Behind the Union Symbol - Summer 2015

behind theUnion Symbol

BEHIND THE UNION SYMBOL 1


SUMMER 2015


Kosher for Everyone!PG. 1

KOSHER FOODS HAVE BECOME INCREASINGLY ATTRACTIVE TO

NON-JEWISH POPULATIONS

A Kosher Tour Through Lower Normandy and Brittany

PG. 4A BRITISH RFR LEADS US ON HIGHWAYS AND

BYWAYS TO OU CERTIFIED PLANTS IN FRANCE

“Foodie Revolution”PG. 10

OU KOSHER’S MARKETING DIRECTOR RHAPSODIZES ON THOSE OF US WHO

SAVOR OUR FOOD, NOT JUST EAT IT

The Indispensable RFRs PG. 13

OU RFRS BRING A HUMAN TOUCH TO THE CERTIFICATION PROCESS

Book Review: The Covenant KitchenPG. 17

OUR REVIEWER LAUDS THIS PAEAN TO “FOOD AND WINE FOR THE

NEW JEWISH TABLE”

Tea and the OU Kosher Approval Process

PG. 20EXPERTS TELL US WHY THERE’S MORE TO

CERTIFYING TEA THAN WE THOUGHT

Understanding the Kosher Market PG. 22GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE EQUALS GOOD MARKETING TO GROWING OU CERTIFIED COMPANIES

In Their Words: Nestlé Waters PG. 26“RESPECT FOR EACH OTHER, FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND FOR THE COMMUNITY,” IT’S WHY OUR PARTNERSHIP WORKS

In Their Words: Suja Juice PG. 27 OU CERTIFICATION IS PART OF A RECIPE FOR CONSCIOUS NUTRITION AND CORPORATE SUCCESS

NEW TO THE OU:

HIGHLIGHTS

Everything’s Coming up Roses for Rosa Food Products (condiments)PG. 28

Don Joaquin Gourmet: Exotic Sauces to Tickle the Palate PG. 29

Briannas “Salad Dressing is All We Do,” and the results show the effort PG. 32

NEW!



Kosher is for Everyone!BY RABBI DR. ELIYAHU SAFRAN, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, BTUS

An essay on Forbes.com by Larissa Faw, speaks directly to the exploding interest non-Jews have in kosher food:

A few years after I moved to New York City, I attended a luncheon where we were asked to select from a variety of meal options that included vegetarian, kosher, and low-sodium. Now, I grew up in a community where diversity meant different shades of blonde. I had heard of kosher – after all, who doesn’t know the statement, ‘is this deal kosher?’ – but I didn’t really know what kosher meant other than the fact that it was somehow affiliated with Judaism.

Still I selected the kosher option based on my believing that it meant the food was better than the non-kosher option. And this common view that kosher is somehow better, purer, and healthier than non-kosher foods is an opportunity for the kosher food industry.

Kosher foods, although based on the world’s oldest dietary laws, are among the fastest growing trends in food processing today. Here in the United States, home to 40 percent of the world’s Jewish population or about 6.15 million consumers, kosher food has always occupied an important marketing sector, but it is not Jews fueling this explosive growth in kosher foods.

Kosher foods are increasingly attractive to the non-Jewish population, the population that now makes up the leading and fastest growing consumer base for kosher products. This growing popularity resulted in a U.S. kosher market valued at $12.5 billion, an increase of 64 percent since 2003. In 2010, products as diverse as Tootsie Rolls, Gatorade and Glenmorangie Original, Scotland’s favorite single malt whiskey, attained OU Kosher certification.

You can be sure they weren’t simply looking for Jewish customers!

No, they were looking to take advantage of a burgeoning market that includes vegetarians, vegans, gluten free shoppers, and health buffs; a market that Mintel, a leading market research company, reports includes 62 percent purchasing kosher for its quality rather than for religious reasons.

In other words, three out of five kosher food buyers are not motivated by religious influences. Undoubtedly, all companies committed to going through the kosher certification process and willing to be governed by rigorous monitoring of every aspect of production – from ingredients, to preparation, to processing facilities – would love to have observant Jews purchase and enjoy their products. They are much more anxious however, to be part of the explosive growth of the kosher market to the general, all-inclusive marketplace.

The New York Times’ Karen Barrow agrees. Kosher food, she wrote on April 13, 2010, is “…an ancient diet [that] has become one of the hottest new food trends.” She notes that more and more supermarket shoppers are “going kosher.” Why? Because these shoppers are “…convinced that the foods are safer and better for health.”



“The kosher market,” Menachem Lubinsky, President and CEO of Lubicom Marketing and Consulting corroborates, “is the beneficiary of a young, loyal, and thriving consumer who appreciates better foods that are kosher certified. Many of these consumers have larger families, spend more than the average customer on foods, entertain more, and are extremely open to creative new ideas in their kosher diets.”

The kosher food category is booming. Reports indicate that 50 percent of food on U.S. supermarket shelves is now kosher-certified. According to jpost.com, “Kosher” is the most popular food label in the United States, having surpassed “All Natural” and “No Additives or Preservatives.”

Logging on to www.koshereye.com, a website showcasing new kosher products, one finds that the kosher option has expanded to nearly every category, including vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free, organic, wines, spirits and kosher “copycat” products such as kosher sausage, imitation crab and non-dairy alternatives to cream, butter and cheese.

Kosher food is available at many baseball stadiums and was sold at the Super Bowl. Major cruise lines provide kosher options, as do several leading hotel chains and airlines. Supermarkets continue to seek kosher-certified products while expanding their kosher offerings. Wholesale food buyers would be advised to understand that when two products are basically equal, the smart choice is to select the kosher-certified product, a magnet to the shopper who spends more on food, shops more frequently, while preferring a store that will offer the specialty gourmet, gluten-free, organic, healthful, perhaps even locally grown but most certainly kosher selections. The “kosher is better” buyers are looking for the extra step of cleanliness, purity and transparency, enabling them to raise their ‘eating consciousness.’

But, what is perhaps the most surprising interest in kosher foods, is the result of a unique confluence of events that has found the African-American community and the Orthodox community in agreement in their love for a kosher product – Bartenura Moscato kosher wine.

This Italian wine in the blue bottle has had a huge following among religious Jews starting in the 1980s and 1990s, who comprised 85 percent to 95 percent of its consumers. But the brand began to fly off the shelves – and become the most successful Moscato in America thanks to Hip-Hop! Yes, the inner city beat has driven Bartenura Moscato from being a successful brand to an incredibly successful brand, selling around four million bottles in 2015!

How did such a thing come about? In 2005, hip-hop artist Lil’ Kim rapped, “Still over in Brazil sippin Moscato / you must’ve forgot though/ so I’m a take it back to the block yo … ”

And take it back to the block she did! Her mention of Moscato triggered a run in the African American community. Sensing an opportunity, Bartenura responded by advertising aggressively to



that community. Jay Buchsbaum, Bartenura’s EVP of Marketing, said, “We saw rappers were talking about Moscato and identified the opportunity. Without forgetting our kosher consumer who got us here, we identified this group, addressed it with a marketing plan and it worked.”

Lil’ Kim was soon joined by other rappers. Drake followed in 2009, “It’s a celebration / clap clap bravo / lobster and shrimp / and a glass of Moscato …,” and Jay-Z was also involved. Though striking, these entertainers are simply following the path laid out by others. In the 1960s and ‘70s, singer-actor Sammy Davis Jr., an African American who converted to Judaism, famously endorsed Manischewitz – a brand still a standard bearer among kosher and kosher-for-Passover wines.

Harlem resident Sydia Simmons, an advocate for homeless mothers and children, loves the wine. But she, like other non-Jews who gravitate to kosher products, has another reason to prefer it. “Knowing that the Moscato is kosher to me signifies that it’s purer than other wines. I know a lot of people haven’t been involved with making it, and as a pescatarian (i.e. a vegetarian who also eats fish), I like feeling like my wine is also clean.”

In Crown Heights, a teeming, sometimes seething community where African Americans and Orthodox Jews live side by side, there is a huge billboard advertising Bartenura Blue, appealing to both groups.

As David Levy of Royal Wine Corporation said in 2011, “Bartenura Moscato has been around for about 20 years now; we’re the original premium Moscato in a blue bottle. While we introduced the product as a kosher wine, at the end of the day, we’re glad people outside of the kosher market have discovered this fantastic wine.”

Menachem Lubinsky of Lubicom notes that in recent years, research from a variety of sources has concluded what is obvious from the numbers – the size of the U.S. kosher food market is significantly larger than the core group of Jews who observe kashrut. “There are many who buy kosher pareve, for example, because they are lactose intolerant. Many Americans buy specific kosher products such as deli, pickles, hummus, horseradish and occasionally even matza.”

So, while it is true that the core kosher market is growing at a dramatic rate due to natural growth, resulting in a surge of large, kosher supermarkets all over the country, the non-Jewish market growth is being driven by health and even entertainment trends.

RABBI DR. ELIYAHU SAFRAN HAS BEEN SERVING AS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF BEHIND THE UNION SYMBOL SINCE ITS INCEPTION IN 1997.



Sacré Bleu! A British RFR Leads An OU Kosher Tour Through Lower Normandy And BrittanyBY RABBI ISRAEL KAY

Much of the time my route takes me through the French regions of Lower Normandy and Brittany. They are across the English Channel from Britain, and figured intensely in D-Day and its aftermath during World War II. Being an Englishman myself, I can smell the roots of current day Britain in the undulating highways and byways of these magnificent lands.

My factory visits take me along the North coast of France, to two villages close to each other with two unrelated factories situated in them. The village of St. Brice en Cogles, only one of

a number of Cogles villages (with the inhabitants known as Coglais), is a “Ville Fleurie,” an officially designated “flowered village.” The Armor Proteins plant in St. Brice, part of the Bongrain family empire, is a large milk fractionation site at the edge of the village. Any and every mineral and protein which can somehow be extracted from milk and whey is to be found here. Of course this is real cow country, so it is not surprising to find a milk plant here.

In France most dairy farms are extremely small, and individually owned, only selling their milk to a co-op, but not being owned by one. There was a protest this year when a dairy farm co-op of 200 cows was established.

In the next village of Antrain (inhabitants known as Antrenais), Diana Naturals, now part of Symrise Germany, has a vegetable and fruit extraction plant. All varieties of fruit and vegetables, including purple and black carrots, are processed here, and the most diverse colors and flavors originate in this small village.

Antrain is very close to one of the most well-known French tourist sites, Mont St. Michel.

Situated in the Bay of Mont Saint Michel, where Brittany and Normandy meet and perhaps clash, it is actually one of the most visited tourist sites in the world, with around 3.5 million visitors annually from around the globe.

What once used to be a small granite island rock dominated by an enormous monastery perched

A SUPERTIDE CUT OFF ACCESS TO THE MEDIEVAL TOWN OF MONT SAINT-MICHEL, A WORLD HERITAGE SITE AT THE MOUTH OF THE

COUESNON RIVER IN NORMANDY, NORTHERN FRANCE.



perilously on and over the rocky outcrop, is today connected to the mainland by a causeway.

The island itself has restaurants, shops, lodgings and a few inhabitants, but most of the visitors stay in hotels situated on the mainland. In the last few years only tourist shuttle buses have been permitted to drive right up to the Mont, with all other vehicular traffic having to park some distance away. The island has historic ramparts and other ancient buildings, with a phenomenal view of the coast and its salt marshes. Mont St. Michel is a very iconic setting, with models and pictures in all forms being widely sold in France, just like the Tour D’Eiffel.

What is most singular about the Mont St. Michel and indeed this area of coast with its various bays is the tides. The differences between high and low tide, which occur twice a day, are the largest in Continental Europe, and can reach almost 15 meters. This year, the day after the solar eclipse on Friday March 20, the positioning of the celestial bodies created a super tide which cut off the Mont completely from the mainland and turned it back into an island as in ancient times. The event was widely reported in the world press with accompanying pictures.

We now continue our journey along the coast westwards reaching the seaside town of St. Malo.

The Compagnie des Peches St. Malo, on the Quay Duguay, is the only European trawling company which produces frozen surimi base at sea. The trawler Joseph Roty II leaves the port of St. Malo at the start of the fishing season, and does not return until its hold is bulging with frozen surimi base, manufactured from freshly caught blue whiting.

These long marine expeditions used to be accompanied by a rabbi who assured the kosher standards of the surimi for the OU, or as the local press reported, “blessed the lines.” Today, for technical reasons, the kosher surimi base is produced elsewhere. However the Compagnie des Peches has a terrestrial surimi stick plant in the industrial zone of St. Malo, which is OU certified, and produces surimi for many a happy kosher connoisseur.

Leaving St. Malo for the next milk factory in the small town of Crehen, we drive over the Barrage de la Rance, Dam of the Rance. This is actually a unique institution, being the first tidal power plant in the world, and the largest, by power output, until 2011, when it was overtaken by a South Korean plant. It was opened by President Charles de Gaulle in 1966. This was only after one of France’s most famous and brilliant engineers, Albert Caquot, found a way of building temporary dams to dry up the estuary — enabling the permanent dam to be built. Caquot was in his eighties when he undertook this mighty project!

The idea behind a tidal power plant is to build a dam on an estuary which has very high

THE ONLY EUROPEAN SURIMI TRAWLER, JOSEPH ROTY II, AT THE PORT OF ST. MALO.



natural tides. The water at high tide is allowed to flow from the channel into the blocked estuary. It is then kept there until low tide, when it is released into the channel powering turbines in the dam. At the Rance estuary the dam is 750 meters long. The dam negated a long detour between St. Malo and the town of Dinard by creating a road across the bay. There is also a lock and a bascule bridge built into the dam, to allow small boats to pass from the estuary to the channel.

Twenty-four turbines create electricity; and although the costs of construction were extremely high, due to longevity and the low maintenance, the electricity produced is currently cheaper than nuclear power.

The idea for the Rance tidal power plant was first tested and abandoned due to financial constraints in 1925 at Aber W’rach in Finistere next to the town of Brest. The small charming bay La Baie des Anges, Bay of Angels, is situated there.

Brest on the northwestern tip of France (no relation to Brest-Litovsk of World War I fame), with the

Irish Sea and the Atlantic Ocean lapping at its sides, is home to two factories making use of extracted local seaweed or kelp. They transform the algae into alginic acid and in turn into alginates which are used as gelling and thickening agents in the food industry. The factories are Danisco-Dupont, situated in Landerneau La Forest; and Cargill Lannilis, both OU certified, of course.

Having reached the Atlantic, it is only a short hop across the pond to the OU offices on that island rock known as Manhattan. So I will leave you in Brest for now and hope that if you are in France, you will visit this scenic area, which is home to a variety of OU certified plants and products.

RABBI ISRAEL KAY WAS BORN IN GOLDERS GREEN, LONDON. HE SPENT HIS FORMATIVE YEARS IN PARDES HOUSE SCHOOL, AND SUBSEQUENTLY STUDIED IN YESHIVOT IN LONDON AND ISRAEL. HE CURRENTLY LIVES IN ANTWERP, BELGIUM FROM WHERE HE SERVES AS OU KOSHER RFR VISITING OU CERTIFIED PLANTS IN FRANCE.

BARRAGE DE LA RANCE WITH THE TOWN OF ST. MALO VISIBLE ON THE RIGHT.



Ask the Rabbi OU and OUD: Going Beneath the SurfaceBY RABBI AVROHOM GORDIMER

Q: Why does the OU insist that products that contain dairy ingredients bear an OU-D symbol? Is there something problematic or special about dairy foods?

A: Companies are generally aware that a product which is manufactured with dairy ingredients or on dairy equipment must carry the OU-D symbol, and that only a product which is free of dairy content and is not manufactured on dairy equipment is labeled with the plain OU symbol. Although some people believe that this is a general product specification requirement, similar to any other labeling declaration, there is much deeper significance here for the kosher consumer.

Kosher law prohibits its adherents from consuming dairy and meat products together. This is why it is so critical for kosher consumers to know whether a given food is dairy (OU-D) or non-dairy (pareve — plain OU), as this information notifies them as to whether or not the product may be eaten with meat foods. The simple letter “D” on a product’s label profoundly affects the religious dietary conduct of millions of consumers. How’s that for packing lots of information into a tiny amount of data?

In order to make their products usable by kosher consumers in all situations, companies are advised to consider assuring that products that frequently accompany meat dishes always be non-dairy/pareve. There is nothing more frustrating for a good kosher chef than discovering that a popular cooking marinade is certified as OU-D.

Some companies find it easy to use pareve formulas, yet they must manufacture their product on equipment shared with dairy production, and they are not able to easily subject this equipment to kosherization — the kosher cleaning that renders dairy equipment pareve. However, such companies need not despair. Here is why:

There is another kosher dietary regulation which stipulates that product made on dairy equipment but which has absolutely no dairy content may be consumed after, but not with, meat foods. Thus, dairy-free sorbet which is manufactured on non-kosherized ice cream equipment can be eaten by the kosher consumer after his or her barbecue. Although such product must be labeled with an OU-D symbol, as it is not truly pareve, the OU suggests that companies in this situation work with their



rabbinic coordinator and rabbinic field representative to present a non-dairy declaration on the product’s label, which the OU office will gladly endorse in communications with interested consumers. (Don’t worry, as we have loads of them!) The OU will advise these consumers that despite the OU-D symbol, there is no actual dairy content.

The OU is here to help the kosher consumer meet his or her religious dietary requirements, and to help client companies maximize their penetration of the large kosher consumer base by advising and assisting in the marketing of products that will have the utmost appeal from a kosher dietary perspective. This is a win-win situation for everyone, and the OU is extremely honored to be part of it.

RABBI AVROHOM GORDIMER IS A RABBINIC COORDINATOR AT OU KOSHER SPECIALIZING IN THE DAIRY INDUSTRY. HE IS ALSO A MEMBER OF THE NEW YORK BAR, AND LIVES IN MANHATTAN WITH HIS WIFE AND CHILDREN. A FREQUENT CONTRIBUTOR TO BTUS, HIS THE OU VISIT: BEING PREPARED, HOSTING IT AND ENJOYING IT APPEARED IN THE SPRING 2015 ISSUE.

The Big Cheese: OU Certified Cheese Rated Best in its Class

OUD-certified Double Ale Cheddar, manufactured by The Cheese Guy, was rated the best beer cheese in the Epicure & Culture food journal: http://epicureandculture.com/best-beer-items. The OU hologram prominently appeared in the photo featured in the article.

The artisan cheddar is produced by soaking curds of the cheese in two New York craft beers (an IPA and a Nut Brown Ale). This cheddar is aged one year to create a medium sharp nutty flavor with a hoppy ale aroma and taste. It is all natural, hormone free and made by sustainable dairy farming practices.



WHEN OU WAS COMPARED WITH OTHER KOSHER SYMBOLS

www.oukosher.org || For more information please contact OU Marketing 212.613.8372

The PowerCertificationof

Amid the explosive growth of the U.S. kosher food industry in recent years, a new survey has found the OU symbol of the Orthodox Union to be consumers’ most preferred kosher certification.

> was the best known and most widely-recognized kosher certification symbol by a wide margin among Jewish and non-Jewish respondents.

> By a 3 to 1 margin, is the symbol most often found on the food purchased by respondents

> By a 2 to 1 margin, respondents named as the symbol they would select as their first choice to purchase.

> Consumers’ overall opinion of OU-certification is significantly higher than all other certification symbols.

> By a 2 to 1 margin, is the symbol that comes to mind when a respondent is asked to think of kosher certification.

> By a 4 to 1 margin, kosher observant Jews perceive OU to be “the standard” of kosher certification, and purchase OU-certified products over products with other certifications.

> Jewish and non-Jewish consumers who purchase kosher food on occasion perceive the OU symbol as standing for the safest and cleanest foods.



OU Kosher Plays Major Role in ‘Foodie Revolution’BY PHYLLIS KOEGEL

Have you joined the “foodie revolution”? Everywhere you turn, across all platforms, people are either talking about cooking and eating, or watching other people cooking and eating. From the Food Network, to competitive cooking shows, food blogs and foodie groups, culinary magazines and specialized cookbooks, everywhere you turn, people are talking about food. Even travel magazines and travel sites are all about watching people eat the food of their native lands.

The current popularity of kosher foodie groups on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram continues to grow daily. I recently checked my social media feeds, only to discover that I am a member of at least a dozen foodie groups. Each day my news feed is flooded with hundreds of messages, comments and photos, from foodies sharing experiences. Postings range from critiques and recommendations of restaurant openings and closings, to new fads and cooking techniques, as well as health and nutrition.

To be a foodie is more about the experience, rather than simply eating out for convenience or hunger. Urban Dictionary defines a “foodie” as a person who enjoys food for pleasure. The addition of the long “e” sound at the end of the word “food” is used to create a sensation of being part of a group in urban society.

True foodies don’t just go out for the evening and have dinner — they talk about the dinner, post pictures of their dinner, plan their next dinner and live to eat, rather than eat to live. Food is now viewed as a legitimate hobby! It’s a topic of endless discussion, a playground where people try to one-up each other, and is used as a measuring stick of being cool. The foodie revolution has set new product and culinary criteria for even the most basic everyday eating experiences.

We don’t just enjoy our food, we savor it. Eating is defined by freshness, distinctive flavors, provenance and presentation. The quest for the next new “it” restaurant serving trendy and exotic cuisine is on the rise. Kosher is part of this foodie revolution that has mass appeal and somehow just won’t go out of style.

There are countless kosher food bloggers out there in “foodie land,” constantly searching for new and exciting ways to enjoy their food and try new recipes. They are obsessed with searching for new kosher products so they can partake in the newest food trend. They have an extraordinary following of kosher consumers devouring their content.

KOEGEL AND PFIZER PHARMACEUTICAL TEAM CELEBRATING THE OU KOSHER CERTIFICATION OF PFIZER

ELELYSO, A PHARMACEUTICAL DRUG WHICH TREATS GAUCHER DISEASE.



The OU is committed to bringing the kosher consumer the newest availability of kosher products from all over the world. At OU Kosher, we see many food trends come and go. From natural, vegan and organic, to gluten-free and sustainable, people really care about food and they care about what they put in their bodies.

As a professional in the food industry, I find trade shows are a great place to network, find new products and suppliers, not to mention sampling some of the most delicious OU Kosher certified products. Food trade events provide the perfect mix of food manufacturers who are passionate about food, alongside the hottest new trends in the industry.

At the beginning of each year we plan our yearly trade show strategy based on a variety of criteria. There are a slew of food industry trade shows and the food industry can be something of a mystery if you are not on the “in” of the food manufacturing world.

OU Marketing travels worldwide to visit and exhibit at a number of food trade events. The long hours, the sore feet, the cheesy give-a-ways, are all part of the wonderful world of trade shows. I happen to have a love/hate relationship with trade shows. Ask people about trade shows and you’ll provoke a strong reaction. They either love them or hate them. Me? It’s complicated. I love trade shows, most of the time. The networking and business opportunities within the concentrated amount of time at a trade show are endless. I can get an abundance of business done on the trade show floor. I get to travel and meet new people, and most of all I love the marketing challenge and getting to see the OU’s worldwide network of certified companies. I do hate the weight gain and the amount of work piling up back in my office, but the pros outweigh the cons and I’ll just have to sacrifice for the sake of my job...foodie nirvana here I come!

On average, I attend a dozen international and national food trade shows, to interact with existing OU clients and meet new companies who are interested in the growing kosher market. The food market has expanded beyond the traditional grocery or supermarket. There are dollar stores, club stores, pharmacy chains, and convenience stores. More importantly, you don’t have to visit stores anymore. Amazon, Fresh Direct and countless others are popping up to service home delivery.

Have you been in Staples or Office Depot lately? Have you seen the amount of food that’s available for sale? Today, you can pick up the phone and order paper, pencils plus all the foodstuffs needed for your office.

Another segment traditionally ignored by the food industry is the TV home shopping networks

PHYLLIS KOEGEL, SEEN WITH ORGANIC MAN, ATTENDING NATURAL PRODUCTS EXPO IN

ANAHEIM, CA, MARCH 2015.



When attending industry conferences or exhibiting at shows, be sure to display signs that say:

“WE ARE PROUD TO BE AN OU KOSHER-CERTIFIED COMPANY”

Marketers and show organizers should always have the signs in their show kits.

They are sure to attract kosher buyers to your booth.

If you need more copies of the sign, we will be glad to supply them.

Just email [email protected].

such as HSN and QVC. Not only do consumers not have to visit the store anymore, they don’t even have to get out of their chairs.

As the marketplace continues to evolve, kosher remains a constant important factor in food production. We at OU Kosher see food trends translate into constant growth for kosher certification. Companies want to expand their market share and reach as many consumers as possible. For them, kosher is a business decision that enhances the marketability of their products.

From exotic fusions of global flavors, obscure ingredients and functional healthy food, these trends will most likely continue, so be on the lookout for new and interesting OU Kosher certified products everywhere you shop.

PHYLLIS KOEGEL IS MARKETING DIRECTOR OF OU KOSHER. RESIDING IN WOODMERE, NY, PHYLLIS GRADUATED FROM PACE UNIVERSITY WITH AN MBA IN MARKETING AND HAS TRAVELED THE WORLD FOR OU KOSHER SEEKING OUT NEW AND EXCITING FOOD MANUFACTURERS EAGER TO OBTAIN OU KOSHER CERTIFICATION.



RFR’s: The Indispensable Faces of OU KosherBY BAYLA SHEVA BRENNER

Despite today’s meteoric advances in food technology, it still takes the human touch to keep the world of kosher manufacturing booming. It’s the face-to-face, global efforts of OU Kosher’s rabbis in the field that really make it happen. Meet three of them.

Rabbi Yaakov Horowitz, a 25-year veteran in the 600-strong army of rabbinic field representatives (RFRs) who travel across North America and throughout the world, realized long ago that the job he loves requires not only an adept knowledge of kosher laws, chemistry, and modern engineering, but also embraces the art of relationship building.

“You cultivate a kosher career on being user friendly; communication is key,” says Rabbi Horowitz, who has supervised such high profile companies as Smucker’s, McCain’s French Fries

and Nestlé Beverage. “Rather than saying, ‘You can’t do this or that’ and walking away, you work with a company.”

In other words, RFR’s have to speak the company’s language. Even if it’s Chinese.

Just ask Rabbi Mordechai Grunberg. He’s been crossing the Pacific to supervise the ever-expanding number of OU-certified plants in China (currently 500) since 1998. During his initial years at China’s OU Kosher plants, if he hit a snag in communication, he would go through the warehouse taking photos of the ingredients listed on the packages of raw materials and finished products and email them to the OU’s Beijing office.

“At the start, the companies didn’t really know what kosher was,” says Rabbi Grunberg, an OU Kosher RFR for 35 years, whose job has also taken him to Eastern Europe, Japan, India, and Madagascar. “They would apply for certification through trading agents. They’ve since done their homework.”

Over the past decade, requests for kosher certification in China have doubled to more than 2,000, covering everything from spices and chemical additives to frozen berries and sliced garlic. China also exports $2.5 billion in kosher food ingredients to the U.S. each year, such as coloring agents and preservatives, up 150 percent from two years ago.

With the dramatic rise in China’s exporting power came the demand for its food manufacturers to learn English. According to Rabbi Grunberg, they start learning it in elementary school. The OU certified companies now hire English-speaking personnel who familiarize themselves with

RABBI YAAKOV HOROWITZ SUPERVISING MANISCHEWITZ MATZO PRODUCTION

RABBI MORDECHAI GRUNBERG, OU

KOSHER’S RFR IN CHINA.



the products and factory process.

In order to better serve China’s steady flow of manufacturers applying for OU certification, OU Kosher opened its Beijing office (with a Chinese staff of three) in 2003. It certainly simplified Rabbi Grunberg’s job. Whenever he needs a more detailed understanding or translation, he arranges a conference call with the office and the manufacturer. He’s even picked up some Chinese along the way.

“Guangxi – (pronounced gwan-shee) means relationships,” he says. “In business, the Chinese culture cultivates relationships. The greatest challenge is showing them the kind of respect and cooperation that communicates that you are working with them, not against them; that we’re not looking to catch them doing something wrong, while conveying the seriousness of

kosher. Once they trust you, they’ll do anything you request.”

OU Kosher’s rabbis in the field know they are not only representing kosher; they’re representing Judaism.

In many of the plants they travel to, they are the only Jews, or religious Jews, that the administration, workers and community will ever interact with. “We’ve all gotten ‘the question,’” says Rabbi Shraga Kaufman from Chicago, an RFR for 26 years. “The first time it happened to me was at a gas station in Texas, near a plant. A woman approached me and said, ‘Can I ask you a question? What religion are you?’ I said Jewish. She said, ‘I knew you were religious; I just didn’t know which one.’”

Rabbi Kaufman views the impression he makes as a Jew as part of his OU Kosher RFR responsibilities. “We are showing them that this is what we’re all about, in the manner in which we dress, the way we inquire and the way we deal with an issue in the plant.”

In order to properly address potential issues, he makes it his business to know their business. “You have to understand the making of a product,” says Rabbi Kaufman, who has mastered the intricate workings of a solid flat versus metal mesh band oven, as well as a cone spray dryer, power dryer, and box dryer. “Understanding how a cracker or cookie is processed helps me supervise its kosher status. Cookies may all seem similar to the consumer, but a tray-pack cookie versus a cookie in a bag or in a box could mean a world of difference in the way they’re produced.”

One of his production-technology lessons came during one of his unannounced visits (made to insure the integrity of the product and that nothing has changed without prior notification and approval). “Sometimes they apologize to me saying, ‘We’re down right now; we’re not in production; we’re doing maintenance.’ I say, ‘Wonderful! You’ve explained to me how that piece of equipment works so many times. Now I can see how it works inside and how it pertains to koshering and kosher production.’”

RABBI SHRAGA KAUFMAN STANDS BEFORE A REACTOR AND FLUID

BED DRYER.



On the Road…Again!Unlike the majority of OU Kosher’s RFR’s, Rabbi Yaacov Horowitz’s daily commute entails driving from his home in Lawrence, NY to the Manischewitz plant in Newark, NJ. He may be spared the extensive traveling of his RFR comrades, but he shares the time away from home nonetheless.

From late July until the beginning of April he’s on call 24/6 supervising two groups of five in-house kosher supervisors; one group covers 11 hours during the day; the other works throughout the night. Because of the religious stringencies during the week of Passover against Jews eating any food containing or having had contact with leavened flour, his job is literally fulltime.

“The machines have to be constantly monitored for cleanliness,” says Rabbi Horowitz, one of the founders of the Ingredient Approval Registry, managing all the ingredients of the plants within the OU Kosher system worldwide. “If you have even tiny crumbs that gathered on the machine, and they are not adequately sequestered from the production line, the matza can be rendered chametz (leavened flour).” In addition, he oversees the flour coming in from the mills, making sure the delivery is adequately sealed and supervises the speed of the matza lines (adhering to the Torah-mandated 18-minute baking limit).

Rabbi Horowitz’s family, as well as the grateful Jewish families seated around their holiday tables, appreciate the valuable time and energy he puts into his work. “The essence of the continuity of the Jewish people is encapsulated by the eating of matza at the Seder,” says Rabbi Horowitz. “The non-Jews at Manischewitz understand they are part of this essential process, transmitted from father to son for generations.”

The Next GenerationRabbi Mordechai Grunberg’s China visits take him far beyond Newark. He’s overseas for 12 days (putting in 16-hour shifts), back home for eight, and then away again for 12. In addition, the Chinese New Year and Spring Festival lasts three weeks, during which all the plants halt production. In order to fulfill his quota of annual visits, he makes up for the missed time by supervising for 21 days back to back. His devotion to his job, rather than deter, actually prompted his son to consider going into kosher supervision. “In Chicago; not overseas,” emphasizes his father.

“It’s an interesting transition to see your children take an active interest in what you do,” says Rabbi Shraga Kaufman, whose son is also drawn to the field. “When my children were young, I took them to the plants to show them where the food they eat comes from; also so that they could relate to what their father does for a living.”

Based on decades of dedication, upholding OU Kosher standards and the value of human relationships worldwide, these three RFR’s without question “relate” to what they do for a living virtually nonstop – and always with the utmost humility.



“I tell them at the plant, we don’t make kosher, you do,” says Rabbi Kaufman, whose OU Kosher work covers Missouri, Kansas, Idaho, Nebraska and his base in Illinois. “We facilitate, consult and supervise. That’s what we’re here for; the essence of what we do; to help them get to their market, to help make it happen.”

BAYLA SHEVA BRENNER IS SENIOR STAFF WRITER OF THE ORTHODOX UNION. SHE IS A FREQUENT CONTRIBUTOR TO JEWISH ACTION AND OTHER OU PUBLICATIONS

Jelly Belly Candy Company Receives 2015 OU Company of the Year AwardPat Collins, Director of Sales for the Jelly Belly Candy Company, accepted the 2015 OU Company of the Year Award at the annual OU Kashrut Conference, Sunday, April 26, 2015.

This prestigious award represents Jelly Belly’s excellence in dedication and commitment to its OU kosher program and the community at large. On hand to present the award and a special jelly bean graphic of the OU Kosher logo were (from left to right) Allen Fagin, OU Executive Vice President; Rabbi Menachem Genack, CEO of OU Kosher; and Rabbi Moshe Elefant, Chief Operating Officer of OU Kosher.



The Covenant Kitchen: Food and Wine for the New Jewish TableBY JEFF AND JODIE MORGAN Schocken Books/OU Press New York, 2015 272 pages

Reviewed by Barbara Bensoussan Reprinted with permission from Jewish Action (Spring 2015), the Magazine of The Orthodox Union.

Opening The Covenant Kitchen: Food and Wine for the New Jewish Table feels like an invitation into the sun-drenched, casually elegant world of authors Jeff and Jodie Morgan, a world in which their freshly picked garden produce, drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil and accompanied by a thoughtfully chosen bottle of wine, takes pride of place on the rustic dining room table.

Jeff and Jodie themselves are warm, welcoming people with the joie de vivre of those who have found their bliss. In their case, that means the production of Covenant Wines, some of the finest kosher wines on the market.

As a young man, Jeff left a budding musical career in France to work in the vineyards, later moving to vineyard work on Long Island, New York, where he began contributing wine articles to the New York Times. This led to an invitation to do a feature on kosher for Pesach wines for Wine Spectator, which segued into two decades of work as a wine writer, editor and cookbook author.

But about eight years into it, Jeff hankered to get back into the actual winemaking process. An encounter with Eli Ben Zaken and his high-end Israeli Castel wines inspired him to try his hand at making “the best kosher wine in 5,000 years” using California vintages. His first attempt, a 2003 cabernet, received rave reviews, and since then Covenant has expanded and thrived.

The kosher wine business also introduced Jeff and Jodie to Orthodox Judaism. Through their friendship with the Herzog family, whom Jeff had met through wine journalism, and a local Chabad shaliach (emissary), the two set up a kosher kitchen and began taking small steps toward observance. It was only natural that their next cookbook would be a kosher one.

While there are scads of kosher cookbooks on the market, to date there hasn’t been one like The Covenant Kitchen, which expertly pairs sophisticated recipes with sophisticated wines. The book (co-published by OU Press, the publishing arm of the Orthodox Union) begins with

BOOK REVIEW



an introduction to wine and kosher winemaking, a sort of non-condescending Kosher Wine for Dummies. The Morgans explain the rationale for such enological protocols as aerating the wine, swirling it in the glass and pairing the right glass to the wine for maximum flavor. They also discuss identifying unlikely flavor notes such as leather, tobacco and chocolate, and the challenges of producing a premium kosher wine. The tone is conversational and unpretentious. The authors acknowledge that the price of wine, like real estate, is often based as much on perception as on inherent value, and concede that one’s personal preference is more important than what “connoisseurs” deem to be good.

The wine section is followed by about 100 recipes organized by category (appetizers, soups, meats, et cetera), with sidebars discussing various aspects of kashrut or cooking. Each recipe includes a suggested wine pairing and friendly, sensible cooking tips. Jeff and Jodie may be food and wine sophisticates, but they’re also practical. When canned beans will serve as well as soaked and boiled beans, they’ll say as much; they suggest not using your best wines for cooking.

The Morgans lived in Provence, France, for extended periods of time, and as a result, ingredients like olives, lemons, garbanzos, lavender, rosemary and thyme appear repeatedly in this book. In general, their approach draws most heavily from the Mediterranean and California Chez Panisse philosophy of cooking: use fresh seasonal ingredients, bringing out their flavors with the judicious addition of herbs, olive oil, citrus, et cetera. The result is unfussy, yet naturally opulent food.

The recipes are also informed by the Morgans’ extensive travel and food experiences. The resulting cultural cross-fertilization is evident in recipes like Israeli shakshuka, which edges toward huevos rancheros with the addition of avocado, beans and cheese. Many tempting Asian and Italian dishes are included. And while a kosher cookbook simply can’t leave out Jewish standards like gefilte fish, latkes and cholent, in the Morgans’ urbane hands they are tweaked into fish quenelles with braised leeks, latkes with fish roe and a cassoulet-style “cowboy cholent” that calls for lamb sausage and red wine (I somehow doubt the cowboys cook it that way!).

While most ingredients are easily obtainable, readers may find some of them unfamiliar and hard to source, even for those living in kosher hubs like Brooklyn, NY. Grains like freekeh, Wehani rice and black rice are a refreshing change from Uncle Ben’s, but I could only find the last one on a scouting trip to Pomegranate, a gourmet supermarket in Brooklyn. I also hunted unsuccessfully for fresh sardines, Hawaiian opah, masago (a fish roe) and kosher lamb sausage. The Morgans have anticipated this, however, and offer substitutions such as brown rice for freekeh, salmon roe for masago and tuna, salmon or halibut for opah. The lamb sausage is optional. The authors also have the advantage of their own garden for produce, whereas I’d have to go to a farmers’ market to find fresh butter beans and squash flowers (which they intriguingly stuff with ricotta and fry).

The food styling and photography make this volume a gourmet feast for the eyes as well as the



palate, depicting not only food but the Morgans’ lush vineyards, garden and home. The effect is to leave you with the yen to drop in on Jeff and Jodie to bask in the California sunshine and share their food, wine and easy camaraderie. But barring a trip to California, readers can buy the book and try to reproduce the experience at home, bringing some of that sunshine and vibrant flavor into their own dining rooms.

A LONGTIME JEWISH ACTION CONTRIBUTOR, BARBARA BENSOUSSAN AUTHORED A COLUMN ON SEPHARDIC FOOD FOR THE HAMODIA AND WRITES A FOOD COLUMN FOR MISHPACHA. HER LATEST BOOK IS A FOOD MEMOIR ENTITLED THE WELL-SPICED LIFE, DESCRIBING HER DISCOVERY OF SEPHARDIC FOOD AND FAITH.

Editor’s note: The Covenant Kitchen can be purchased online for a discount at www.oupress.org

WWW.OUKOSHER.ORG, the world’s most frequented kosher website, features OU certified companies and their products on its OU Featured Companies section. Close to 1,000 companies are already posted.

In order to be posted at no cost, please submit the following information to [email protected]:

• Name of company or brand to be featured• jpg image in 75x120 px• Website link• 25-75 word description of your products/company

You can apply to be featured at oukosher.org/featured-company-application/



Spot of Tea, Anyone? Tea and the OU Kosher Ingredient Approval ProcessBY RABBI AKIVA TENDLER

Tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world1, and is found in approximately 80 percent of U.S. households. It is commonly served hot or iced, anytime, anywhere, for any occasion. On any given day, over 158 million Americans are drinking tea.

In 2014, Americans consumed over 3.6 billion gallons of tea. About 84 percent of all tea consumed was black tea, 15 percent was green tea, and the small remaining amount was oolong, white and dark tea. The United States is the second largest

importer of tea after Russia. China, Kenya, India and Sri Lanka are the largest suppliers of tea to the United States.

Tea leaf is harvested from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. The leaf undergoes a four step process: withering, rolling, fermentation and firing.

Withering- The freshly plucked green tea leaves are stored until the moisture content is reduced.

Rolling- The withered leaves are crushed by rolling or maceration in order to break down the leaf cell structure and bring the internal natural enzymes and the substrate polyphenols into contact.

Fermentation- The leaves turn darker as their chlorophyll breaks down and tannins are released.

Firing- When the leaves reach their desired ‘color’, they are ‘fired up’ (dried) to deactivate the enzymes responsible for the oxidation. In the production of black teas, the oxidation is stopped after a period of natural drying. In the production of green tea, the oxidation is halted soon after picking. The tea leaf is fired with hot, dry air reducing the moisture content of the leaves to less than five percent. One chosen piece of equipment for large companies is the Fluid Bed Dryer. This may be followed by a Spouted Bed Dryer.

Although the tea leaf is processed, it is not difficult to certify regular tea leaf as kosher since the processes and equipment used are generally only used for the tea leaf production. There is no concern of cross contamination with non-kosher ingredients or equipment shared with non-kosher product.

The same applies to decaffeinated tea bags. Of the processes used to decaffeinate tea leaf, the direct method utilizes dichloromethane or ethyl acetate and the CO2 method utilizes supercritical carbon dioxide. All are kosher agents and both processes utilize only designated equipment. Therefore,

1 http://www.teausa.com/14655/tea-fact-sheet



decaffeinated tea leaf also can be awarded kosher certification.

Although a much more complex process, instant tea powder can also be certified. Even though the process includes spray drying, OU ingredient specialists have determined that industry-wide, the spray dryers used for instant tea are not used for non-kosher compatible product. The enzymes or maltodextrin that may be added by the larger producers generally do not have any kosher compatibility concerns and therefore instant tea powder is easily certified.

Cold Brew leaf is regular tea leaf that may be processed with cell wall digestive enzymes to enable release of the tea essence without heat. There are non-kosher enzymes that can be used for this. Kosher certification agencies, including, of course the OU, monitor the enzymes and procedures that a company uses to produce the cold brew leaf.

Herbal tea is more complex from a kosher point of view. It is often not made from the leaves of a tea plant, rather from a variety of herbs, peels, fruit and flavoring. The processes of those herbs or fruits includes chopping, flavoring, followed by steaming to stop the microbial process. The equipment, flavors and heat sources need to be monitored for kosher integrity.

The OU certifies many large and small tea companies; each company has unique processes. As technology advances, the processes and agents are forever changing. The OU constantly watches for new technologies to verify that they adhere to its high standards of kosher certification.

RABBI AKIVA TENDLER SERVES AS OU KOSHER RABBINIC COORDINATOR SERVING THE OIL, TEA AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRIES. HIS ARTICLE “INGREDIENTS: PROTECT YOUR COMPANY!” APPEARED IN THE SPRING 2015 ISSUE OF BTUS.



Understanding the Kosher Market: A Talk with Rabbinic Coordinator Rabbi Dovid Jenkins of OU Kosher MarketingINTERVIEW BY RABBI GAVRIEL PRICE, RABBINIC COORDINATOR

BTUS: The OU is a kosher certifying agency, and most of what goes on here is the work of ensuring that our certified companies are producing kosher products. How does marketing support our mission?

RJ: The OU is also interested in growth. Because we are a community-minded organization, growth means broadening the kosher market for quality products. This “niche” market is very far-flung and very committed. We think about how the OU can play as strong a role as possible in that market.

BTUS: What’s your role in that?

RJ: The main thing I try to do in this picture has a lot to do with internal growth at the companies we certify. For example, I recently visited with an OU certified global ingredients company that had acquired a relatively smaller company, and the person responsible for the parent company had some questions regarding the administration of the smaller company, which was very new to her. I was able help clarify issues and coach various people through the transition.

BTUS: How is that marketing?

RJ: It’s just good customer service that, if we stay focused, builds the OU brand and reputation within our client companies. We realize, and appreciate, that our OU companies have made serious commitments to the OU certification program. The RC’s, both because of their personalities and by training, are expected to be attuned to companies’ needs. Our department is a resource for them in that respect.

BTUS: How else does the marketing department help with what you called OU companies’ “internal growth”?

RJ: A key aspect of what we think about here at the OU, both organizationally and specifically in our department, is how to make the OU symbol as valuable as it possibly could be for our certified clients. For example, we certify a major breakfast foods company that has a product that is certified OU-D because at one point the company also processed dairy ingredients on the same equipment. However, all the ingredients are now pareve. Nothing could be better for this major cereal manufacturer than a plain OU (as opposed to an OU-D) on the box to help its sales.

It would also be great, I might add, for a large component of kosher consumers who would prefer to use the OU, as opposed to only the OU-D. There are people who like to avoid kosher dairy; there is the population that is lactose intolerant, or vegans, and they would look for that, and that would



mean more sales.

In this case, the holdup is that they didn’t want to change the packaging. But I believe that’s because they don’t necessarily realize the strength of the market or understand what the OU can do for them. They don’t understand the market. So, my job is to coach our certified companies to better understand the market.

BTUS: How so?

RJ: America is not the melting pot it once was. Rather, the U.S. is a mosaic of many ethnicities – many with a particular interest in kosher. We try to assist OU companies in capitalizing on their kosher investment with their various constituencies.

We have seen time and again that people who understand that market can increase their sales by a couple of percentage points. In some cases we have seen that can translate to millions of dollars in profit.

In my experience working with kosher companies over the last 35 years, I have noticed that a lot of companies have a marketing structure that worked very well in the past, but they are not always willing to embrace a new marketing structure that reflects some of these changing realities that can help them enhance sales.

And another point I find some sales and marketing executives tend to overlook is that regional sales are national sales. What do I mean? A spike in one region could be large enough to have a significant effect on the overall national sales figures. If you have a market for kosher in the New York tri-state area, it’s likely that you’ll have a big market in California and Florida, too.

Here’s an interesting example. We certify a company that makes a popular, nutritious, and truly delicious seasoned rice product. It’s relatively easy to make, and my wife prepares it when she gets home from work.

Because the product is made from rice, many Jews are accustomed not to eat it during the Passover holiday. And you know what? This national company saw a noticeable drop in their sales during the month of April, which is when Passover fell this year. And it went back up the next month. This is an example of how the ethnic market, in our case the Jewish market for kosher, represents a sizable portion of their sales.

BTUS: Why did you get involved in kosher certification?

RJ: To be honest, it’s because I like eating. Since I keep kosher, I wanted to see how I could expand the choices! I started in 1984. I took over the kosher council based in St. Louis, in 1991. I have worked for a few agencies since then – even spent some time in Winnipeg, Canada. I really enjoy the work.



BTUS: What’s different at the OU?

RJ: The infrastructure. We have very distinguished advisors on kosher law, who are widely respected in our community – which, I might add, contributes to the value of the OU symbol. Our senior management has done a really good job of choosing people with diverse talents so we can function as a broad organization that provides both technical and, in our case, strategic, services.

BTUS: What should companies know about capitalizing on the OU symbol that they might not already know?

RJ: Companies understand that OU certification will enhance their sales. But while companies are always looking for new products, they are not always innovative in terms of how to capitalize on the OU to market to new groups. Companies should not be complacent about this, as I mentioned earlier about the breakfast cereal. Also, they should make sure their products are available on the Universal Kosher Database (UKD), because I see many food manufacturers using the UKD to search for available products. OU companies are very well represented on it. We remind a lot of companies to use it, because it helps them and other OU companies with products found there. OU companies think to themselves: “Why go out of the system to try to find out if the product is kosher if the product is already kosher and certified OU?”

There are also cases – albeit limited – in which a press release on a newly OU certified company can be really fantastic. In recent years we’ve had the privilege to certify Tootsie Roll, and this became a national story. Obviously we can’t always promise that kind of response, but this type of media coverage can be really helpful.

Our webpage also features companies.

Finally, our department is also very knowledgeable about advising how our mainstream certified companies can advertise in Jewish media outlets, which is generally something that our companies have no understanding of. Jewish newspapers, magazines, and online media can be a powerful, very targeted, advertising tool.

BTUS: I’m sure a lot of companies are curious about where the best location is to place the OU symbol on a retail product. Where should the OU go?

RJ: Most consumers look for it on the lower-right-hand side of the label. That’s the prime real estate. That’s what we always recommend.

BTUS: How can a company reach you, should they need some marketing assistance?

RJ: Feel free to call! That’s what we’re here for! My number is 212.613.8314 or [email protected]. Or you can call my highly respected colleagues, Phyllis Koegel ([email protected], or 212.613.8237); and Rabbi Mordechai Merzel ([email protected], or 212.613.8209). Visit www.oukosher.org for more information.



Anticipating OU Certification for our BakeryBY RABBI ELI GERSTEN

Q: Our bakery has only been using kosher certified ingredients for the past five years. We are now interested in attaining kosher certification. Will we still need to undergo a kosherization for all of our lines and equipment?

A: This is a very complex question that can really only be fully answered after a complete and thorough review by one of our rabbinic field representatives (RFRs), in consultation with the rabbinic coordinator (RC) assigned to your company. If indeed non-kosher was processed on the equipment, even though five years have elapsed, there might still be a need for some sort of kosherization. However, because of the long passage of time, kosher law does allow for certain leniencies, especially when there are other mitigating factors. There are many aspects that can play a major role in this determination.

When posing this question to the OU, it is best to assemble the following documentation to help us expedite an answer to your question:

• The spec sheets for any non-kosher ingredients that were used. The OU can help determine the status of any questionable ingredients, even if they were used many years ago. Oftentimes, companies are surprised to learn that ingredients they had always assumed to be non-kosher, were in fact produced at an all-kosher certified plant.

• Batch sheets from the non-kosher productions.

• Process flow charts for the non-kosher production, including an indication of where in the process the non-kosher ingredients were used. The exact method of use plays a vital role in determining whether or not there is still a need to kosherize and what type of kosherization will be required.

• CIP records and sanitation protocols from the time those non-kosher products were produced.

• Maintenance records for the equipment since the non-kosher products were produced. Also, if any equipment was purchased new in the interim, documentation for that should be provided as well.

Make sure to gather any other relevant supporting documentation including receipts and bills of lading that will help the RC (rabbi in the office) and RFR (visiting rabbi) corroborate this information. Putting together a picture of what has been happening at a plant over the past five years is in many ways like assembling a giant jigsaw puzzle. The more pieces of the puzzle that can be brought together, the clearer the picture emerges.

RABBI ELI GERSTEN SERVES AS OU RABBINIC COORDINATOR AND RECORDER OF OU POLICY. HE IS A FREQUENT CONTRIBUTOR TO BTUS.



Nestlé Waters North America Thanks the OU for 23 Years of Helping Their Brands Grow

Nestlé Waters North America Inc. (NWNA) began in 1976 with a single brand and has rapidly grown to our current status as the third

largest non-alcoholic beverage company in the U.S. by volume. As Senior Packaging Manager Chet Hojnicki says, “We owe much of our success to partnerships like the one we enjoy with the Orthodox Union. More than one billion labels are printed by our company every month, and that kind of volume requires accessibility to retailers and consumers alike — without restrictions.”

“With many retailers, they can’t do business if you’re not kosher certified,” Mr. Hojnick declares. “If we release a new product, they will ask for the kosher certification. And thanks to our decades-long relationship with the OU, we’re prepared for that.”

“We take our credo seriously at NWNA: ‘Respect for each other, respect for the environment and respect for community.’ We live those words every day, through our company culture, commitment to eliminating landfill waste and — most importantly — by showing our deep respect for the needs and concerns of the people who drink our products. We know that one of the best ways to demonstrate appreciation for observant consumers is by supplying kosher certification they can trust without question.”

“The Orthodox Union’s programs go beyond kosher certification,” Mr. Hojnicki explains. “Because of those programs, the credibility of their kosher certification program is very strong — it’s a very strong trademark. The number of programs they do and the quality of their work win them enormous respect.”

He adds, “Because of the OU’s exceptional reputation, we invite them to inspect and certify our plants, including our new, 200,000-square foot bottling facility being built in McBee, South Carolina. The OU also inspects ingredients for our flavored beverages.”

As OU rabbinic coordinator Rabbi David Bistricer says, “The OU enjoys a very close working relationship with Nestlé Waters North America. Our close cooperation has successfully provided high quality beverages to the kosher community. The relationship between the two parties is special, and we look forward to continue working together for many years to come.”

IN THEIR WORDS

CHET HOJNICKI, SENIOR PACKAGING MANAGER AT NESTLE WATERS



At Suja Juice, OU Certification is Part of a Multi-Pronged Recipe for Conscious Nutrition BY BELLA TUMINI, SUJA JUICE BRAND MANAGER

At Suja Juice, we strive to help people transform their lives through conscious nutrition. We’ve handcrafted three lines of juices and smoothies that are USDA organic, non-GMO, cold-pressured and certified kosher by the Orthodox Union. Suja was founded by four diverse San Diegans from different walks of life who came together to form what is now the fastest growing organic, cold-pressured and non-GMO beverage company in the U.S.

Suja’s story began from a shared dream to get the best quality juice into as many hands as possible. Through the large-scale use of organic, non-GMO, kosher fruits and vegetables, and the implementation of a breakthrough displacement technology called High Pressure Processing (HPP), Suja Juice is fulfilling its mission to get an organic, non-GMO and cold-pressured juice into as many hands as possible.

After launching Suja in the San Diego community, we received many inquiries from customers regarding kosher certification. We were always extremely vocal about our organic and non-GMO verified certifications, but with an increase in consumer demand we began the process of becoming OU certified. One of the challenges that we face with maintaining an OU program is our ability to find and source specific ingredients. With organic, non-GMO and OU kosher certifications we are very limited when it comes to where and whom we can source ingredients from, as it is required for any of our vendors to have all three of these certifications.

This makes it particularly difficult when sourcing extremely unique ingredients that are often times used in our juice recipes. Some of those ingredients include camu camu, baobab, maca and spirulina, which are all exotic superfoods and super fruits that come from the Amazon Rain Forest, Madagascar, Africa and Peru. While it may be challenging to source some ingredients, we find that the advantages and benefits of the OU program far outweigh the difficulties.

Having OU certification enabled us to gain a loyal following we otherwise wouldn’t have had — Jewish Community Centers across the country, events with Jewish Family Services, etc. We’ve used

OU certification as a tool to expand our market and reach. Our mission is to get an organic, non-GMO, cold-pressured juice in every hand, and being OU certified means that we’re one step closer to that goal. With a wide range of cold-pressured and organic offerings, Suja has a juice for every lifestyle. We hope you enjoy all that Suja has to offer and live a long, beautiful life.

IN THEIR WORDS

NOW OU KOSHER-CERTIFIED, SUJA ESSENTIALS BEVERAGES COME IN A VARIETY OF FRUIT AND VEGETABLE

FLAVORS. ALL SUJA ESSENTIALS ARE USDA CERTIFIED ORGANIC, NON-GMO &

COLD-PRESSURED.



Everything’s Coming up Roses for Rosa, Now Certified by OU Kosher

Rosa Food Products, named after Giacomo Foti’s wife, Rosa Foti, was started in 1900. It was first a small shop at the corner of Thirteenth and Federal Streets in South Philadelphia, catering to the local Italians in the area. Food from Italy was imported and sold. As time passed, the demand for Rosa Food Products grew — and so did the business.

Now in its fourth generation, Rosa Food Products is a true family business with family pride. The company is still located in South Philadelphia, but has grown into a full service food distributor and manufacturer. In 2004, Rosa Food Products moved from the original warehouse on Thirteenth and Federal to a newly built facility only blocks from the famous “Italian Market” on Ninth and Washington. Rosa Food Products can be found in delis and restaurants across South Philadelphia and the New York Tri-State area, as well as supermarket food chains nationwide.

Having OU certification is important to Rosa Food Products because as a family business, we respect the traditions of families. As a company with OU certification, we want our customers to feel confident and have peace of mind that our products are top-quality and safe, so that they can be enjoyed by all. We are happy to work with Rabbi Daniel Nosenchuk, our OU Kosher rabbinic coordinator, and Rabbi Yitzchok Friedman, our OU Kosher RFR, to ensure that every step is taken properly to conform to OU standards.

The OU certified products we manufacture include olive oils, vegetable oils, blended oils, all varieties of vinegar, cooking wines, tomato bruschetta and many varieties of mustard. Our imported kosher items include Italian tomatoes, pasta, peppers and artichokes.

At Rosa, our vision is to be the number one national supplier of Italian and ethnic food products. As a family company since our beginning in 1900, we are proud to offer our customers the highest quality foods we can import, pack and manufacture. Our brand is one that you can be proud to carry in your stores because our family is committed to you and to the OU standards of food quality.

If you would like more information about our products, please check out our website, at www.rosafoods.com

NEW TO THE OU

ROSA FOOD PRODUCTS, THE BRAND OF CHOICE IN PHILADELPHIA, IS “ITALY’S BEST KEPT SECRET

FOR OVER 100 YEARS”



Looking for New and Exotic Flavors and Textures in Sauces? OU Kosher Don Joaquin Gourmet Is Your New Option

Because of changes in eating habits resulting from the hectic pace of life today, many consumers choose to buy ready to eat food. Sauces and condiments make up a fast-growing market as they are the ideal complement for any type of food. Surprisingly there are many products that highlight price rather than quality in a market that demands healthful and innovative products.

If you’re looking for new and exotic flavors and textures, DON JOAQUIN GOURMET is your best option, as it offers products in which the natural fruit flavor predominates. PROVEAGRO S.A. is a company based in Portoviejo, Ecuador. Its vision is to pioneer the creation of new flavors and textures to delight the most discerning palates of all cultures, thereby leading to the manufacture and marketing of gourmet products made under strict quality controls for distribution in major supermarket chains and specialty shops in Ecuador and beyond.

This family-owned company is committed to the use of natural products to ensure the purity and quality of its sauces. Currently Don Joaquin Gourmet is making

innovative products such as hot pepper sauces mixed with exotic fruits like naranjilla, tamarind, pineapple, passion fruit, blackberry and strawberry; banana jams with orange and passion fruit; milk caramel with coconut; dressings such as chimichurri sauce; and tuna dip. For those who love super hot food, Don Joaquin Gourmet produces a of variety hot pepper pastes.

For the production of sauces, jams and dressings, Don Joaquin Gourmet uses fresh and selected fruits and hot peppers – ingredients that are processed and mixed according to the company’s unique recipes, using modern equipment that ensures the final product meets market requirements.

Since the product contains an unusual mix of fruits and hot peppers, one of the recurrent questions we get when attending food shows is, “How do I eat this?” Don Joaquin Gourmet sauces can be combined with almost any type of food: they can be eaten as dips; used as salad dressings; and mixed with cream cheese and sour cream. They are perfect to accompany seafood and to marinate meats; you can even use them to make cocktails. The possibilities are endless.

Given today’s emphasis on healthful products, Don Joaquin Gourmet does not use artificial

NEW TO THE OU

DON JOAQUIN GOURMET SAUCES COME IN A VARIETY OF SWEET AND SPICY FLAVORS.



flavors or colorings in its sauces and dressings. In addition, they are gluten free, kosher and vegan certified, and the company has started the non-GMO verification process.

According to Wilmington Ramirez, CEO of Proveagro S.A., the company chose the Orthodox Union because it is the largest and most respected kosher certification. This choice provides Proveagro with a great opportunity to expand its market since the OU symbol is well recognized around the world. Proveagro is confident that this certification will allow the company to increase its sales and to position its products in the marketplace.

Don Joaquin Gourmet executives have attended several food shows around the world, and the reviews have been excellent. At the Winter Fancy Food Show 2013 in San Francisco, for example, the blog Latino Foodie placed Don Joaquin Gourmet among the top five Latino and Portuguese products.

These products are being distributed to major supermarket chains and specialty shops in Ecuador; Don Joaquin Gourmet has also been exported to Canada since 2014 and the company is looking forward to getting into U.S. markets in the near future. With highly qualified professionals responding to the needs of the market, Don Joaquin Gourmet aims to be among the best gourmet products available. OU Kosher certification is a major component toward reaching that goal.

To know more about these exquisite products visit our www.donjoaquingourmet.com and facebook.com/donjoaquingourmet.

RABBI DAVID BISTRICER IS THE ORTHODOX UNION RABBINIC COORDINATOR FOR PROVEAGRO.

DON JOAQUIN GOURMET BANANA JAM WITH PASSION FRUIT

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BRIANNAS, With Over 30 Years of Great Taste, Is Now OU Kosher Founded 33 years ago in Austin, Texas as the Del Sol Food Company, Inc., BRIANNAS Fine Salad Dressings grew out of a desire to create a superior product demonstrating family pride and consistent high quality. Named after the owner’s daughter Marianne and grandson Brian, BRIANNAS has grown to become one of the most popular and sought-after salad dressings in the world. The company has received numerous first place industry taste awards for its delicious dressings, most

notably the American Culinary ChefsBest “Best Taste Award.” In addition, BRIANNAS packaging was honored with the most prestigious award in packaging design, the “Clio.” (For a complete list of BRIANNAS’ awards please visit its website: BriannasSaladDressing.com/company/awards.)

The Del Sol Food Company is family-owned and operated and there are presently four family members involved in the day-to-day business. Through the years, the “family” has been instrumental in creating the award-winning packaging and the exceptional recipes. Many of these recipes are unique to their flavor category.

Company President Jerry Brown commented, “From the very beginning we were focused on one thing and one thing only — creating the highest quality, most delicious salad dressing available anywhere. We make all of our distinctive flavors “home style,” a little at a time, in small batches, just like you’d make them in your own kitchen. In fact, most of our recipes were first created in our family’s kitchen at home. Salad dressing is all we do and we control the process from beginning to end. We believe this attention to detail plays a large role in setting us apart from our competition in the marketplace.”

All BRIANNAS salad dressings are manufactured at the company’s state-of-the-art, totally climate controlled facility in Brenham, Texas. This location, built in 2006, provides many improved benefits including more warehouse and

FOUNDED OVER 30 YEARS AGO IN AUSTIN, TEXAS, AS THE DEL SOL FOOD COMPANY, INC., BRIANNAS FINE SALAD DRESSINGS ARE MANUFACTURED IN ITS STATE-OF-THE-ART, CLIMATE CONTROLLED FACILITY IN BRENHAM, TEXAS

BRIANNAS 2015 TOP SELLERS

NEW TO THE OU



office space, and enhanced quality control with better product flow. The new location provides plenty of real estate for future expansion. In addition, the plant carries the highest rating available — “Superior” from ASI Food Safety Consultants.

There are approximately 60 people employed at Del Sol Food. Many of these dedicated individuals have been with the company for a significant number of years, with half having been with them 10 years or longer.

One of the many goals of the company is to encourage team building. This can best be seen by the celebration this May, when Del Sol Food Company marked 13 years without a loss- time accident. This is an outstanding accomplishment

for a food manufacturing facility.

Another goal of the company, as stated in its mission statement, is “to provide courteous and professional service to all of its business associates, while expanding its product offering in a controlled and profitable manner.”

Del Sol Food produces 15 unique flavors of BRIANNAS Salad Dressings. All are made with heart healthy canola oil and contain no trans-fats or high fructose corn syrup. Eleven flavors are gluten free, two are fat free, BRIANNAS Real French Vinaigrette is sugar free and nine flavors are certified kosher.

In 2014, because of consumer demand and the company’s commitment to its customers, Del Sol Food started the process of obtaining kosher certification. Sales Director Jeff Sadler explains, “We feel it’s important to satisfy the requests of our customers. Obtaining Orthodox Union kosher certification helped us achieve that goal. Thus far the response from consumers has been outstanding!”

The company is proud to have the Orthodox Union symbol on the following BRIANNAS dressings: Saucy Ginger Mandarin, Rich Poppy Seed, Real French Vinaigrette, Classic Buttermilk Ranch, Blush Wine Vinaigrette, Zesty French, Champagne Caper Vinaigrette, Lively Lemon Tarragon and Dijon Honey Mustard.

THE ORTHODOX UNION RABBINIC COORDINATOR FOR BRIANNAS FINE SALAD DRESSING IS RABBI DAVID BISTRICER.

LEFT: BRIANNAS HOME STYLE BLUSH WINE VINAIGRETTE - 2014.

RIGHT: BRIANNAS HOME STYLE RICH POPPY SEED DRESSING - 2014.



OU KOSHER CERTIFICATION

certifies over 900,000 products in over 8,000

facilities in 80 countries. The OU kosher symbol

is found on close to 70% of all kosher certified

packaged products in mainstream

supermarkets in the United States.



OU KOSHER RABBI MENACHEM GENACK RABBINIC ADMINISTRATOR / CEO RABBI MOSHE ELEFANT EXECUTIVE RABBINIC COORDINATOR / COO DIRECTOR, NEW COMPANY DEPARTMENT

RABBI YAAKOV LUBAN EXECUTIVE RABBINIC COORDINATOR

RABBI MOSHE ZYWICA EXECUTIVE RABBINIC COORDINATOR,

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS

RABBI NAHUM RABINOWITZ SENIOR RABBINIC COORDINATOR

RABBI YOSEF GROSSMAN SENIOR EDUCATIONAL RABBINIC COORDINATOR

RABBI YERACHMIEL MORRISON INGREDIENT APPROVAL REGISTRY

RABBI ABRAHAM JURAVEL INGREDIENT APPROVAL REGISTRY

RABBI HOWARD KATZENSTEIN DIRECTOR, BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

HARVEY BLITZ CHAIRMAN, JOINT KASHRUT COMMISSION

RABBI KENNETH AUMAN CHAIRMAN, RABBINIC KASHRUT COMMISSION

RABBI EMANUEL HOLZER CHAIRMAN EMERITUS

ORTHODOX UNION

MARTIN NACHIMSON PRESIDENT

ALLEN I. FAGIN EXEC. VICE PRESIDENT

RABBI DR. TZVI HERSH EXECUTIVE VICE WEINREB PRESIDENT, EMERITUS

MAYER FERTIG CHIEF COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER

BEHIND THE UNION SYMBOL

RABBI DR. ELIYAHU SAFRAN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

STEPHEN STEINER EDITOR

ATARA ARBESFELD ASSISTANT EDITOR

CARRIE BEYLUS COPY EDITOR

ESTHER BERGER LAYOUT

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Behind the Union Symbol - Summer 2015

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