline company officials: Recently, many consumers, who are frequent airline travelers, approached us to see if we can find a way to make kosher certified meals 24 // BEHIND THE UNION SYMBOL

25 Kosher Skies By Stephen Steiner OU Survey Determines that All Eight Major U.S. Carriers Contacted Provide Kosher Food on Board SPRING 2008 // 25

26 and snacks available for purchase on those routes where this is the only option. We are well aware, he added, of the financial considerations that have made this policy so prevalent. But kosher consumers, who are equally willing to purchase food items, have been left with no option, as kosher meals and snacks are not available on your airline. The OU seeks to share its expertise with you in order to assure that all passengers are truly able to equally enjoy meals or snacks on your airline, Rabbi Safran wrote. In other words, he made clear, while serving as an advocate for kosher travelers, the OU at the same time wants to serve as an educator and facilitator for the airlines as they seek to meet the needs of their kosher passengers. Clearly, the OU succeeded in that objective. Over the months of communication with the airlines, several which were initially hesitant and even responded somewhat negatively, or which had just one or two kosher offerings, came to appreciate the pivotal role the Orthodox Union can play in helping them understand the needs of the kosher traveler, and that certainly in the area of snacks no special arrangements need be made other than selecting from the thousands of renowned national snack brands that are OU certified and can be consumed and enjoyed by all travelers, Rabbi Safran declared. It is clear, Rabbi Safran said, that airlines increasingly realize that the kosher market is a niche they should be concerned with, and that it goes beyond the Jewish community. The OU is pleased to help the airlines respond to the needs of this market. He advised the airlines to train their cabin crews to respond to questions from passengers about whether they carry kosher food, and even to have a list of kosher products on No longer do those who keep kosher have to be hungry at 35,000 feet board to hand to travelers for their reference. He offered to have the OU conduct a seminar for all airlines to explain the basic needs of kosher traveler. A survey of the airlines is as follows, based on their replies to Rabbi Safran: AMERICAN AIRLINES: According to Dennis Hammett, Manager, Menu Planning & Development: We do offer our customers an appealing variety of four sweet and salty snacks on domestic flights that are two hours or longer. Of the snacks offered, the Chocolate Chunk cookie (which is OU-Dairy) and 3 Musketeers candy bar are kosher certified. Our Kosher meals are approved by the Orthodox Union (OU) and supported by our Special Meal program on breakfast, lunch, snack and breakfast snack flights in the following markets: First and Business Classes on transcontinental flights in the US.; all classes to Europe and Asia; all classes to Rio de Janeiro or Sao Paulo, Brazil; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Santiago, Chile or Montevideo, Uruguay. Kosher meals are adapted during Passover. Rabbi Safran wrote back: We appreciate your cooperation and look forward to enhancing the needs of the kosher traveler on American Airlines. CONTINENTAL AIRLINES : Eric Kleiman, Director of Product Marketing, sent a box of snacks to Rabbi Safran, who informed him that a great majority are indeed kosher approved. That is gratifying, to which Mr.Kleiman responded, We are pleased to cooperate and provide support. Regarding meals, Mr. Kleiman wrote: We provide kosher meals in both our domestic first class and main cabin for our Trans-Continental flights and Latin flights. We also provide kosher meals for our BusinessFirst and main cabin for Trans-Atlantic and Trans-Pacific flights. Trans-continental, he explained refers to flights from Newark to West Coast destinations such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, San Diego, Orange County and Portland. We spend a lot of time focusing on the Glatt kosher meals we offer to all of our customers on the routes where we offer special meals, Mr. Kleiman wrote. The meals are provided by OU certified catering service. DELTA AIRLINES: Jake Frank, Director IFS On-Board Services, who described himself as responsible for Delta s global catering operations, came to New York from Atlanta to visit Rabbi Safran. In a follow-up to him, he declared, We are launching Delta s Eats food for sale program on September 13 on our JFK transcon routes. The program will then be phased in across Delta s network, and will be system-wide by April 2008 for all domestic flights above 750 miles. He added that he and a colleague would be happy to meet with you to discuss Kosher options on our EATS menu. Mr. Frank sent Rabbi Safran a sample of each of our five non-perishable snack items on the EATS menu for his review. Rabbi Safran was delighted to discover that all of them are kosher. In a follow-up, Jaime Jewell, General Manager, Sponsorships and Brand Activation wrote, Delta has always been committed to offering Kosher snacks and food choices, so we are happy that we can partner with you to communicate that more broadly. Consequently, in December Mr. Frank added that there are five OU certified snacks on EATS flights: Pringles, Animal Crackers, Clif Bar, Dove Bar, and Emerald Nuts Mix. He noted as well that on flights out of JFK, LaGuardia and Tel Aviv, kosher meals are prepared fresh, locally; on all other flights, kosher meals are prepared and frozen by Weiss Kosher, under OU supervision. JETBLUE AIRWAYS: Brett Muney, Manager Product Development, informed Rabbi Safran: We are currently working with our concession Business Partner at JFK to offer kosher meals to Customers who wish to purchase something before their flight to either eat in the terminal or bring with them on the plane. Most of our complimentary snacks offered inflight are kosher. In addition, we offer kosher for Passover 26 // BEHIND THE UNION SYMBOL

27 snacks during the holiday. Rabbi Safran thanked him for your positive and prompt response. He added, It would be advantageous for all concerned that we be in touch as you plan on the kosher meals to be offered to customers. We do want to be sure that these meals will meet the kosher needs and standards of all kosher travelers. The OU is certainly equipped to give you the necessary information and contacts. NORTHWEST AIRLINES: According to Dean Breest of media relations at the airline, Passengers can pre-order kosher meals for ALL trans-atlantic and trans-pacific flights. Kosher meals are supplied by the OU certified Borenstein Caterers. In addition, Northwest has several offerings that are kosher certified that can be found in our snack boxes on domestic flights. We look forward to continue working with OU. Mr. Breest forwarded to Rabbi Safran the snack boxes served on Northwest. The boxes include a raisin nut mix. Rabbi Safran replied, Several of the offerings are kosher certified; the overwhelming majority are not. Many of the offerings from Pepperidge Farm, Nabisco as well as nut mix products are widely available as OU Kosher certified. We would be pleased to supply extensive lists of kosher approved snacks in all snack categories. Mr. Breest requested the list. Rabbi Safran expressed confidence that once Northwest reviews the list, the number of kosher snacks on its flights will increase. SOUTHWEST AIRLINES: In response to the OU s inquiry, Frank Porter, Manager of Provisioning Services, determined that the airline offers kosher peanuts and pretzels on its flights, and in mid-march will begin offering Ritz cheese crackers, which also are OU Kosher certified. Hopefully, this will help your audience know that there are kosher choices on Southwest, he wrote. Please let us know if you need anything else. UNITED AIRLINES: Mitchell Gross, who explained that he is responsible for the selection of products we serve to our guests on our flights, wrote to Rabbi Safran: We appreciate your interest in United Airlines and thank you for your offer to assist us in identifying Kosher-certified products that could be suitable for inclusion in our Buy on Board program. We currently offer four distinct collections on our flights and periodically review them for suitability and customer acceptance. We certainly will be mindful of the points you ve raised as we continue to try to meet our customers expectations. United sent Rabbi Safran a box of snacks offered on board, to which he responded that some were kosher; Rabbi Safran also sent a list of OU approved snacks for United to consider. Mr. Gross added that, Customers with reservations on flights offering complimentary meals can pre-order a kosher meal. We use OU certified products from KoshAir Cuisine by MilMar Foods of New York. Mr. Gross later added, We plan to ask our vendors to submit kosher certified products for inclusion in our refreshed snackboxes later this year. As noted previously, we already have many kosher certified items in our current snackboxes. US AIRWAYS: Nick Ferguson, Senior Manager, Dining and Cabin Services, declared, US Airways does try to accommodate passengers as much as possible when choosing menu options. On October 1, 2007 US Airways deployed a new snack box for sale on most flights with transit times of more than 3.5 hours between 0500 and 2000 local time. Within the In-Flight Café Snack Box we offer five items, four which are kosher (mint chip cookies, strawberry fruit bar, fruit and nut mix and garlic and rosemary all natural wisecrackers ). Our previous box that has been flying for more than a year also offered a variety of kosher options and previous offerings can be provided for your consideration. All said, we look forward to any support the Orthodox Union can provide and hope our domestic offerings meet with positive results. Mr. Ferguson s associate, Tim Donnally, sent a box to Rabbi Safran with the message, Thank you so much for your interest and enthusiastic response to our new In-Flight Café program. We re so pleased that it meets the needs of so many of your organization. Rabbi Safran wrote back: Your very positive note attached with the box speaks well to your commitment, and that is much appreciated. The Orthodox Union will be sure to get the word out on your cooperation and positive feedback. The OU s work is by no means done regarding kosher food on airlines, Rabbi Safran explained. We also encourage kosher travelers to share their specific experiences and feedback with us both positive and negative that we would then convey to the airlines. In developing our relationships with the airline companies over the past few months, we are eager to continue to advise them on the needs of their kosher passengers and how best to fulfill these needs. SPRING 2008 // 27

28 It s Not Greek To Him One of the great pleasures of working for the OU is the opportunity to occasionally step away from my desk and travel into the field. While there is always a sense of thrill and adventure involved in seeing the world, these are far from BY RABBI AHARON BRUN-KESTLER An OU RC pleasure jaunts. Most importantly, these journeys provide critical insight into the real world workings Hits the Road of kosher. As the saying goes, Hearing (or reading) is nothing like to See the seeing! Nuances of Recently, I had the opportunity to travel to Olive Greece to review Production several OU accounts and also in an Ancient investigate some potential new Land ones. I arrived in Athens on Monday afternoon and was picked up by Rabbi Mendel Hendel, who works as the OU representative in Greece. Rabbi Hendel served not only as my guide and translator (he speaks fluent Greek as well as English. French and Hebrew), the Hendels were also my hosts. Rabbi Hendel is a fine example of the dedicated OU RFRs around the world and has an excellent rapport with the companies he visits both on a technical and personal basis. Upon leaving the airport, it was off to our first facility (no rest for the travel weary in the OU), Agrexpo Orfanos, about a 45-minute 28 // BEHIND THE UNION SYMBOL

29 drive from the airport in the Athenian suburbs. Like the other olive packing companies I visited, this is a small family owned business with minimal mechanization, preparing various Greek olives according to age old methods. In total, I visited three olive packers during my three-day stay ( Agrexpo Orfanos, N. Gerentes and Tripsas). All have either recently invested in new plants and equipment with eyes towards new markets and additional processing (including the ability to pasteurize with a focus on the end consumer market), or are anticipating making those changes in the near future. Fundamentally, olive curing is a simple process. While some of the details of curing are different for green and black olives, fundamentally the first stage involves placing the olives in brine. Through the workings of lactobacillus bacteria found naturally in the olive, combined with salt brine, the olives change from hard and bitter to soft and sweet. For black olives, the only ingredients are salt and water; for green olives, lactic acid and citric acid (both of which must be reliably kosher certified) are also commonly added to aid in fermentation. This first curing stage takes about a month to complete. Olives can then remain in the brine for years. When the company receives orders, the olives are packed into smaller containers depending upon customer need. At this stage, it is traditional to add vinegar for taste as well as a small amount of oil to prevent spoilage at the top of the barrel. Traditionally in Greece, both for reasons of availability and taste, vinegar means wine vinegar. As has been discussed many times in these pages, any wine product is highly kosher sensitive and must be exclusively from acceptable kosher sources. One option might be for companies to use kosher wine vinegar exclusively. This, however, is expensive, both in raw material cost and because we would require significantly stepped up supervision. The only alternative is to find a replacement or replacements. The most common choice is acetic acid, which the company dilutes to an appropriate strength. Not all companies use vinegar and none use it for all customers all of the time. As in any industry, there is a strong desire to give the customer what he or she wants and we must be diligent with our companies to avoid interchangeable ingredients. For example, one company wanted to continue using wine vinegar for its non-kosher customers while using acetic > > C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 3 1 SPRING 2008 // 29

30 // OUCOMPANIESSPEAK THE GERENTES: A GREEK FAMILY DEVOTED TO OLIVES AND TO OU KOSHER Since 1750, Greek olives have been sacred to the Gerentes family. Our ancestors processed olives and in a barter economy traded them through Greece for other products, such as cereals, that were not produced in our home village, near Amfissa in Central Greece. That s where it all started for us! After many adventures and stories that would need pages to elaborate, our family s olive business is now under the leadership of Nicholas Gerentes. From the age of six, in 1930, he has grown up in olives so you could say that brine (water and salt) runs thought his arteries instead of blood. Nicholas has four children Ari, Evi, Bessie and George all of whom, in Greece and the United States, are dedicated to our family values. Our main object is to export Greek olives of unmatched quality and taste all over the world. This is why we focus on exporting the best Greek olives in limited production that we can control. We buy and process only the best quality olives we can get, using a mixture of traditional methods and current technology. Among our products, the most famous are the wellknown black kalamata olives in all its variations pitted, plain and sliced along with our natural black olives and green round or long ones. Most of our exports are to the United States and Italy, to wholesalers, importers and distributors. Controlling the olives and brine levels is one of the most important things we focus on, as the olive is a live fruit, constantly changing though fermentation and open to hardness. If you don t pay special attention to them, they will be ruined, so it is necessary to always keep them always in brine, in olive oil or inside their initial pack. All our current production takes place in Stylis, in central Greece. In 2006, we began considering kosher certification for our customers, especially in the United States, in order to deliver quality olives to a broader market. We took this opportunity to contact the local OU Kosher representative who helped us to prepare and to become certified. We greatly value this certification and try to maintain the highest standards in all phases of production, from initial gathering to processing, packing and delivery of our products. We were very impressed by the involvement of the OU rabbis in learning as much as possible about our products and company. Their friendly approach and professionalism have made it possible for us to understand the differences between OU Kosher as opposed to non-kosher methods of production. We appreciate our olives highly and eat them every day. Next time you seek good Greek olives, don t just look around, but instead look for the best quality available. We encourage you to ask for them under our own name and brand the GEROLIVE brand which will guarantee you quality and bring you back in time, to our roots and to our village. Enjoy them! Rabbi Aharon Brun-Kestler serves as Orthodox Union Rabbinic Coordinator for Nicholas Gerentes SA. 30 // BEHIND THE UNION SYMBOL

31 > > C O N T I N U E D F R O M P A G E 2 9 acid for its kosher clients. We made it very clear that the only way such an arrangement is conceivable is if they pack the kosher product only when a rabbi is present. Otherwise, the likelihood of an error is too great, as in the finished product it is nearly impossible for anyone without a highly trained pallet to taste the difference and because the wine vinegar is so much more readily available. Also, there are restrictions on the use of acetic acid in Greece due to its potential use in the illicit drug trade. Companies wishing to produce kosher olives with vinegar must use only kosher options for all presentations, unless they are interested in a limited special production. Sitting at my desk in New York, I might have heard about all of these issues, but I would not have gained anything like the understanding I now have. I also would not have gotten to meet the owners and production people on the ground. An relationship is useful, but it is nothing like the personal relationship and understanding gained from faceto-face meetings. This is invaluable and leads to dramatic improvements in understanding one another s needs and in the OU s ability to provide excellent customer service geared to each company s unique qualities and situation. The truth of this became clear over and over again during my trip as I saw and understood both the similarities and differences between each company, each plant and each management and production team. One also begins to truly understand a product in its context and to better understand the relationship between producers, importers and consumers often very critical when monitoring a kosher program. In Greece, for example, there appears to be no requirement that exported goods reveal production locations. The importers send the graphics and text for their labels and packaging. Unfortunately, this sometimes leads to inaccuracy. For example, many import barrels stated only olives in salt brine yet the companies often add vinegar as well. Again, this is an issue that requires increased diligence and understanding on our part as we continue to make certain that the OU symbol guarantees integrity to the consumer! Another critical part of a field review is understanding the real world working conditions of the field representative. Every administrator knows that the people in the field can work cheaper and do more in a day after all, on the OLIVE PITTING MACHINE USED BY N. GERENTES map it all looks so easy. Alas, in the field, the realities are often very different. Each day, we left Athens by 6:00 a.m. avoid that city s infamous traffic. Each day, we returned late in the evening. Many plants were four and five hours drive from the city via admittedly beautiful, but windy, small roads. Commonly, there is no direct way to get from here to there. Long days on the road away from home and family are > > C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 4 3 POST THE OU LOGO ON YOUR WEBSITE Post the OU logo one of the world s best-known symbols of added attention to quality on your website. Ask Suzanne Beck at BeckS@ou.org to send you a beautiful, hi-res OU logo. SPRING 2008 // 31

32 THE FOOD INSTITUTE AND OU KOSHER Helping Get the Most Consumers Bang For thebuck On Food Purchases BY BRIAN TODD, PRESIDENT, THE FOOD INSTITUTE For the first time since 1990, prices for food-athome rose over four percent last year and could very likely do so again in 2008, with projections from the United States government suggesting an increase of as much as 4.5 percent. Many consumers, as well as many food manufacturers and retailers, are finding this to be unfamiliar turf and are looking for ways to deal with the higher prices. Indeed, mothers (and fathers) aged 30 or under, likely have never had to deal with such increases in their food bills. Even major food processors have commented that this is uncharted territory for many executives who came of age after At The Food Institute, however, which was founded in 1928, we have seen food prices fluctuate widely. For example, in 1973 and 1974, prices for food rose 16.4 percent and 14.9 percent, respectively dwarfing last year s 4.5 percent increase and a similar increase forecast for Of course, President Nixon had implemented price controls in prior years, which resulted in a surge in food costs when those controls were eliminated. At times like these, consumers often look for ways to economize and get the most bang for their buck at supermarkets; these include clipping coupons and switching to lower-priced alternatives such as store brands, also known as private labels. These days, however, consumers are not only looking for the lowest prices. They are also concerned about the quality and healthiness of the foods they feed their families. In the past decade, this search for quality and healthiness has led to increased demand for organic foods, as well as for kosher products. Fortunately, many private label products are now certified kosher, as well as many major brands, which makes this task simpler in many respects. Even before this current rise in prices, consumers and manufacturers wanted to know more about kosher certification. At The Food Institute we were often asked by food manufacturers and marketers, both large and small, How can we become certified kosher? In the past four to five years, however, this question was being asked more and more often. As result, The Food Institute and the Orthodox Union held a well-attended webinar on kosher certification late last year in order to educate food 32 // BEHIND THE UNION SYMBOL

33 manufacturers and marketers about kosher certification and the Orthodox Union, the world s largest and most respected kosher certification agency. The attendees learned about the importance of kosher certification to all consumers, as well as some of the steps they would need to take to have their products certified. Prior to that, Rabbi Eliyahu Safran, Vice President of Communications and Marketing at OU Kosher, spoke to over 100 attendees at a one-day seminar on food labeling sponsored by The Food Institute in Newark, NJ. He spoke about kosher certification and the Orthodox Union, to the delight of those in an audience that included manufacturers and retailers, both large and small. Another labeling seminar is currently slated for June 6 in Newark and possibly on the West Coast at a later date, due to the large audience seeking information on food labeling issues. At both, additional questions regarding certifying food as kosher are certain to arise. At The Food Institute, we do not anticipate this interest in kosher certification will recede in light of higher food prices. Indeed, many manufacturers will see it as a way to further validate the wholesomeness of their products and hopefully to increase to demand as well, as consumers seek out a kosher symbol on the products they buy. In the United States, consumers spent just 9.9 percent of their disposable income on food in 2006, about the same percentage as they have spent for the prior decade among the lowest percentages spent for food across the ABOUT THE FOOD INSTITUTE: A BRIEF HISTORY A nonprofit organization founded in 1928, The Food Institute has a single purpose: providing information to the food industry in an unbiased, timely and relevant manner. The Food Institute was founded by Seattle food broker Gordon C. Corbaley, who decided to put out a semiregular posting for his principals mainly canners and his customers, so they could keep better informed about what was going on in the marketplace. He called his postings The News from Oregon and Washington. The reports were welcomed by the trade; given the poor communications when Calvin Coolidge was President of the United States, a great deal of business was still being done by poorly informed (at times actually misinformed) buyers and sellers. A number of Corbaley s principals were so impressed with his postings, they decided the industry would be better off with one less broker and instead, have some sort of central information organization working strictly on accumulating and disseminating facts on the globe. In 1990, when food inflation was predominant, this percentage was 11.1 percent, while back in the Depression era, food accounted for about onequarter of the nation s disposable income. Advances in the food production from the farm to the fork have helped make this change possible in the United States. At the same time, the U.S. enjoys having the safest and most readily available food supplies across the globe; having kosher certified foods abundantly available will help insure that this condition continues in the 21st century. Brian Todd became president of The Food Institute, based in Elmwood Park, NJ, in 2002 and has worked for this 78-year-old business. These food processors approached the major can companies for initial funding. The new association based its operations in New York City until 1968, when it moved across the Hudson, to New Jersey. Over the years, our reporting has evolved, changing to reflect the developments in the industry, but the basic premise of getting the correct information, and getting it fast enough so that people can act on it, has never changed. Today we offer: >The weekly Food Institute Report; >The industry s most comprehensive website; >Seminars and webinars on the hottest topics and the latest trends; >A wide variety of highly respected reports and studies; >The most respected Daily Update s in the industry to over 150,000 key decision makers; >A staff of industry analysts to answer member inquiries and fulfill information requests. The Food Institute has over 2,000 members of all shapes and sizes across the globe, who value the services we provide. If you are interested in learning more about The Food Institute, please call us at (201) , ext. 212, or Cathie Sloan at csloan@foodinstitute.com. And be sure to visit our website at organization since Brian oversees the day-to-day operations of the association, which disseminates industry information through its weekly report, daily updates, seminars and webinars, reaching over 150,000 industry professionals. Brian has been quoted on food industry issues in a variety of publications, including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal and been interviewed on The Today Show, public television s Nightly Business Report, and numerous radio programs. SPRING 2008 // 33

34 // OUCOMPANIESSPEAK Martek Makes Its Mark In Biosciences WITH HELP OF OU KOSHER CERTIFICATION Martek Bioscience Corporation is committed to the development of life-science-based products that promote health and w e l l - b e i n g throughout life. Martek s products were developed from research and technology that evolved following research into the beneficial use of algae in long-term space flight. The scientists involved in this early research came to believe that algae represented a virtually untapped resource that could be screened for a variety of applications to greatly benefit human health. Fueled by these discoveries, these visionary scientists formed Martek Biosciences Corporation in Columbia, MD in Martek makes a product, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which is a long chain omega-3 fatty acid that supports brain, eye and cardiovascular health throughout life. Martek s life sdha is a unique, patented and sustainable source of DHA that is the only vegetarian source of DHA available today. Produced from the planet s primary source of DHA, microalgae, Martek s life sdha, avoids problems associated with other sources of DHA, such as environmental > > C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E // BEHIND THE UNION SYMBOL

35 AT MARTEK, QUALITY ASSURANCE AND OU KOSHER CERTIFICATION GO HAND IN HAND BY RABBI MENACHEM ADLER When I first met with Ms. Susan Patton, Director of Quality Assurance of Martek Bioscience in Winchester, KY in its original flagship manufacturing plant, I had the feeling that the relationship between Martek and the OU for kosher certification would be a natural fit. It is now commonly accepted by experts that the best nutrition source for a developing infant was set up by the Good Lord himself. Mother s milk contains a host of nutrients which promote development in all areas, including growth; antibodies which give immunity to many diseases; together with brain development and the better likelihood of living a long, healthy and productive life. Even the containers of the leading infant formulas point out that when possible, breast feeding is the best way to provide health and nutrition to the developing infant. There is a famous rabbi who is still going strong at around the age of 95 (may he live and be well for many more years to come), who attributes his longevity in robust health to his mother nursing him until the age of two. Having said all that, there are many situations (especially in modern life) which arise in which breast feeding is not an option. Martek has been in the forefront of manufacturing ingredients which assist in the continuing effort to try to have infant formulas replicate mother s milk as much as possible. Its original flagship product, DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) long chain omega-3 fatty acid ingredient as well as its ARA (arachidonic acid), are very important nutrients used worldwide by the leading infant formula manufacturers to assist in promoting brain development as well as cardiovascular health for babies who need to be fed on infant formula. The manufacturing of ingredients that go into baby formulas is a very serious business requiring rigorous quality controls to ensure that a healthy and reliable product is produced for the most vulnerable segment of the human race infants. Martek has won the respect and business of the leading infant formula manufacturers due to a corporate culture of understanding rigorous quality control and guaranteeing it. This corporate culture is a natural fit for working with the OU so that all requirements are met for their products to be certified OU Kosher. Production involves using nutrients in a scale-up fermentation process, starting from inoculation in an initial flask and moving forward through seed and main fermentors. Product is then dried and the oil extracted and refined, bleached and deodorized. Kosher compliance requires that all ingredients used as well as equipment meet OU pareve standards for their pareve products and OU dairy standards for their dairy certified products. In 2003, Martek purchased Fermpro Manufacturing in Kingstree, SC. The Fermpro plant was primarily a contract manufacturer, selling its expertise and the reliability of its plant to leading enzyme and biotechnology manufacturers worldwide in need of a plant location to manufacture their products. It was a natural fit for a rigorous quality control-oriented company such as Martek, for to be successful in contract manufacturing it is necessary to demonstrate reliability and to win the confidence of one s customers. Contract manufacturing is also a kosher challenge as it involves working with numerous new ingredients proposed by the contract manufacturer and ascertaining that they are acceptable for use in a product requiring kosher certification, or even in a product not needing kosher certification, ensuring that its usage does not cause equipment in the plant to be rendered non-kosher. Currently the Kingstree, SC plant is used for manufacture of ARA & DHA products in addition to Winchester, KY, and as a contract manufacturer under the entity Martek Biosciences Kingstree Corporation. Sue Patton has since retired but her successors in Winchester, Mr. Tim Bailey and now Mr. Randy Jones, as well as Ms. Rachel Montgomery, Director of Quality Assurance for Kingstree and Ms. Dennie Duke, QA Auditor in Kingstree, have proven themselves to be up to the QA and kosher challenges. All the personnel we deal with in Martek have shown themselves to be most responsive and aware of what is necessary to assure that despite the challenges, they maintain an exemplary OU Kosher program. Our rabbinic field representatives who visit their main manufacturing locations, Rabbi Yosef Levy in Winchester, and Rabbi Hesh Epstein, in Kingstree, have a very good working relationship with Martek personnel. As Martek works to develop new products and face new challenges, we are confident that based on its corporate culture, we are in an environment in which the long Martek-OU relationship will serve the public in assuring that bioscience products of the highest caliber, as well as kosher status, are available for the world s benefit. Rabbi Menachem Adler is Orthodox Union rabbinic coordinator for Martek Bioscience. He has served as an RC at the OU since 1992, servicing OU certified companies in the enzyme, biotechnology, emulsifier, vegetable oil, starch and syrup industries. His feature When it s Enzyme Time Call on the OU, appeared in the Fall 2005 issue of BTUS. This past year Rabbi Adler recorded an erudite series on enzymes and biotechnology on OU Radio s Kosher Tidbits series, which can be heard on SPRING 2008 // 35

36 // OUCOMPANIESSPEAK THE Tea Party IS JUST GETTING STARTED: Honest Ref lections BY SETH GOLDMAN IIn a late night decision in 1993 I chose to go to business school because I wanted to help lead the emerging national service movement. I wanted to gain skills that would enable me to practice the Jewish values of Tzedekah righteousness, not just in commerce but toward the earth as well. Though I never could have imagined myself as president (let alone a TeaEO) of a company whose largest investor is Coca-Cola, I am excited to see the impact our homegrown enterprise, based in Bethesda, MD, is starting to have on the environment and on health trends in the United States. And I am even more excited as I see the growth we will have as an agent of change in the coming years. When my co-founder Barry Nalebuff and I started Honest Tea out of my house in 1998, our beginnings were modest but our vision was bold. We wanted to create a delicious, healthier drink with a consciousness about the way the ingredients are grown. We always knew the enterprise would be about more than moving cases. We wanted Honest to stand for a different way of doing business a brand that is what it says it is, that strives for authenticity in the way it treats its customers and stakeholders. Tea is consumed by some of the world s wealthiest populations, yet it is produced by some of the poorest, automatically giving us the chance to create economic opportunity in communities where it was lacking. In the Torah there is a phrase in Deuteronomy that reads: Justice, justice shall you pursue I know there are many interpretations of why the word justice is repeated, but the one that appeals to me the most is that while justice is clearly something what we should pursue, it s also a way of being how we pursue justice counts. So if we were Honest Cigarettes and we sold to RJR Reynolds for a billion dollars and gave all the money to charity, we have pursued righteousness in one sense but betrayed our faith in another because we would be marketing a product that, when used as directed, kills people. So at Honest Tea it is important that we seek to express our values not with our profits (which are still quite modest) but with every bottle we sell. First, we make a product that is healthier with less than half the calories of most beverages on the market. Second, everything we sell is certified organic by the USDA, helping prevent the use of millions of pounds of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and synthetic ingredients. And finally, many of our va- 36 // BEHIND THE UNION SYMBOL

37 rieties are Fair Trade certified ensuring that the people picking our tea leaves are able to invest a portion of our sales into their own community projects. And of course, it s been personally satisfying to make a product line that is entirely OU certified not just so all my family members can enjoy it, but because the OU symbol is another way to guarantee that Honest Tea holds its suppliers to the highest standards. While many companies may use focus groups and have elaborate laboratories to develop new products, Honest Tea has often developed ideas received directly from consumers. Other times, these inspiring thoughts have originated even closer to home. A couple of years ago I was packing lunch for my middle son, Elie, when he asked me, Hey, Dad, how come you sell healthy beverages to adults but you put those sugary drinks in my lunch? As I read the ingredient panel on the pouch drink I was holding, I was shocked to realize that it contained more calories than a can of soda! Within a year we launched Honest Kids, and I asked Elie, along with Barry s daughter Zoe, to write the message on the side of the box. We launched the line in the middle of 2007 and we sold twice as much as we thought we would. But when we learned that drink pouches weren t recyclable, we partnered with a company called TerraCycle to create the Drink Pouch Brigade. This program allows schools, houses of worship, and others to reuse these previously non-recyclable items. To date, more than 600 schools and other community groups are already collecting drink pouches as part of the program and have collected over 60,000 pouches in only a few months. The pouches are being made into school supplies such as pencil cases, as well as handbags of various sizes and styles, which will be sold nationwide in Keeping an Honest Vision As We Grow In early February, as we celebrated our tenth anniversary, we also announced that the Coca-Cola Company had acquired a 40 percent stake in Honest Tea. While Coke is now our largest shareholder, the agreement was negotiated to ensure that Honest Tea will continue to operate as an independent business with the same leadership, mission, and board control for at least the next three years. When we buy 2.5 million pounds of organic ingredients, as we did in 2007, we help create demand for a more sustainable system of agriculture, one that doesn t rely on chemical pesticides and fertilizers. But when we buy ten times that amount, we help create a market that multiplies far beyond our own purchases. When we sell 32 million bottles and drink pouches with less than half the calories of mainstream alternatives, as we did in 2007, we help displace 2.4 million empty calories. That s important, but when we sell ten times that number, we help lead a national shift toward healthier diets. Ten years after starting Honest Tea, we can be proud of many things: We were the first company to introduce a certified organic bottled tea and the first to introduce a certified Fair Trade bottled tea; we have won awards and top rankings from national consumer publications and organizations for creating greattasting, healthier products; we continue to be on the leading edge of innovation in terms of new ingredients, packaging and packaging re-use; we have assembled a team of 60-plus wonderful people, winning awards for our employee-friendly practices, sharing stock options and bikes with them; and we have become a leader in our local community, launching the Bethesda Green initiative to develop a model sustainable business community. Yet the best reward has been the support and loyalty of customers who care as much about what we re doing as we do. As we enter a new phase of our business, I hope that our consumers will help keep us Honest as we try to balance the challenge of building a sustainable enterprise in a consumer economy. I encourage people daily to contact us either by ing us at sethandbarry@honesttea.com with suggestions or feedback, especially if they see us backing away from our commitment to organics, healthier products and sustainability. Seth Goldman is cofounder, President and TeaEO of Honest Tea, the first and top-selling organic bottled tea brand. The company also makes Honest Ade organic thirst quenchers and Honest Kids, organic pouch drinks. Seth is a board member of Pennsylvania Certified Organic, the Environmental Leadership Program and the Chair of Bethesda Green, an initiative to implement and showcase sustainable practices in Bethesda, MD. SPRING 2008 // 37

38 TANKS FOR THE MEMORIES OU AND TRANSPORT COMPANIES WORK TOGETHER TO MAKE SURE THAT KOSHER PRODUCTS TRAVEL IN STYLE Afew weeks ago I was attending a wedding reception, sitting at a round table with a number of other guests. An older gentleman, an interested kosher consumer but not, himself, involved in the kosher industry, turned to me. He asked me what I do, and I told him I work at the OU. Tell me what it is you do at the OU, he said. I told him that, among some other things, I am involved in making sure that the transport of kosher commodities from one site to the next is on vehicles that are dedicated to kosher products. He seemed uncertain about what I meant. For example, I said, when a salad dressing maker purchases distilled vinegar, how does the vinegar get from the vinegar producer to the salad dressing site? We make sure that the tanker trailers that haul the vinegar are also dedicated to kosher products. I see, the fellow said. It never even occurred to me that you had to get involved in such things. Well, I replied, it s like an extension of what we supervise within a manufacturing plant. You expect us to be careful that the tanks and processing equipment within a facility are used only for kosher, right? Of course, he said. Well, the same is true for the tanks, which we call tanker trailers, which bring the commodity from one facility to the next. Those are the big steel cylinders that B Y R A B B I G AV R I E L P R I C E you see speeding down the interstate. They look the same as the trucks that contain gasoline, but these trailers may contain fruit juice, vegetable oils, milk, TRAILERS: COMING TO A HIGHWAY NEAR YOU There are now more OU trailers carrying commodities around North America than ever. Here is a list of OU certified trailer companies that service all 48 contiguous states, as well as parts of Canada and Mexico: All Chemical Transport/ East Coast Ballard, Inc/National Base, Inc./Midwest Bennett Boals/Midwest BJJ/National Charles J. Husted/Upstate NY Cherokee Freight Lines/ National Dalan Trucking/Southeast Daufeldt Transport/Midwest DJE Transport/Southwest Drasc/Midwest Drumm/Midwest Enterprise/East Coast Evergreen/Western U.S. H. Fred Barefoot/East coast H.R. Ewell/National JW Hunt/Midwest Jensen/National Johnsrud/National M. Curry/National Milk Transport/National North Jersey Tank Lines/ Northeast Opie s/national P&L/National Peniston Transportation/ West coast Reynold s Nationwide/national Richard B Rudy, Inc./East of Mississippi RST Industries/Canada Western Tank Lines/ Western United States Woodworth & Sons/National 38 // BEHIND THE UNION SYMBOL

39 chocolate, or other liquid products. Hmm. That s remarkable. But how do you make sure that those trucks are kosher? That s a really good question. I said. It s different from supervising a manufacturing facility, because these trailers are never in one spot. So we have mashgichim who go to their main offices, where they keep logs of the trailers. Some of these companies have a handful of trailers, some of them over a hundred and fifty. In either case, the mashgiach has to audit the activity of these trailers. Did you hear that? the man turned to his teenage son, who had been absorbed in garlic bread and coleslaw. The OU makes sure that the trucks that bring vinegar to a salad dressing maker are also kosher. Come to think of it, it could be the vinegar that s in your coleslaw, he guffawed was once in an OU certified truck. It s definitely possible. In the last 15 years or so, the OU has observed the growth of a transportation infrastructure for the kosher industry. Slowly but surely more trailers that are dedicated to kosher transport are becoming available, enabling kosher certified manufacturers to buy or send their liquid bulk goods on trailers that maintain the kosher status of their commodity. Kosher trailers are necessary because non-kosher liquids, even when cold, can become absorbed in the walls of a vessel after 24 hours of service. Tallow and lard, animal-derived fatty acids and glycerin, non-kosher wine, wine vinegar or grape juice render a trailer non-kosher, while milk and dairy products can render a trailer dairy, so that it cannot be used for pareve commodities. Because interstate trade is so common, trailers often carry a commodity for at least that amount of time. When nonkosher commodities, such as glycerin, tallow and lard, are hot, they become absorbed into the wall of their container immediately. Just like a standard storage tank or bottling equipment can be kosherized (converted from non-kosher to kosher), so too a trailer can be kosherized. Trailer wash facilities charge an additional fee for performing such a wash. Although we are trying to establish greater resources around the country to perform kosherization washes, it is still more cost effective, in most cases, to contract the services of a kosher dedicated trailer fleet. An OU certified trailer company commits to using only kosher certified products that are approved ahead of time by the OU. They do not switch back and forth between non-kosher and kosher. If a kosher dedicated trailer is on its way from Chicago to California and someone calls asking if they can ship non-kosher wine from California to Texas, the trailer company will say: We can t. And since the great majority of liquid bulk commodities are kosher, their commitment to reliability carries minimal risk. The process of developing an effective and widespread network of kosher transport nationally has required patience, accommodation, focus and, as important as anything, much appreciated cooperation and assistance, not only from the transportation companies themselves but from manufacturers as well. The latter have required from their suppliers and from the trailers that deliver their goods that they be kosher approved. This way they can rest assured there will be no downtime or any other production or delivery setbacks. Kosher transport is an essential part of the OU s vision of growth. We look forward to working with more manufacturing and transport companies, making it as easy as possible to maintain high standards of kosher while meeting their business needs. Rabbi Gavriel Price services the transportation, ingredients, and flavors industries at the Orthodox Union. He received ordination from Breuer s Rabbinical School in Washington Heights, NY, and lives in Passaic, NJ. In his spare time he plays marbles with his children. When attending your industry conferences or exhibiting at shows BE SURE TO DISPLAY YOUR WE ARE PROUD TO BE AN OU COMPANY SIGN. Your marketing people and show organizers should always have the signs in their show kits. They are sure to attract the kosher buyers to your booth. If you need more copies of the sign, we will be glad to supply them. BeckS@ou.org for your copies. NEW BEAUTIFUL SIGNS NOW AVAILABLE SPRING 2008 // 39

40 It s Not Child s Play In the remote Irish town of Ballyragget, in County Kilkenney near the city of the same name, two OU Kosher experts, Rabbis Abraham Juravel and Yisroel Hollander, working with plant personnel, quickly kosherized the plant of Glanbia Ingredient Ireland GII the largest dairy ingredients business in Ireland, and manufacturers of ingredients for a whole range of products. Glanbia markets over 240,000 tons of dairy ingredients annually to customers in over 40 countries. Glanbia Ingredients is the largest supplier of lactose to many of these customers, supplying much of their requirement. The Glanbia kosherization was done in response to the decision to provide kosher lactose and other dairy-based ingredients to the kosher food chain. O n c e again, the OU leads the way in kosher supervision by working with Glanbia Ingredient Ireland to produce truly kosher lactose, without the need repeatedly to kosherize and modify production procedures. All the lactose produced on site will be O U Kosher certified. The story started several years ago when a leading baby formula manufacturer requested kosher lactose from Glanbia for use in its baby and nutritional formulas. Glanbia did several test productions, exploring various methods which included some production changes, kosherizations, on-site rabbinic supervision, and plant shutdowns. These test runs were costly and production was not up to par. But with proper planning and coordination with the OU, a program was devised whereby a one-time kosherization was included in the plant s annual maintenance program, no lost production time was involved, and no production changes were necessary. The OU devised a way to certify ALL the lactose, whey, whey protein concentrate and rennet casein, as well as other products being produced at the Ballyragget site. The team of Rabbi Yisroel Hollander and Rabbi Abraham Juravel was dispatched to Ireland for several 40 // BEHIND THE UNION SYMBOL

41 Providing Kosher Ingredients for Baby Formula Required a Journey to Rural Ireland for Two Senior OU Rabbis days to supervise the process. This full plant kosherization was accomplished in record time, due to the extremely competent and dedicated staff at Glanbia, as well as the years of experience that Rabbis Hollander and Juravel brought along with them to come up with innovative and practical ideas as to how to get the job done properly and efficiently. Rabbi Juravel is noted for thinking out of the box and being able to pull a rabbit out of his hat, to kosherize a factory properly and efficiently. As Rabbi Juravel reported from Ireland, In all the years of working in kosher certification, I have never seen such a team effort to get the job done. With the cooperation of Glanbia Ingredient Ireland, the OU brought with it the formula for success. If any manufacturing businesses are looking for kosher lactose, they should contact Kieran Duggan, Business Account Manager, kduggan@glanbia.ie, Glanbia Ingredients Ireland. JOHN KING, QUALITY MANAGER; NIAMH KELLY, ASSISTANT PRODUCTION MANAGER/WHEY PLANT; KIERAN DUGGAN, BUSINESS ACCOUNT MANAGER; RABBI JURAVEL, ORTHODOX UNION/NEW YORK; RABBI HOLLANDER, ORTHODOX UNION/ BELGIUM; NOEL O BRIEN, PRODUCTION MANAGER/CASEIN SPRING 2008 // 41

42 > >EDITOR S LETTER C O N T I N U E D F R O M P A G E 3 marketing vice president noted after seeing the power point presentation (which we can forward to you) highlighting the survey results, This is what I always hoped to have for my kosher marketing approaches. The media s continued fascination with the explosive kosher marketplace, its recognition of the OU as kosher s leader, and its reach all the way to China, is the core of a fascinating piece by Stan L. Friedman and Ilya Welfeld. There is hardly a major media outlet that did not take note of OU kosher s hundreds of certified plants in China -- and the number is growing. To Life, To Life, L Chaim, L Chaim, L chaim, To Life, words immortalized by Fiddler on the Roof s Tevye, words exchanged by Jews for centuries when sharing a drink, always accompanied by fervent wishes of L Chaim for all that s good and worthy in life. And now many more L Chaims will be exchanged as DeKuyper, the best-selling line of cordials and liqueurs in the United States, announced that its nearly 60 flavors received kosher certification from the OU. Leafing through the issue, these new Cheers join right alongside the renowned Stolichnaya vodkas, the longest OU certified Russian vodka line, and the popular Italian Frangelico. And more to come! Be in touch. Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu Safran Editor-in-Chief/Vice President, Communications and Marketing, OU Kosher > >DEKUYPER C O N T I N U E D F R O M P A G E 4 dietary requirements. Rabbi Safran noted Beam Global s enthusiastic cooperation in assuring that the OU s standards are well integrated into all facets of DeKuyper production, a position shared by OU rabbinic coordinator, Rabbi Jacob Mendelson, who praised the company s extraordinarily meticulous job of adhering to every aspect of kosher protocol and responsiveness to kosher concerns. R a b b i Moshe Elefant, COO of OU Kosher, hailed the latest developments. The OU, in its goal of servicing the kosher consuming public, recognizes the importance of having DeKuyper products certified. We therefore welcome Beam Global Spirits & Wine s commitment to helping us achieve this goal. DeKuyper was founded in Holland in 1695 by Johannes DeKuyper & Son and has been the brand to turn to for fresh and original liqueurs for more than 300 years. Now, in the 21st century, DeKuyper is the number one-selling line of domestic cordials, featuring nearly 60 mixable and versatile flavors of cordials, liqueurs, crèmes, brandies and schnapps. Some DeKuyper flavors have inspired the creation of cocktails and are now synonymous with those drinks. For example, in the mid-80s DeKuyper Peachtree Schnapps inspired the creation of the Fuzzy Navel, and in the m i d s DeKuyper P u c k e r Sour Apple Schnapps i n s p i r e d the creation of the Appletini. Company research has indicated that consumers categorize cordials based on usage. As a result, DeKuyper has organized its nearly 60 products into flavor and usage-based families to make it easier for consumers to shop the category and retailers to stock their shelves. The new families, DeKuyper Luscious, DeKuyper Burst, DeKuyper Pucker, DeKuyper Signature and DeKuyper Flavored Brandy, are based on flavor profile and whether the liqueur is used as a mixer, sipper, shot or after-dinner drink. New product packaging and merchandising that reflects each family will support the repositioning of DeKuyper into the product families. And of course, each product now bears the OU symbol on the newly designed labels. For more information on the DeKuyper portfolio, visit < 42 // BEHIND THE UNION SYMBOL

43 > >STOLICHNAYA C O N T I N U E D F R O M P A G E 2 0 two to three days, then is hand filled in one of the most elegant bottles ever produced for a vodka. Sumptuous and velvety in the mouth, Elit s character unfolds and its smooth taste is revealed. With its luxurious presence and unique production, Elit is intended for only the most discerning vodka connoisseur. As noted, Stolichnaya has enjoyed OU certification for quite some time. Stolichnaya s officials continue to be committed to meeting the Orthodox Union s highest standards, notes Rabbi Eliyahu Safran, Stoli s OU rabbinic coordinator. The exemplary care and concern for kosher demonstrated by Stoli is consistently communicated by OU RFRs visiting the vodka plants. Stolichnaya is the genuine authentic vodka from Russia where Jewish and kosher traditions are strong. OU certification testifies to the purity of our ingredients. It is important to Stolichnaya to stay true to its history and to its roots by maintaining OU certification so that all consumers who would like to enjoy Stoli will be able to do so. > >GREEK C O N T I N U E D F R O M P A G E 3 1 common for our field representatives and it is important that we in the office fully appreciate their work and dedication. Of course, one of the joys of travel is seeing other countries and cultures and Greece was no exception. I rarely get to do the tourist stuff. On the other hand, I get to see the back roads and meet the real people in ways tourists rarely do. While I had no time for tours, I did get the opportunity to walk through Athens in the evening. It is impressive to see how the Acropolis dominates the city. On our third day in Greece, we took a particularly lovely drive onto the Peloponnesian Peninsula. Here I got a taste of the Greece one so often sees in travel brochures mountains ending directly in the deep blue waters of the Aegean Sea. It is truly beautiful and, again, so very different when behind the wheel on a back road going to a factory site rather than on a tour bus hearing the story told to a million tourists before you. One, perhaps, misses the history, but one also gets to see a place in his own vision with his own thoughts, through the eyes of those who live and work in the place. Food is made everywhere in the world, yet I find that each culture, each landscape, each culture and geographic nuance, changes the product in subtle yet wonderful ways. That is one of the other true joys of taking the opportunity to review companies and to meet the people who have joined the OU family throughout the world. Rabbi Aharon Brun-Kestler enjoys addressing all aspects of kosher operations and assisting companies which seek to better understand the kosher marketplace as well as the ins and outs of kosher certification. His feature Everything s Popping With OU and Popcorn appeared in the Fall 2007 issue of BTUS. Rabbi Brun-Kestler serves as Orthodox Union rabbinic coordinator for snack companies and services companies in China, Greece and Spain. > >MARTEK C O N T I N U E D F R O M P A G E 3 4 contaminants, allergen issues, and taste/sensory challenges. Martek also developed a patented process for developing arachidonic acid, ARA, another fatty acid important to infant health. Committed to the production of high quality nutritional products, Martek sought certification from the Orthodox Union shortly after the commercialization of its life sdha and life sara products in the early 1990 s. The OU was the logical choice for Martek s kosher certification, because it is the most widely respected and trusted kosher certification trademark. For Martek, receiving the OU certification was a true certification of the quality of production and the products themselves. Today, the demand for Martek s quality nutritional ingredients continues to grow. Martek s flagship product, life s- DHA, along with life sara, both produced at state-of-the-art manufacturing plants in Kingstree, SC and Winchester, KY, is found in over 90 percent of U.S. infant formulas. Both fatty acids are also added to infant formulas sold in over 70 countries and, subsequently, have been consumed by more than 30 million babies worldwide. In addition, a range of supplements and functional foods containing life s DHA for older children and adults continues to come to the market both in the United States and abroad. With OU certification of the product, Martek has been able to provide these important nutrients to people throughout the world. Rabbi Menachem Adler serves as Orthodox Union Rabbinic Coordinator for Martek Bioscience Corporation SPRING 2008 // 43

44 OU KOSHER VIDEO THE SEQUEL >> If you liked the first OU Kosher Video, you ll love the second one, The Kosher Standard. Here in 20 minutes is everything you need to know about the procedures and requirements necessary to produce an OU Kosher product, and how to design an effective system at your company. Recommended for personnel in management, production and quality control and for in-house training. TO ORDER EXTRA COPIES CALL OUKOSHER. ORG VISIT WWW. OU. ORG IS THERE ANYONE ELSE AT YOUR COMPANY (IN MANAGEMENT, MARKETING, PRODUCTION) WHO SHOULD BE RECEIVING A COPY OF BEHIND THE UNION SYMBOL? Do let us know at safrane@ou.org. We will add to our mailing list.... FOR APPLICATIONS TO CERTIFY NEW COMPANIES OR ADDITIONAL PLANTS, call Suzanne Beck at the OU Applications Desk, or safrane@ou.org ELEVEN BROADWAY, NEW YORK, NY NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID STATEN ISLAND, NY PERMIT NO. 301 ou