REACHING 7,000 FOOD EXECUTIVES & OVER 8,000 PLANTS WORLDWIDE. kelp caviar goes kosher When Kelp

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1 BEHIND THE Union symbol REACHING 7,000 FOOD EXECUTIVES & OVER 8,000 PLANTS WORLDWIDE Spring 2013 Hrring Hrring is among th most univrsally consumd of all fish. OU Koshr s fish xprt, Rabbi Chaim Goldbrg, xplains th intricacis of koshr hrring, to mak sur that th consumr dosn t wind up in a pickl. Pag 2 information to th radrs who thn minut maid/simply bvrags OU Koshr wlcoms two iconic additions to its product list: Minut Maid and Simply Bvrags juics and drinks. Did w mntion that thy ar dlicious? Pag 13 klp caviar gos koshr Whn Klp dcidd to go koshr with its substitut caviar products, guss which crtifying agncy it slctd? Its worldwid clints ar plasd with th choic of OU. Pag 16 saratoga spring watr Prsidntial inaugurations can mak you thirsty. In January s crmony, OU-crtifid Saratoga Spring Watr wt gusts parchd throats. Pag 20 fungus among us Considring it is a fungus, th mushroom is surprisingly tasty. Bcaus of th prsnc of inscts, howvr, thr ar koshr issus to b dalt with. Pag 10 thinking outsid th box Having a problm on th koshr production lin? OU rabbinic fild rprsntativs show ingnuity in coming up with solutions. Pag 18

2 d s r g R rin H r H o N A Handy Guid to th Production of a Univrsal Fish By Rabbi Chaim Goldbrg 2 In th fish world, what could b mor univrsal than hrring? With hrring, w hav a food idntifid by divrs popls and countris as thir own. Though hrring is dlicious whn smokd, cannd, or saltd and drid, th majority of hrring bound for human consumption is pickld. (Hrring is njoyd by lobstrs, too, and hrring s fishry prmits nd to b split btwn th nds of both lobstr fishrmn and othr humans.) It sms that vry Europan country from Icland to Uzbkistan trats som sort of pickld hrring as thir own. B it old-fashiond schmaltz hrring, hrring in win sauc, Grman Bismarck hrring, Dutch pklharing, Grk ρέγγα, Russian селедка or Scandinavian gafflbitar, pickld hrring has bn considrd a stapl in koshr cuisin for hundrds of yars as wll. This givs manufacturrs of pickld hrring an automatic intrst in OU Koshr crtification for thir products. Though th ntomology of th nam hrring is unclar som suggst it cam from th fish s grayish color; othrs point to th Grman words for larg amounts rfrring to th siz of thir schools; whil othrs bliv it is simply from an old gnric trm for fish! I prsonally njoy th claim that th nam hrring coms from th Grman word hr, maning army. So hug wr th schools of Atlantic hrring, and so prcis wr thir swimming formations, that som may hav thought of thm as an aquatic army. Th procss of OU Koshr crtification of ths troops bgins with thir midnight march. That s whn most fishing for hrring is don bcaus that is whn hrring ris to th surfac of th ocan to fd on rising phytoplankton, and ar thrfor most accssibl to th fishrmn s nts. Using sophisticatd sonar quipmnt, fishrmn can locat hrring vn in th pitch black. Aftr thy hav locatd th hrring, fishrmn can catch an ntir school at onc using a traditional fishing mthod calld purs-sining. A sin is a rctangular nt with a sinkr, or wightd bottom, on on long nd of th nt, and buoyant cork on th paralll nd. Th nt is droppd vrtically and thn drawn around th school lik a curtain. A larg boat holds on nd of th nt. A smallr boat, calld a skiff, pulls th fr nd, wrapping around th whol school of fish. (S Figurs courtsy of Gulf of Main Aquarium at harvst_and_procssing/sining/dfault.asp). Nxt, a string at th bottom is pulld to lock in th catch, much lik drawing th strings of an old-fashiond purs, hnc th nam: purs-sining. Whil th nt is slowly pulld onto th largr vssl, th fish ar forcd togthr towards th bottom. At this point th fish ar ithr pumpd onto th fishing boat dirctly from th nt with a vacuum hos or ar rmovd by brailing pulld out with small hand-hld dip nts calld brails. Amazingly, most of th scals fall off th hrring as thy ar bing rmovd from th watr, and vn ths shd scals hav som conomic valu: fishrmn sll thm to cosmtic companis who driv parl ssnc from thm for us in cosmtic products. Whn th hrring catch is brought to th procssing facility, plant prsonnl rmov any by-catch, (th trm usd by th industry for spcis that wr incidntally caught in th fishing procss). Among th diffrnt spcis that can b found as by-catch ar non-koshr prdators such as sharks. Thrfor, it is th rsponsibility of OU Koshr to monitor that th procss in plac for rmoving by-catch succds in rmoving on hundrd prcnt of th non-koshr spcis. Th procss of making pickld hrring is rlativly unchangd from th old country, whrvr that may b, and consists of two primary stps. First is th initial curing procss, whr raw fish is guttd and drssd into various cuts (with or without skin) and thn pickld in vry strong brin. Salt, watr and actic acid (ithr artificial, ptrolum-basd or traditional vingar typ) ar usd to prsrv th hrring. (Th salin of th salt and th acidity of th actic acid crat an nvironmnt hostil to bactria, which ar rsponsibl for dcay of foods.) Bsids prsrving th hrring, ths ingrdints also affct th tast and txtur, and prpar th fish for th scond stp whn it will bcom th product consumrs rcogniz and njoy. Although artificial actic acid and salt ar fr of kashrut concrns, vingar can b drivd from non-koshr sourcs, and thrfor it is ncssary for OU Koshr to confirm th koshr 3

3 sourc of th vingar. Bcaus many hrring facilitis rciv vingar in bulk shipmnts (in tankr trailrs, for xampl), OU Koshr must st up a protocol at th plant to guarant that only proprly crtifid and approvd vingar products ar rcivd. For th scond stp, th brind fish nd to b soakd in watr to rmov th sharp tast of th original brin, thn placd in jars or pails togthr with som sort of covr brin. Ths could includ mustard, oils, saucs, sour cram and othr flavoring agnts, as wll as, in th cas of rollmops, onions or pickls. All of th ingrdints usd in making th covr brin and bottling procss must b prsnt on Schdul A, as is th cas in vry plant. Sinc dairy is oftn usd in th brining procss, OU Koshr must institut procdurs for sgrgating th procssing quipmnt and confirming that th dairy tools and buckts ar only usd for dairy. Capping quipmnt oftn nds to b disassmbld during claning, as wll, to mak sur no rsidus ar lft from dairy production. Th OU is proud to crtify pickld hrring from diffrnt nations. Traditional pickld hrring products aimd primarily for th Jwish markt ar mad in Nw York by Bannr Smokd Fish; in Brooklyn by Bnz s Food Products and by Flaum s; and in Quns by Haifa Smokd Fish. Fatur Foods in Toronto; Rachal s Food Products in Springfild, MA; Sa Far Foods in Dtroit and Vita Food Products in Chicago prov that you don t hav to liv in Nw York to produc pickld hrring for th Jwish markt. Barry Group in Nw Brunswick, Canada; Comau s Sa Foods Limitd in Nova Scotia; Noon Hour Food Products in Chicago and Olsn Fish in Minnapolis all furthr dmonstrat that OU crtification is not limitd to thos companis primarily targting an thnic Jwish markt. Whrvr you com from, and howvr you mak your hrring, th OU Koshr symbol on your company s pickld hrring product will ncourag koshr consumrs to tak your product and mak it thir own. Rabbi Chaim Goldbrg has managd th lion s shar of OU crtifid fish companis for 10 yars, and has rviwd th OU Koshr programs in fish facilitis on four of svn continnts, aftr dclining an offr to visit on in Antarctica. Rabbi Goldbrg stors his passport in Brooklyn, NY in a fort hld down by his wif and thr childrn. OU koshr Rabbi Mnachm Gnack Rabbinic Administrator / CEO Rabbi Mosh Elfant Excutiv Rabbinic Coordinator / COO Dirctor, Nw Company Dpartmnt Rabbi Yaakov Luban Excutiv Rabbinic Coordinator Rabbi Mosh Zywica Excutiv Rabbinic Coordinator, dirctor of oprations Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu Safran Vic Prsidnt, Communications and Markting Rabbi Nachum Rabinowitz snior rabbinic coordinator Rabbi Yosf Grossman snior ducational rabbinic coordinator Rabbi Yrachmil Morrison Ingrdint Approval Rgistry Rabbi Abraham Juravl Ingrdint Approval Rgistry Rabbi Howard Katznstin Dirctor, Businss Managmnt Harvy Blitz Chairman, Joint Kashrut Commission Rabbi Knnth Auman Chairman, Rabbinic Kashrut Commission Rabbi Emanul Holzr Chairman Emritus Orthodox Union Martin Nachimson Prsidnt Rabbi Stvn Wil Excutiv Vic Prsidnt Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hrsh Winrb Excutiv Vic Prsidnt, mritus Mayr Frtig chif Communications officr Bhind th Union Symbol Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu Safran Editor-in-Chif Stphn Stinr Editor Batya Rosnr Assistant ditor Carri Bylus copy ditor Yochvd Lfkovits art dirctor In Thir Words: Company Prsonnl Writ... In this issu w ar proud to shar: Stubn Foods Inc. Elma, NY Kping Up With Changs in Food Manufacturing with OU as a Partnr By Knnth J. Stanly Bginning with this issu, BTUS will fatur a column in which company prsonnl discuss: 1 Th challngs of maintaining an OU program, and 2 Th advantags and gratification that coms along with it. B&G Food Rosland, NJ Maintaining an OU Koshr Program By Jant Tipaldi, Quality Assuranc Managr Thr ar many challngs involvd in maintaining an OU koshr program. At B&G, w produc both inhous Aftr working for mor than 34 yars in th food brands and privat labl products undr OU crtification. Whn opratd corrctly, it is a vry manufacturing industry, dtail-orintd procss that involvs both obtaining it s hard to bliv all th changs that hav takn plac during this tim rsulting from vr-incrasing dmands from rgulatory agncis and th consumr. Who would hav gussd back thn that today rgular milk would hav to compt with so many non-dairy altrnativs? Though ths many nw product options provid opportunity to our businss, thy also bring many challngs associatd with food safty, allrgn and koshr complianc. As a contract manufacturr, th products w usually rciv from our customrs ar th ons thy cannot or choos not to mak thmslvs as a rsult of thir complxitis. Evn though thir nam may b on th finishd product, our rputation gos into vry packag. As a rsult, w procss and packag a vry divrs list of propr documntation for all ingrdints usd in th koshr products, including nw sourcs as thy ar addd, as wll as kping labling currnt for both inhous brands and privat labl products as changs and updats ar mad. W hav four procssing lins in th plant. Lins 1 & 2 ar usd to produc a varity of itms that includ non-koshr All Fruit, which is swtnd with whit grap, par or pinappl juic; and koshr itms, that includ svral flavors of rducd sugar, sugar fr and standard prsrvs, jllis and sprads, as wll as a varity of molasss itms. On a day-to-day basis, th schduling of th quipmnt that rquirs koshrization du to th switching back and forth from koshr to non-koshr continud on pag 6 continud on pag 6 Quick and Easy Kashrut 4 5

4 Stubn Foods Inc. Elma, NY Continud from pag 5 Continud from pag 5 products. Sgrgation of all allrgns; organic vrsus convntional (non-organic); not to mntion maintaining koshr intgrity of th quipmnt and th product throughout th ntir procss, hav bcom a way of lif for us. Thos in this businss undrstand that this is no asy task; howvr, our knowldg of koshr has hlpd us dvlop an outstanding allrgn control program. I hav had a 25-yar rlationship with th Orthodox Union, working with many formr and currnt rabbis who hav taught and continu to tach my staff and myslf about maintaining th koshr intgrity of th products w manufactur. Our rabbinic coordinator, Rabbi Dovid Bistricr, is our first contact for nw ingrdint and labl rviw plus his assistanc with third-party agrmnts. At th plant, OU rabbinical fild rprsntativ Rabbi Shmul Rashkin dos much mor than making sur our plant is in complianc. H is truly a rsourc, anothr st of ys and a partnr in vry stag of th procss from rviwing nw customr tst runs to th finishd product ntring th warhous. Btwn th two of thm and OU staff, it s lik having our own privat complianc dpartmnt. Through my xprinc in daling with so many diffrnt customr and rgulatory audits, our rabbi is th only inspctor who is happy whn h finds nothing rmotly out of plac. As w continu to grow as an organization, it is ths prsonal and profssional rlationships that ar ssntial in safguarding not only our rputation but mor importantly, th quality and intgrity of th finishd products providd to th consumr. In ordr to continually b succssful w rquir th bst in th industry to work hr and this includs our koshr crtification agncy, th Orthodox Union. Stubn Foods Inc. is a privatly ownd contract manufacturr of asptic (shlf-stabl) and xtndd shlf lif (rfrigratd) food products srving a varity of diffrnt customrs ranging from th world s largst food companis to nw, start-up vnturs. Knnth J. Stanly srvs as th Vic Prsidnt / Plant Dirctor for th company. B&G Food Rosland, NJ products, as wll as mting th spcial sanitation and procssing nds for uniqu productions such as Passovr spcially if thr ar also privat labl products involvd can b spcially dmanding. W hav dvlopd a simpl yt ffctiv systm of communication via mail that outlins our production schdul and th spcifics of koshrization so that vryon involvd is informd and on th sam pag. Th ntir procss works xcptionally wll du to th mutual rspct and trust that hav bn built into th rlationship ovr th yars of working as a tam to nsur quality, consistncy and th practics rquird by th OU to nsur accptabl product. Th advantag of OU crtification on th labl as a slling point is nhancd by th gratification that coms from taking a complx systm of rquirmnts and making thm an vryday occurrnc by rspcting ach othr s nds, rstrictions and abilitis in a truthful and trusting nvironmnt. Rabbi David Gorlik is our rabbinic coordinator and Rabbi Mosh Prlmuttr is our primary rabbinic fild rprsntativ. Rabbi Gorlik srvs as th backup RFR. In both cass, it is th blnd of profssionalism as it prtains to ach of our job rsponsibilitis and rquirmnts as wll as a prsonal rlationship that has dvlopd ovr th yars that maks this program work. W can xchang plasantris, discuss currnt vnts both what is happning in th world as wll as in our livs whil accomplishing our goal: to maintain an activ, currnt and corrct OU program in a cordial atmosphr. ARE your company and products postd on Faturd Companis sction? Contact safran@ou.org for dtails. Dar Frind, Thousands of companis choos OU Koshr crtification. OU Koshr is rcognizd as th world s largst and most rspctd koshr crtification agncy and symbol. OU Koshr crtification is a clar mark of suprior quality, and OU crtifid companis know that having th OU Koshr symbol nhancs th marktability of thir products worldwid. Th An Introduction to OU Crtification and th Koshr Marktplac: A PowrPoint Prsntation OU Koshr symbol opns untappd channls of distribution in nw markts for OU companis, thrby incrasing thir rvnus. Th PowrPoint prsntation for which you hav th attachd link can b usd to ducat and nlightn your collagus about why OU crtification is so important to your company. Plas shar it as wll with your supplirs, your customrs, and othrs with whom you do OU Koshr Markting Tips Fatur OU crtification and th OU 3 symbol on your wbsit, and link th logo to That way th full rang of OU activitis will bcom known to your clintl. businss. It will giv thm a bttr undrstanding of th scop and rach of OU crtification, th vr growing koshr marktplac, and th OU advantag for your company s growth and dvlopmnt. Thy will agr that OU crtification is a major contributor to your company s succss. Sincrly, Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu Safran Editor-in-Chif, BTUS 6 7

5 Undrstanding th Complxitis of Bills of Lading A bill of lading (BOL) can b an indispnsabl rsourc for somon trying to vrify th origin of a raw matrial. Sinc this is on of th tasks of an OU rabbinic fild rprsntativ (RFR) visiting a food manufacturr, h will oftn rfr to a BOL to confirm th accptability of an ingrdint. What is a BOL, and what ar th limits of its usfulnss? Lt s say that Iowa Vgtabl Oils (IVO) hirs Midwst Transport to ship 45,000 gallons of vgtabl oil to Pnnsylvania Potato Chip (PPC). In this scnario, a sris of transactions taks plac: IVO transfrs custody of th product to Midwst Transport who, upon dlivry, transfrs custody to PPC. A BOL is gnratd that minimizs th lgal issus that can aris as th product movs along this chain of custody. It idntifis th Shippr (IVO), th Carrir (Midwst Transport) and th Consign (PPC). It also idntifis th typ of product (vgtabl oil), th spcific unit in Midwst Transport s flt usd to actually ship th product, and th sal numbrs physically applid to th trailr. Th OU RFR at PPC will consult th BOL to satisfy two distinct rquirmnts. Th first is that th commodity indd coms from th approvd sourc. Scond, h will want to s that th oil is shippd in a tankr trailr that is koshr crtifid. Sinc th BOL idntifis not only Midwst Transport but also th spcific trailr numbr, th OU RFR will cross rfrnc that numbr with Midwst Transport s koshr crtificat (crtifid companis By Rabbi Gavril Pric should rtain th crtificats for th transportation companis usd to bring product to thir facility). In cass whr a product is only accptabl whn sald undr rabbinical suprvision, an OU RFR should also cross-rfrnc th actual sals with thos idntifid on th bill of lading. Unfortunatly, thr is no standard form for prsnting information on a BOL, so som carful rading is ndd to find what is prtinnt. In th vast majority of cass th BOL will b sufficint for an OU RFR to confirm that a commodity originatd from its approvd sourc. Howvr, a BOL will not always provid an answr. Th BOL dscribd abov idntifid IVO, th manufacturr, as th Shippr. This is standard practic in th transport of koshr crtifid goods, sinc most commoditis ar only accptabl from spcific manufacturrs. A BOL can, howvr, idntify th brokr as th Shippr of goods, and not th manufacturr. In this cas th BOL is uslss to an OU rabbinic fild rprsntativ or, at bst, a pic of a puzzl that nds to b compltd. Idntifying th brokr as th Shippr is usd in a blind BOL. Th brokr wants to kp th idntity of th manufacturr from th customr so h can rmain th middlman. This is a prfctly lgal, and common, stratagm. It is unaccptabl, howvr, in an arrangmnt in which th commodity is approvd only from manufacturr(s) spcifid on a Schdul A. If an OU RFR dos find that th Shippr idntifid on th BOL is not th manufacturr approvd on Schdul A and th Shippr is confirmd to b a brokr or distributor (and not simply an unapprovd manufacturr), h may nvrthlss b abl to put togthr a pictur of th supply chain raching to th original manufacturr. For xampl, rcntly an OU RFR ncountrd an ISO containr (ssntially a larg, mobil storag tank) holding rfind grap sd oil at a Kansas City food production plant. Th OU RFR duly rviwd th BOL, which idntifid a trading firm in Nwark as th Shippr. Th sals on th BOL matchd thos on th ISO containr, but th approvd supplir was an Italian company whos nam had no rlation to that of th Shippr. Ultimatly, th Kansas City food producr was abl to provid a complmntary BOL that idntifid th approvd manufacturr as th Shippr and th Consign (that is, th rcivr) as th Nwark trading firm. Th sal numbrs notd thr wr idntical to thos on th BOL for th Nwark-Kansas shipmnt. Th ISO containr, it sms, had bn shippd from Italy to Nwark, whr it was hld bfor bing shippd onward to Kansas City. Anothr potntial rsourc whn daling with a blind BOL is a crtificat of analysis (COA). This documnt provids data about th physical and chmical proprtis of a sampl takn from a spcific lot of product. It will b gnratd by th manufacturr of th lot, and bar its nam. If an OU rabbinic fild rprsntativ can rlat th spcific lot idntifid on th COA to a spcific lot in th plant h s visiting, h s prformd his job. Howvr, a brokr who is kn on concaling th idntity of th manufacturr will b carful to chang th nam on th COA to his nam again, all without ncssarily indulging in anything dcitful. A BOL can b an instrumnt of subtrfug. What if IVO notics that its vgtabl oil has faild intrnal quality spcifications, but it dspratly nds to mak good on an urgnt ordr to PPC? It might snd trailr 613, from Midwst Transport, to its comptitor, Missouri Vgtabl Oil, to fill th ordr for thm. If IVO is kn on nsuring that PPC dos not think anything is amiss, th IVO nam, not Missouri Corn Oil s, will occupy th sction titld Shippr (which, aftr all, it is). This scnario is concivabl in thory but, for a numbr of practical and probably lgal rasons, not at all likly. Whn in doubt, OU RFRs can rach out to thir countrparts at th approvd supplir to confirm th facts of a shipmnt. Working togthr with you, our crtifid companis, w can nsur th transparncy of a supply chain and that you gt xactly th product you r xpcting. Rabbi Gavril Pric srvics th transportation, ingrdints and flavor industris at th Orthodox Union. A frqunt contributor to BTUS, his Undrstanding Enzym Modifid Chs Flavors appard in th Fall 2012 issu. 8 9

6 A Tasty Fungus By Rabbi Chaim Loik Among Us Th Mushroom Whn I first startd working at th OU, John and Gary Caligiuri of Sunny Dll Foods, Inc, took m on a tour of various growing houss. Whil I was fascinatd by th intrsction of th high tch scinc ncssary to inoculat grains with mushroom spors and th low tch tubing usd to adjust th humidity in th growing rooms, th ral surpris cam a fw days aftr I rturnd hom. Thr wr Portobllo mushrooms growing in my drivway and shitak mushrooms through th wood on my porch. Whn I calld th OU rabbinic fild rprsntativ, Rabbi Richard Lvin, who had bn visiting growing houss with m, h rportd a similar xprinc. I askd my contacts at th companis and thy can t figur out why, Rabbi Lvin told m. According to thir xprts it shouldn t happn but thy would not discount that som spors wr carrid on our shos or clothing and dpositd on our lawns. Highly unlikly but not impossibl, as w both xprincd th sam phnomnon, h said. Considring it is a fungus which grows in dcaying organic matrials, th mushroom is surprisingly tasty. And unlik most vgtabls, thy nd to b koshr crtifid. Not bcaus th mushroom itslf is not koshr, but bcaus mushrooms tnd to b insct infstd. Koshr crtification indicats that th growing houss wr inspctd and found to b fr of inscts living in th mushrooms. Thr was a tim in th 16 th cntury that th infstation of mushrooms was so svr that many rabbis advisd thir congrgants to abstain from th consumption of mushrooms altogthr. Evn today, th major koshr organizations will not crtify most wild mushrooms or mushrooms which ar not cultivatd undr idal conditions. Fortunatly, in th Unitd Stats and India thr ar a numbr of mushroom companis which, using stat of th art facilitis, grow th mushrooms undr conditions that ar fr of infstation. Th OU mushrooms ar grown in ithr bds of compost or artificial logs. Sinc mushrooms do not nd light, thy ar grown in indoor growing houss. Diffrnt grains ar inoculatd with mushroom spors which ar thn implantd in th growing mdium. Mushrooms ar th fruit of th fungus which sprads through th growing mdium. Undr th propr conditions, thr and somtims four crops of mushrooms can b harvstd in singl thirty-day priod. Aftr th last cut, compost is discardd (oftn sold to gardning cntrs) and th rooms ar strilizd. This constant strilization insurs that inscts ar unabl to stablish thmslvs in th growing houss. In addition to th inscts, th growrs ar also concrnd that molds and othr microorganisms might tak root; hnc far from focusing xclusivly on inscts, th strilization is mant to liminat organisms vn on th microscopic lvl. On th East Coast, th most advancd mushroom growing facilitis ar found in Knntt Squar, PA. Sinc th mushroom spors as wll as th growing mdiums ar fragil, transportation is a ky issu. As such, th mushroom farms clustr togthr so that th cost of transportation is minimizd. Two of th most rspctd mushroom companis ar Phillips Gourmt and Modrn Mushrooms. Both ar distinguishd by th quality of thir products and thir ability to kp thir product from bing infstd. Th mushroom companis hav a trmndous growing capacity which nabls thm to provid a consistnt supply of mushrooms yar-round. Thir plant facilitis ar locatd adjacnt to th climat-controlld growing houss. That assurs unsurpassd frshnss and an intgratd quality control program to closly monitor mushrooms from th bginning of thir growing cycl to th finishd products. Phillips farms ar on of th fw growrs in th Unitd Stats to grow shitak, oystr, maitak, noki, royal trumpt and pom poms. Ths grow on shlvs filld with organic matrial spcially prpard for th mushrooms. Th rooms ar strilizd vry fw wks, and rbuilt vry fw yars. Th company maks artificial logs, which wigh a fw pounds and ar filld with all sorts of organic matrial. Ths logs ar inoculatd with spors and in som cass produc only a singl mushroom. Th mushrooms ar harvstd and sortd and immdiatly snt to th suprmarkt. Som of th spcialty mushrooms cost dozns of dollars pr pound, bcaus of th labor and matrial ncssary to produc a singl mushroom. Thr is also an R&D ara in which Phillips xprts ar xprimnting with th production of vr-nwr and mor xotic spcis of mushroom. It is impossibl to walk through th various growing houss and not dram about th diffrnt ways th mushrooms can b atn; imagin sautéing th pom pom mushrooms or grilling a portbllo No articl about mushrooms would b complt without som advic as to how to bst prpar thm. Aftr much xprimntation, I hav invntd my own rcip for xprincing th dcadnt flavor of portabllos. English muffins or som othr havy brad should b usd. Th mushroom should b placd fan up on th brad, and thn a light covr of Hllman s OU crtifid mayonnais should b applid (not too much or th mayonnais will dominat th flavor). Th mushroom should thn b covrd with chs, and anothr slic of brad. It should b put in th toastr or ovn until th chs mlts. Try it! Rabbi Chaim Loik is OU Koshr rabbinic coordinator spcializing in fruits, vgtabls and mushrooms. In addition to his work at th Orthodox Union, Rabbi Loik also tachs at Yshiva Univrsity and Touro Collg

7 Ask th Rabbi: Crtifying Tankrs Rply by Rabbi Lonard Stinbrg Qustion: What rquirmnts must a bulk liquid tankr mt to b crtifid Multipl Juics and Juic Drinks Minut Maid Simply Bvrags from and Rciv Orthodox Union Crtification for hauling koshr product? Answr: A brand nw bulk liquid tankr is intrinsically koshr, just as any brand-nw vssl is. If it carris only koshr commoditis it will always rmain koshr. It loss that koshr status whn non-koshr matrial is introducd to it. In ordr to rstor it to its koshr status, it must undrgo a koshrization procss. Som wash racks ar crtifid to prform upgrad washs that can koshriz a trailr without an OU rprsntativ prsnt. Othrs that ar only crtifid for maintnanc washs cannot koshriz th trailr unlss a spcial arrangmnt is mad whrby an OU rprsntativ suprviss th procss and nsurs that th koshrization protocol has bn carrid out proprly. Koshrization ntails th trailr sitting idl for a priod of 24 hours and thn undrgoing a wash in which all surfacs of th trailr ar purgd by watr that is at last 200 dgrs. Th Orthodox Union crtifis trailrs as koshr if th company signs a contract agring to haul only loads approvd by th OU. Th OU will inspct th trminals priodically. Activity logs ar chckd against bills of lading to vrify that only koshr loads ar hauld. A company may choos to hav its ntir flt crtifid or spcific trailrs that it intnds to kp in xclusiv koshr srvic. Trailrs that ar crtifid must wash out in a maintnanc facility which is crtifid that th wash will not adultrat th trailr by washing it with rcycld watr that may hav bn usd to wash a nonkoshr trailr. What You Nd, Whn You Nd It Instant Managmnt of Your Koshr Account Evrything at Your Fingrtips Rabbi Lonard Stinbrg srvs as OU Koshr rabbinic coordinator spcializing in food srvic and transportation srvics. Managing Your Account Has Nvr Bn Simplr! 12 Multipl juic and juic drink varitis from Minut Maid and Simply BvragsTM will now carry th koshr crtification in th U.S. A varity of dlicious options from th popular bvrag brands hav rcivd crtification from th Orthodox Union (OU), th world s largst koshr crtification agncy. Th Minut Maid portfolio of bvrags, with mor than 100 diffrnt flavors and varitis, is th No. 1 fruit and vgtabl juic brand in th world in trms of combind rtail volum sals. Mor than a dozn chilld Minut Maid orang juic varitis including th nwst not-fromconcntrat offring, Minut Maid Pur Squzd orang juic bvrags will fatur th symbol on packaging. For many, koshr crtification plays an important rol in how thy choos th right brands for thir familis, said Charls Torry, Vic Prsidnt, Markting, Minut Maid. Having th OU stamp of approval for so many Minut Maid orang juic choics is wlcom nws for juic drinkrs who follow th OU koshr dit. Sinc Simply Orang launchd in 2001, th Simply Bvrags lin has grown to includ sixtn varitis of notfrom-concntrat juics and juic drinks that offr a prmium, frsh tast. Byond orang juic, th portfolio includs Simply Lmonad, Simply Limad, Simply Appl, Simply Grapfruit, and Simply Cranbrry Cocktail. All Simply Bvrags hav bn crtifid koshr by th OU and will carry th mark on packaging. Simply Bvrags ar availabl nationwid in a varity of sizs, including a 59 fl. oz. caraf, a 13.5 fl. oz. caraf and an 89 fl. oz. packag. Simply has always bn committd to quality, and our partnrship with th OU is anothr xampl of that commitmnt, said Allison Higbi, Group Dirctor of Markting for Simply Bvrags. W rcivd valuabl support from th Orthodox Union as thy guidd us through th crtification procss, and w look forward to building a long-trm rlationship. In addition to th products rciving OU crtification, svral Minut Maid and Simply Bvrag products hav also bn crtifid OU Koshr for Passovr. Thy includ Minut Maid Pur Squzd 100% OJ in th No Pulp and Som Pulp varitis, and Simply Orang Pulp Fr and Simply Orang High Pulp varitis. Rabbi Raymond Morrison, long tim OU Koshr s Rabbinic Coordinator, commntd: Throughout th crtification procss, I hav bn imprssd with th nthusiasm and profssionalism of ach brand s prsonnl with whom w had th plasur to work. I hav found that thir thos of striving for xcllnc in vry fact of thir work mirrors that of th Orthodox Union and will crtainly contribut to a strong and maningful rlationship. Th rollout of packaging for Minut Maid and Simply Bvrags with th dsignation has alrady bgun and will continu ovr th nxt svral months. A complt list of Minut Maid and Simply Bvrags products crtifid by th Orthodox Union can b found through this link to th OUkoshr.org wbsit. * Sourc: Euromonitor Intrnational Limitd; total volum sals including rtail volum sals in litrs basd on 2011 data. continud on pag 12 13

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9 om r C d fi ti yc wl s v i O U c C R rti ra 16 Klp Caviar, a world ladr in caviar substitut manufacturing, has rcivd crtification for its Klp Caviar Vgtarian Caviar substitut from th Orthodox Union, th world s largst and most rspctd koshr crtification agncy. Klp Caviar has dvlopd nin diffrnt flavors of caviar substituts which tast, fl, and look xactly lik th ral dal, said Naor Cohn, gnral managr of Montral-basd Klp Caviar. By bcoming crtifid koshr by th OU, w hav opnd ARE your company and products postd on th Faturd Companis sction? Contact safran@ou.org for dtails. fication Klp Cavi N s i pan many nw opportunitis for our xport markts including, but not limitd to, th Unitd Stats, Isral, Franc and South Africa. Klp is th only caviar substitut on th global markt that is 100-prcnt natural, 100-prcnt vgtarian, has zro caloris, zro cholstrol, and has a 24-month shlf lif and dos not rquir any rfrigration. Its flavor choics includ: sturgon, salmon, lumpfish orang, lumpfish yllow, truffl, wasabi, balsamic and chili. Klp Caviar is availabl for privat labl and undr its hous brand. As our intrnational sals wr incrasing, our clintl rqustd us to obtain koshr crtification, spcially for our markts in Franc, Isral and South Africa. Aftr shopping around for th bst koshr crtifying agncy with global rcognition and a grat rputation, w hav unanimously dcidd to bcom crtifid koshr by th Orthodox Union, xplaind Mr. Cohn. Our worldwid clints hav givn us th thumbs up for achiving OU crtification, as th OU symbol is widly rcognizd in ach country. In xprssing th Orthodox Union s satisfaction at Klp Caviar s attaining OU crtification, Rabbi Eliyahu Safran, vic prsidnt of Markting at OU Koshr notd, this vry fin, high quality parv product will undoubtdly b wlcomd by both individual and food srvic consumrs. Klp Caviar has a subtl flavor profil which will plas almost any palat, from th xprincd caviar lovrs to th lss advnturous atrs, statd Mr. Cohn. Klp is th only caviar product on th markt which can b usd as an ingrdint in your favorit dishs; it will not brak down and will rsist tmpraturs up to 500 dgrs. You can bak, cook and fry Klp Caviar products in any dish, bringing it to anothr culinary lvl. For mor information, visit www. caviarklp.com and Naor Cohn, gnral managr of Montral-basd Klp Caviar. 17

10 Thinking Outsid th Box How OU Rabbinic Fild Rprsntativs Solv Problms on th Production Lin By Rabbi Eli Grstn Whn a company applis for koshr crtification, oftn all that is ndd ar slight modifications in ingrdints (Schdul A); schduling (.g. koshr parv koshr dairy non-koshr) or procdurs for th plant to b in complt complianc with koshr standards. Occasionally though, difficultis aris which, in ordr to b rsolvd, rquir all partis to think outsid of th box. Dilmma: On of th basic prconditions for koshrization is that quipmnt must b lft idl for 24 hours. Only aftr this 24-hour dormancy can w koshriz by flushing th quipmnt with boiling watr. Som companis oprat svn-days-a-wk and it is vry difficult for thm to arrang for 24 hours of down tim. In crtain cass, th OU will allow substituting th 24-hour down tim with a doubl koshrization; first with a flush of boiling, caustic watr, or som othr foul tasting watr; followd by a flush with clan boiling watr. Howvr, som quipmnt is too snsitiv, or dos not hav th mans to hav boiling, caustic watr rach all ncssary parts of an apparatus. On particular company oprats its rtorts svn days a wk to striliz both koshr and non-koshr products. Bcaus th rtort is stam injctd, th only way to foul th watr in th rtort would b to add high doss of chmicals into th boilr, which for this company was not an option. Solution: Th company has two rtorts. On that is fittd to hold 10 oz cans and th othr holds 16 oz cans. Thir 10 oz cans ar in high dmand and this rtort is ndd vry day, whil thir othr rtort is only usd sporadically. Th solution was to rfit rtort #2 (that holds th 16 oz cans) so that it can also hold 10 oz cans. Rtort #2 will b lft idl for 24 hours and koshrizd, and thn production of koshr 10 oz cans can continu almost unintrruptd into th rfittd rtort #2. Dilmma: A company manufacturs sasond tortilla chips, som parv and som dairy. Although an allrgn clanup is prformd aftr th dairy run, th tumblr ndd to b koshrizd aftr ach dairy run if th chips wr hot whn th sasoning was applid. Bcaus this plant changs btwn dairy and parv frquntly it is not practical to hav th rabbinic fild rprsntativ (RFR) visit vry tim thy would nd to koshriz. Also, th facility is not larg nough to xtnd th convyr blt by an additional 25 ft, th lngth ndd to allow th chips th xtra tim thy would nd to cool sufficintly bfor raching th tumblr. Solution: Th company installd a sris of fans and coolrs that blow on th chips bfor thy ntr th tumblr, and thy succdd in cooling th chips to an accptabl tmpratur within th limitd spac. This liminatd th nd for koshrizing, and now thir standard allrgn clanup is sufficint ach tim thy switch btwn dairy and parv. Rabbi Eli Grstn srvs as OU rabbinic coordinator rcordr of OU policy. A frqunt contributor to BTUS, his ABC s STUV s Th Two Arts of Your Koshr Program, appard in th Fall 2012 issu. th world s most frquntd koshr wb sit, faturs OU crtifid companis and thir products on its OU FEATURED COMPANIES sction. Clos to 1,000 companis ar alrady postd. In ordr to b postd, at no cost, plas submit th following information to Safran@ou.org: t Nam of company or brand to b faturd t JPG imag 75X120 t Wbsit link >>> t word dscription of your products/company. t Currntly faturd companis can b viwd at: http//www. oukoshr.org/ indx.php/consumr/ faturd 18 19

11 r t a W g n i pr OU Koshr Crtifid S a g o t a r a S Th Saratoga Spring Watr Company has bn bottling spring watr products on th sam sit in upstat Nw York sinc In thos 140-plus yars many honors hav bn bstowd upon this historic brand, not th last of which was announcd last summr whn Snator Charls Schumr chos th company s iconic cobalt blu glass bottls to b srvd at th 2013 Prsidntial Inauguration, hld on January 21. Th company s unflavord spring watr products, both sparkling and non-sparkling, ar crtifid koshr, parv and for Passovr by th Orthodox Union. During th announcmnt, which took plac on pictursqu Gysr Lak undr th company s original slat-roofd pavillion, Snator Schumr profssd his long-standing loyalty to th brand: Saratoga Spring watr has long bn on of my bvrags of choic, so whn givn th opportunity to shar its iconic blu bottl with hundrds of gusts at th Prsidntial Inauguration, it was a no-brainr, h said. Aftr touring this imprssiv bottling facility, I am thrilld to announc that Saratoga Spring will b srvd to official gusts at th Prsidntial Inauguration. 20 I am honord to hav bn slctd to plan th fstivitis at th Prsidntial Inauguration, particularly bcaus it allows m to showcas this iconic Capital Rgion company and its suprior product at th 57th Inauguration in January. Th Saratoga Spring Watr Company cam into xistnc in 1872 during th global mrgnc of halth consciousnss, and bottld watr was d rigur for maintaining dlicat constitutions. Th town of Saratoga Springs was globally rnownd for its rich and varid spring watr sourcs. By th lat 19th and arly 20th cnturis, Saratoga Spring Watr had garnrd worldwid rcognition as a prmium product. Today, th Saratoga Spring Watr Company, a privatly-hld businss hadd by ownr and CEO, Adam E. Madkour, distributs its products in almost 40 stats, and multipl countris worldwid. Th company s facilitis hav bn automatd for fficincy but proudly maintain its historic roots. Our watr has bn njoyd for almost a cntury and a half in vry cornr of th glob, notd Mr. Madkour. W striv to honor our history whil looking toward a bright futur. Chosn for Prsidntial Inauguration OU Koshr Markting Tips Want your products to b found on whn consumrs sarch? B sur th product nam listd on Schdul B is somthing that will com up in a sarch ngin. Instad of listing Tuna, try IQF Yllow Fin Tuna Staks to gnrat th maximum numbr of hits. 3 21

12 OU Koshr Thanks for its Oasis Foods Stllar Koshr Program Koshr Education u From lft: Rabbi Akiva Tndlr, OU Koshr Rabbinic Coordinator for Oasis Foods; Rabbi David Gorlick, Rabbinic Coordinator; Lo Nigro, Vic Prsidnt, Oasis Foods; Rabbi Mosh Prlmuttr, OU Koshr Rabbinic Fild Rprsntativ for Oasis Foods; and Rabbi Yosf Grossman, Snior Educational Rabbinic Coordinator, OU Koshr. u and its Coopration in u Programming Facilitating u 22 OU Koshr paid a visit to Oasis Foods Company in Hillsid, NJ to prsnt th firm with a plaqu in rcognition of its xcllnt koshr program and its opn door policy of wlcoming ASK OU programs for hands-on dmonstrations of how OU Koshr plant suprvision works. Th plaqu was awardd to Oasis Vic Prsidnt Lo Nigro and Tam Oasis. It was a ral plasur to mt Mr. Nigro and Tam Oasis at thir corporat offic. Th plaqu I prsntd to Oasis on bhalf of th Orthodox Union gav concrt xprssion to our dply hld rspct and admiration for th stllar koshr program in plac at Oasis, said Rabbi Yosf Grossman, Snior Educational Rabbinic Coordinator, OU Koshr, who coordinats th programs that visit Oasis Foods facilitis. It was a way to xprss our apprciation for always having an opn door to th many ASK OU Koshr training and ducational programs which thy so graciously host. W look forward to many mor yars of a mutually bnficial rlationship. Mr. Nigro said, At Oasis Foods w tak grat prid in th cultur and rlationship w hav built togthr with th OU. Our mploys, customrs and supplirs all bnfit by th infrastructur, policis and procdurs that w hav put in plac with th guidanc of th OU. W hav formd a vry strong partnrship with th OU and w look forward to what th futur brings for both of our organizations.