In our effort to be accessible to the public and to promote kashrus awareness, the ~ recently held the first in a series of seminars for the kosher consumer. The seminar took place in the Landfield Avenue Synagogue, in Monticello, New York, located in the Catskill Mountains, a favorite vacation spot for Jews. This afforded us a perfect opportunity to interact with kosher consumers.

The seminar was sponsored by Blue & White Foods, Raskin’s Fish Market, and New York Pasta Authority, three OK-certified companies. The seminar was specifically for women, and over 200 attended, filling the shul.

The official topic for the evening was “The Life Cycle of a Kosher Food Product: From Raw Material to Your Kitchen,” but my colleague Rabbi Levi Garelik and I covered a variety of topics relating to kashrus.

I spoke about the trend in the last two decades to be more careful about the products we buy. When I was growing up and fewer products were certified kosher, many consumers would determine a food's kashrus by reading the ingredient label. They would look for suspect ingredients such as tallow, lard, and glycerin; if these were not listed on the label, consumers assumed the product was kosher.

Today we generally don’t read ingredients, for several reasons. First, we have become more stringent concerning kashrus. Second, more and more companies produce kosher foods, reducing any need to rely on labeling. Third, food production has become more complex, and “reading a label ain’t what it used to be.”

This complexity was addressed by Rabbi Garelik, one of our Rabbinic Coordinators. He outlined the procedure for making a product kosher, starting with the time that a company solicits OK certification. Rabbi Garelik explained that in expediting the process of certifying a product, the supervision agency must first address the raw materials comprising the product. Second, the production equipment must be kosher. He detailed the process by which these elements are reviewed.

From the consumer standpoint, explained Rabbi Garelik, it is valuable to know how to read a product label — not only regarding the kosher symbol, but also knowing the difference between “manufactured by,” “manufactured for,” and “distributed by.” The former means that the company has made the product; the latter two indicate that the product was made by a different firm for the company whose name appears on the product label.

To give the audience a closer understanding of challenges we encounter in kashrus, I spoke about some of the difficulties we have encountered with health foods, specifically miso and soy sauce. Miso is a fermented soybean that has been turned into a black paste. Some time ago, I visited a factory outside the city of Nagoya, Japan. Some of the ferments used in this factory are over 300 years old — so particular are the manufacturers about the quality of their product. To achieve fermentation, a fermenting agent is needed, and a protein is needed to grow the fermenting agent. One good source of protein is peptones. Peptones can be produced from the innards of a swine, thereby presenting a kashrus problem. Therefore, before one inspects a miso factory, he must visit the factory that produces the fermenting agent to ascertain the origin of the peptones. Simply going to the miso plant is not good enough.

Soy sauce production is a sensitive process that involves attaining the correct amount of alcohol taste mixed with the right amount of lactic acid taste. It is possible for a company to add grape or dairy alcohol to achieve the correct balance for their soy sauce.

Therefore, we have two concerns that must be addressed: the issues of stam yainam (grape alcohol not produced by Orthodox Jews) and dairy. A problem with alcohol can also exist with ice cream, which contains vanilla. Vanilla is made by percolating vanilla beans with alcohol. Whereas this alcohol may originate in a grape source, products containing vanilla should be bought with a reliable hechsher. I also discussed an issue that arose with Kraft, a veteran OK company. Kraft is a large producer of cheese, from which whey comes off as a byproduct. Kraft uses the whey to produce lactose, then obtains alcohol from the lactose and vinegar from the alcohol. Kraft Mayonnaise contains vinegar, and at one time Kraft concluded that it would be economical to use its own vinegar in Kraft mayonnaise. When this matter came up, I advised Kraft that this would render the mayonnaise dairy. Although the product would remain kosher, Jewish customers would seek out a different brand, since we use mayonnaise at our fleishig meals. Thankfully Kraft was convinced to continue to use a pareve source for its vinegar.

In the lively question-and-answer session that followed our presentation, among the subjects discussed was the nature of the kashrus knowledge that a field mashgiach must possess. The questioner wondered whether a mashgiach had to acquire broad expertise in kashrus before he begins inspecting food plants.

We explained that our central office Rabbinic Coordinators are enormously knowledgeable in all facets of kashrus, and our field mashgichim, who conduct the periodic visits of companies, work under their guidance. The field mashgichim visit a plant armed with a list of the ingredients that are present in the facility. For their task, they need to be able to match this list to the ingredients they find in the plant. And they do need to keep their eyes and ears open to anything unusual.

But broad kashrus expertise is not required on their part. Plants certified by the OK are inspected annually by one of our Rabbinic Coordinators. These are also the men who make the initial inspection, before supervision is granted. It is the role of the field mashgiach to maintain the standards we establish, not to initiate his own standards.

The evening was a great success, and we thank our sponsors for their participation. We look forward to further seminars. On behalf of the OK staff, I wish our readers a very happy and healthy New Year.