Author Archives: Admin

STAR-K Certification Hosts Diverse Klei Kodesh at Annual Food Service and Kashrus Training Programs

Rabbi Yonah Gross eagerly signed up for STAR-K Kosher Certification’s annual Food Service Kashrus Training Seminar held in the agency’s Baltimore offices July 6-8. As the newly appointed Kashrus Administrator of the Community Kashrus of Greater Philadelphia (Keystone-K) – for which he was an active rabbinical board member for seven years – the former Rav of Congregation Beth Hamedrosh in Wynnewood, PA, wanted to learn more about the challenges a mashgiach faces.

Shares Rabbi Gross, “As Kashrus Administrator, I spend plenty of time in our various establishments, but it was very helpful to see things from the perspective of someone who is in our kitchens, catering halls, and factories on an ongoing basis. It is also helpful to learn the best practices of other organizations in order to try to incorporate them into my own organization to strengthen Kashrus in Philadelphia. Interacting with the STAR-K staff is very helpful in developing relationships with […]

Thermador Oven Alert

April 7, 2021

BSH Home Appliances has recently discovered a glitch in the
Thermador Professional Series Double Wall Ovens. The Sabbath mode operation is
working properly, but the temperature adjustment allowance during Sabbath mode
is not working once Sabbath is activated.

The following products are affected:

Product

Description

PO302W

Pro
Dbl Oven, 30″, SS, Select

POD302LW

Pro
Dbl Oven, 30″, SS, Deluxe, Left Side-Opening

POD302RW

Pro
Dbl Oven, 30″, SS, Deluxe, Right Side-Opening

POD302W

Pro
Dbl Oven, 30″, SS, Deluxe

PODS302W

Pro
Spec Dbl, 30″, SS, Deluxe, Steam and Convection Oven

This issue can be fixed through
a software update and BSH has already initiated actions to implement the fix
within the factory, as well as an […]

STAR-K’S COVID-19 RESPONSE HIGHLIGHTED IN BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the kosher food industry especially when it comes to making inspections in China and in some other countries that are limiting access to foreigners. Star-K’s approach to this issue making every effort to make in-person inspections of facilities has been highlighted in an article by Bloomberg Businessweek.

“In July STAR-K sent four rabbis via private jet to a fish gelatin facility in Uganda where they quarantined for 14 days to supervise production.”

There’s a lot more to the kosher food industry than Hebrew National hot dogs and Manischewitz wine. Kosher food was a $19.1 billion industry in 2018, according to Allied Market Research, which projects it will grow to $25.6 billion by 2026. Many ordinary products in U.S. supermarkets are certified kosher, with everything from Ben & Jerry’s ice cream to McCormick spices having kashrut symbols, and those labels can provide assurance not just for observant Jews […]

STAR-K’s Robust Educational Mission Thrives…Even During COVID

STAR-K Kosher Certification’s educational mission is as robust as ever during COVID, as evidenced by the nonprofit agency’s eclectic spring and summer seminars and programs. Target audiences ranged from food processors/exporters and mashgichim to consumers including adults with special needs.

STAR-K’s Rav Hamachshir, HaRav Moshe Heinemann, delivered a shiur on COVID shaylos in his capacity as the Morah D’Asra of Agudath Israel of Baltimore. The Rav also gave a virtual shiur watched around the world on Erev Tisha B’Av, “Being B’Shalom with Everyone”. It was part of Yeshivat Hakotel’s worldwide achdus Torah learning program featuring nine of the world’s chief rabbis and over 100 senior roshei yeshiva, poskim and leading mechanchim and mechanchos from around the globe

Approximately 60 companies in the Dominican Republic participated in STAR-K’s first virtual Zoom seminar. The successful two-hour-plus seminar was conducted entirely in Spanish, introducing the world of Kosher and the advantage of reliable Kosher certification […]

Klal Yisroel’s Youngest Members Benefit From STAR-K Kashrus

The importance of pairing a Jewish nursemaid with a Jewish baby can be found in Parshas Shmos. After baby Moshe was saved from the Nile River by his rescuer – ironically, Batya, the daughter of Pharoah, who mandated that all Jewish newborn males be killed – he cried profusely, refusing to be nursed by her gentile Egyptian maids. Thanks to his sister, Miriam, who happened to witness this scene by the river’s edge, Moshe ended up serendipitously receiving the nursemaid services of his own mother, Yocheved.

The Gemara [Sotah 12b] notes that Baby Moshe refused to nurse from a gentile woman, asking, “Shall a mouth that will speak with the Divine Presence nurse impure milk?” The Rama [Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah 81:7] rules that a child should always avoid nursing from a gentile woman when it is possible to nurse from a Jewish woman, quoting the Rashba’s reasoning that the nature […]

STAR-K Shows Appreciation to Baltimore County Police Department with Pizza and Sushi

Baltimore, MD – June 10, 2020 –Torah teaches us the importance of hakaras hatov – expressing our gratitude to others. To show our appreciation and support of just some of the first responders who put their lives on the line for us daily, representatives of STAR-K Kosher Certification paid a lunchtime visit to its neighbor, the Pikesville precinct of the Baltimore County Police Department (BCPD), on Tuesday, June 9.

Armed with nothing but piled up boxes of pizza and a large tray of sushi from Caramel’s – and a framed letter of appreciation – STAR-K President Dr. Avrom Pollak and STAR-K Kashrus Administrator Rabbi Sholom Tendler made the presentation on behalf of the organization to a very grateful BCPD Precinct Commander, Captain Brandon Rogers.

The letter read:

Dear Captain Rogers and the entire BCPD Precinct 4 Staff,

Please accept this token of our appreciation, admiration and respect for the essential work that BCPD Precinct […]

STAR-K Partners with Mesivta Kesser Torah to Bring Torah Learning to Life

What better way to make kashrus and other halachic concepts come to life than to experience them hands-on? That is exactly what the bochurim of Mesivta Kesser Torah of Baltimore did when STAR-K Kashrus Administrators were invited to the yeshiva to present an array of topics.

The four-part STAR-K Educational Series kicked off in January with Rabbi Emanuel Goldfeiz’s Shatnez Lab practicum, in which the bochurim learned about modern-day shailos of shatnez. After the class, students expressed their excitement about the opportunity that they were afforded.  Students specifically were fascinated by the degree to which we go to avoid wearing shatnez. One student also remarked, “Knowing that VBC [Vitale Barberis Canonico] suits can be shatnez is very useful to know when suit shopping.”

The following week, Rabbi Sholom Tendler taught the students how to meticulously check vegetables for tolaim.  Students had a great time searching for bugs using the STAR-K’s thrip cloth […]

STAR-K-Certified Fresko Lands United Airlines Meal Contract

Things are looking up for kosher travelers flying to Israel on United Airlines, with the airline’s recent announcement that STAR-K-certified Fresko meals will debut this month on U.S. to Tel Aviv flights. The variety of new options offered will be available from the airline’s Newark/New York, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C./Dulles-based hubs.

Newark to Tel Aviv flights will feature Fresko menu options such as fresh bagels, cheese omelets, blintzes, chicken marsala, kale quinoa burgers and traditional bakery items including rugelach and black and white cookies. For its youngest flyers, United is testing a child’s menu offering in all cabins between Tel Aviv, Newark, and San Francisco. If it takes off the airline will offer the meal selection on additional Tel Aviv routes.

While waiting for take-off in Newark, United’s Polaris Lounge guests will now be able to find a hot Kosher à la carte meal option which it is also testing, in […]

STAR-K & Imex Co-Sponsor  Kosher Pavilion @ SIAL Paris 2020

STAR-K Kosher Certification is excited to announce a new collaboration with IMEX Management to organize the first ever “Kosher Pavilion sponsored by STAR-K Kosher Certification” at SIAL Paris 2020 this October.

 

SIAL Paris is the world’s largest food and beverage industry event.  Welcoming over 300,000 trade visitors and 7,000 exhibitors, SIAL is recognized the world over as the international hub for food and beverage innovation.  The global kosher food market is projected to grow by 11.6%, increasing in value to an estimated US$ 60 billion by 2025!  There’s no better time to meet with a global audience than at SIAL 2020.

 

Exhibiting in the Kosher Pavilion sponsored by STAR-K Kosher Certification at SIAL provides our clients with:

the opportunity to present their products in front of buyers from every continent and all sectors of the food and beverage industry
an excellent, central location in Hall 4
furnished, turnkey individual exhibit spaces available in denominations […]

GE Sabbath Mode Oven Alert

Effective January 1, 2022, GE began marketing their Sabbath Mode ovens without STAR-K certification. Certified ovens purchased and delivered prior to January 1, 2022, remain certified.

Consumers seeking to purchase cooking appliances compatible with Shabbos and Yom Tov are advised to select models certified by a reliable kashrus organization.

Consumers who have questions or concerns about this issue can contact GE directly at 1-800-626-2005.

השוק הכשר

בעשרים וחמש השנים האחרונות הביקוש למוצרים עם הסמכה כשרה עלה באופן דרמטי. ליתר דיוק, השוק הכשר צמח בשיעור שנתי של 15% במהלך השנים האחרונות

הצרכן הכשר
השוק היהודי
הקהילה המוסלמית
זרמים דתיים אחרים
אי סבילות ללקטוז
צמחונים
ערובה לאיכות

הצרכן הכשר

מיליוני אנשים ברחבי העולם מגבילים את צריכת המזון שלהם ומחפשים את הסימן “כשר” כדי לוודא שההעדפות שלהם מתקיימות. על פי מחקרי שוק, המשיכה לאוכל כשר חורגת מהאינטרס של קבוצה אתנית ספציפית. צרכני מזון כשר כוללים יהודים, מוסלמים, בני כנסיות דת אחרות, צמחונים, אנשים עם אי סבילות ללקטוז, ומי שמבין ש”כשר עדיף”.

השוק היהודי
Integrated Marketing Communications צרכנים יהודים מהווים כמעט 45% מהשוק הכשר. חברת
אינטגרטייד מרקטינג קומיוניקיישן. תקשורת שיווקית משולבת] חושפת כי כ- 2.5 מיליון יהודים צורכים מוצרי מזון כשרים].

הקהילה המוסלמית
מיליוני מוסלמים ברחבי העולם חיים על פי תזונה הדומה לחוק הכשרות. מוצרי מזון בעלי תעודת הכשר מושכים את תשומת ליבם של מוסלמים […]

כיצד לבחור תעודת כשרות

בחירת הסוכנות הנכונה
בתחילה…
שאלות נפוצות
תנאי משא ומתן
עמלות

בחירת הסוכנות הנכונה

כיצד למצוא את תעודת הכשרות המתאימה שתענה על הצרכים הספציפיים של החברה שלך?ך

אלא אם תעודת כשרות מטעם מועצת רבנות מקומית, תספק את צרכי הכשרות של העסק שלך, אתה על סף חוויה מתסכל ת בניסיון להשוות בין יתרונות ההסמכות השונות. לא כל הארגונים בעלי הסמכה כשרה זהים!

חשוב מאוד לבצע הליך זה באופן הדומה בו תשתמש בבחירת עורך דין, יועץ פיננסי או עובד חיוני. בקיצור, עשה את העבודה שלך! שאל ת השאלות הנכונות ובחינת כל האפשרויות הקיימות בשוק הכשר עשויו ת לחסוך לחברתך חוויה לא נעימה ויקרה.

בתחילה…

לפני שתתחיל במשימת הראיון ולמידת היתרונות והחסרונות של סוכנויות ההסמכה השונות (הדבר תקף אם כבר יש לך אישור ורוצה לשקול שינוי), עליך לדעת שארגון מהימן לא יאשר מוצרים המבוססים רק על האמון בחברתך.

מלבד דברים רבים אחרים, הסוכנו ת להסמכה כשרה דורשת:

ביקורים […]

FDA Registration and Compliance

STAR-K Kosher Certification Announces Synergetic Partnership with Registrar Corp

 STAR-K Kosher Certification Director of Development Steve Sichel and Registrar Corp President David Lennarz serendipitously met at a trade show in Germany about 15 years ago, and although they never imagined  that their companies would partner in the future – the match is an obvious one.

Every company that produces food or pharmaceuticals sold in the United States must comply with FDA requirements; with its numerous multi-lingual teams in offices throughout the world, Registrar Corp assists with the copious legwork needed to achieve that compliance seamlessly. For the twin benefit of Registrar’s clients exploring Kosher certification and existent STAR-K Kosher certified clients in need of FDA registration, the symbiotic relationship was realized. The partnership was formalized at Registrar Corp’s headquarters in Hampton, Virginia, in June.

Registrar Corporation provides turnkey services including

FSMA compliance including HACCP and Food safety planning
Label redesign and compliance
Import notification
myFDA […]

STAR-K Kosher Certification Announces Synergetic Partnership <br>with Registrar Corp

Little did STAR-K Kosher Certification Director of Development Steve Sichel and Registrar Corp President David Lennarz realize when they serendipitously met at a trade show in Germany about 15 years ago, that their companies would partner in the future – but the match is an obvious one.

Every company that produces food or pharmaceuticals sold in the United States must comply with FDA requirements; with its numerous multi-lingual teams in offices throughout the world, Registrar Corp assists with the copious legwork needed to achieve that compliance seamlessly. For the twin benefit of Registrar’s clients exploring Kosher certification and existent STAR-K Kosher certified clients in need of FDA registration, the symbiotic relationship was realized. The partnership was formalized at Registrar Corp’s headquarters in Hampton, Virginia, in June.

“We decided we had a lot of synergy and started sharing trade show booths around the world – in France, Spain, Italy, Germany, among other countries,” […]

Kosher Dining at Yale University Hillel Newly Certified by STAR-K Kosher Certification

As a proud native New Havener, I was overjoyed when I found out that Yale University’s kosher kitchen would be certified by STAR-K Kosher Certification; I couldn’t wait to try it out, as I recently did, on my annual Elul trip to my hometown.

Yale University’s kosher kitchen has come a long way since it first opened to serve weeknight dinners to its graduate students in the fall of 1959. It was housed in the Young Israel synagogue, a 25-minute walk from the university’s downtown New Haven, Connecticut, campus. Most recently, reinventing itself as a STAR-K Kosher-certified facility in the Lindenbaum Kosher Kitchen located at the Joseph Slifka Center for Jewish Life, it functions seamlessly in the middle of the campus as part of the Yale University Dining System.

Since 1999, STAR-K Kashrus Administrator Rabbi Mayer Kurcfeld has been engineering and overseeing the agency’s many certified on-campus facilities, custom-designing those which were […]

STAR-K FOOD SERVICE KASHRUS TRAINING SEMINAR IS WORTH THE TRIP…EVEN FROM ISRAEL AND COSTA RICA

Shai and Maayan Ben-Eli traveled the farthest – 5,863 miles from Yerushalayim – to attend the STAR-K Food Service Kashrus Training Seminar, held in the agency’s Baltimore offices, August 5-7. The Ben-Elis are being groomed not only as STAR-K mashgichim for their upcoming move to Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), India, but as the agency’s emissaries to the once-thriving Jewish community.

There has been a Jewish presence in Kolkata since 1798, when a Syrian jewel trader, Shalom Cohen, migrated there. Other Jews followed, mostly from Iraq and Syria, who opened businesses and exported silk, indigo, and opium. By the last half of the 19th century, the city was bustling with 3,000 Jews. During World War II, the Jewish population peaked with those seeking refuge. The community teemed with Jewish amenities for its nearly 5,000 Jews until that number rapidly diminished when India gained independence from the British in 1947 and, again, with the […]

16th Annual STAR-K Kashrus Training Program Draws Participants from Amsterdam to Panama City

Samy Weill, who has been in the kashrus field for 26 years, traveled the farthest – 3808 miles from Amsterdam – to attend the 16th Annual STAR-K Training Program held July 22-25 in the kashrus agency’s Baltimore offices. As an administrator for the Chief Rabbinate of Holland, he oversees the initial inspections and annual visits of hundreds of companies in Holland, Belgium. Germany, France, and Spain. “I came to the training program to make contacts and bring back new ideas for improving our agency,” mentions Mr. Weill.

David Eshkenazi traveled only 2103 miles from Panama City, where he learns in kollel, to attend the program. He signed up because he aspires to work in the booming field of Kashrus in Panama.

“It’s one thing to learn about Kashrus in the Shulchan Aruch, and another thing to learn it, hands-on,” notes Mr. Eshkenazi. “Having experienced mashgichim and rabbis – who have seen things […]

Kashering Your Countertops Properly

Countertops that are made of solid stone, like granite or marble are able to be Kashered for Pesach. Other synthetic or composite materials (including granite composite) can not be Kashered  and should be covered.[1]

Granite or marble countertops can only be koshered using Eruy Roschin, which means pouring boiling water from a pot that has been heated on a fire.[2] Actual water[3] is needed to kasher, not steam.[4] The concept of using a steam machine is that it will boil water and spray that water through a hose creating a neat and efficient method to accomplish Eruy Roschin. However, if the steamer only produces steam and not actual boiling water, it can not be used to kasher, even if the steam is hotter than 212 F.[5] STAR-K has tested many models of steamers available commercially and have found that almost all of them will only produce hot […]

Pan-Asia Kosher Training Seminar Convened by STAR-K in Shanghai

They come from Yerushalayim; Perth, Australia; Mumbai, India; Manila, Philippines; Boston; Scottsdale; and, Los Angeles; but truly, the mashgichim who attended the first-ever Pan-Asia Kosher Training Seminar held in Shanghai, January 9-14, live out of their suitcases. Dedicated to the mission of ensuring and spreading Kashrus, even at a moment’s notice, implies where they are from is wherever their luggage happens to be.

As the premier Kosher certifier in Asia, these STAR-K mashgichim are the “eyes and ears” out in the field who help certify thousands of products–as diverse as canned goods and nori sheets in China and South Korea, to spices and coconut products in India and Sri Lanka, to banana chips and coco sugar in the Philippines. Most of the certified products are exported from the region to the world as “bulk” ingredients that are processed around the word to make consumer products.

STAR-K operates regional support centers in Shanghai, […]

Schach/Sukkah Mats (Webinar)

August 2017

Webinar host Rabbi Zvi Goldberg discusses schach mats with Rabbi Boruch Beyer.

Additionally, you can listen here for a shiur by Rabbi Goldberg, given at Congregation Darchei Tzedek, Baltimore, on the subject of various types of schach mats. The shiur includes an explanation of STAR-K certified mats.

Hot Off the Hotline

In the last issue of Kashrus Kurrents the following appeared in “Hot Off the Hotline:”

Q: On Shabbos does an observant Jew have to close a website that is selling products online?


A: Yes. As in the case of a regular business transaction, no electronic business transactions may be made on Shabbos or Yom Tov on a website belonging to a shomer Shabbos businessman. The web site may remain open for informational purposes, if the shopping cart on the website is shut down. The time Shabbos or Yom Tov begins is determined by the entrepreneur’s geographic location.

[...] Read More

Hot Off the Hotline: Commerce on the Web Revisited

This article is a further clarification to the Hot off the Hotline question…

Q: On Shabbos does an observant Jew have to close a website that is selling products online?

Based on information that the Star-K received from two credit card companies, Rav Heinemann had answered that since purchases are accomplished by entering a credit card number, whereby the bank immediately transfers funds from the purchaser’s account to that of the vendor, web commerce would be prohibited on Shabbos.

However, many of our Kashrus Kurrents readers informed us that this information is erroneous regarding weekend transactions. After much research to further clarify this issue, Hot off the Hotline is presenting the corrected version of how credit card business is transacted generally, and specifically how it is […]

Star-K’s New Kashrus Training Program A Huge Success

August 2004

How can you learn to deal with the challenges of supervising a first-class hotel’s kosher kitchen which is next to its non-kosher kitchen? Where does one find the opportunity to tour a flavor plant to better understand the kosher manufacturing process? Who will train you to find the less obvious thrips and aphids when checking a restaurant’s vegetables? What will give you the preparation to administer – or perhaps, pioneer – a communal kosher certification agency?

Star-K Kosher Certification recently provided the platform for these unique learning opportunities and more. In its new complimentary certificate program, Star-K’s Kashrus Training Program allowed Kollel yungerleit of Yeshivas Ner Yisrael to experience the field of kosher supervision first hand. Held July 12-16, at Star-K’s offices in Baltimore, Maryland, the five day intensive seminar was limited to 25 students who have studied Yorah Deah.

Ner Yisrael Kollel fellow Moshe Schuchman’s sentiments […]

STAR-K Kashrus Training Program Celebrates 15 Years of Preparing Kashrus Professionals Worldwide

Since July 2004, STAR-K Kosher Certification has provided a premier training ground for Kashrus professionals, administrators, and field representatives, Rabbonim, Rebbeim, Kollel fellows, and others serving in klei kodesh, from around the world. The comprehensive analysis of pertinent Kashrus and halachic issues is presented by STAR-K’s Rabbinic staff members, including Rabbinic Administrator Rabbi Moshe Heinemann and President Dr. Avrom Pollak. The lectures are supplemented by a visit to a glatt kosher slaughter house, a hands-on vegetable checking practicum and behind-the-scenes tours of various STAR-K certified establishments and manufacturing plants.

From Australia to Zürich

Just some of the illustrious alumni of the Annual STAR-K Kashrus Training Program, over the past 15 years, include:

Rabbi Dovid Asher, Rav, Keneseth Beth Israel/Rabbinic Administrator, The Va’ad HaKashrut of Richmond, Richmond, VA; Rabbi Hershel Becker, Rav, Young Israel of Kendall, Miami, FL; Rabbi Yechiel Biberfeld, Rosh Kollel, Philadelphia Community Kollel; Rabbi Azriel Blumberg, Corporate Kosher Liaison, KVH Kosher, […]

STAR-K Kosher Certification Director of Supervision Rabbi Eliyahu Shuman Retires After 42 Years

With his inimitable sense of humor, STAR-K Director of Supervision Rabbi Eliyahu Shuman opened his speech joking that it was hashgacha that his seudas preida was being held on Parshas Beshalach. After the laughter diminished, he explained why the decision to retire was so difficult for him.

“For 42 years, I was zoche to work with Rav Heinemann, be in the daled amos of the Rav, and be able to be misabek b’afar raglov; that’s not something you want to retire from.” explained Rabbi Shuman. “It’s also hard because we’re not an organization—we’re family. In these 42 years, we’ve become a unit and we work so beautifully together. It is like a wheel with the Rav in the center, and all of us are the spokes trying to be mekayam the requirements and the divrei haRav. When you’re family, it’s hard to leave.”

In closing, Rabbi Shuman shared, “I want to devote […]

“Beer” Chometz – An overview of Beer Distribution in New York and Chometz She’avar Alav haPesach

UPDATED: As of May 10, 2018, all beer can be assumed from after Pesach.

Updated April 10, 2018 | 25 Nissan 5778

It has come to our attention that much of the beer sold in New York and surrounding counties is distributed by a Jewish owned company, creating a potential Chometz She’avar Alav haPesach issue for our communities. The following is a brief explanation of the issue.

Click here for a list of beers that are of concern.

Click here for a list of brands that may be purchased anywhere.

What exactly is Chometz?

The Torah[1] forbids eating any chometz – leavened grain products during Pesach. Simply defined, leavening is dough or batter that has increased in volume either through yeasts or chemical means. The process of how this happens is the following.

A chemical leaven such as sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) react with compounds naturally present in the dough to produce carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide […]

Sabbath Mode FAQs

KitchenAid 1996:
Dear Rabbi Rosen,
The STAR-K KitchenAid Sabbath Mode project had been evolving for 2 ½ years. This novel venture was initiated by KitchenAid to address the needs of the Sabbath observant Jewish community that would not be able to use the new age KitchenAid ranges and wall units due to the new electronic technology and advanced features.
Jewish Sabbbath observance does not permit the kindling or extinguishing of a fire or the cooking of food on Sabbath. Jewish Holiday observance does not permit the creation of a new flame, but cooking and adjusting fire as needed for cooking is permitted.
The issues that KitchenAid engineers had to address in order to create a user-friendly oven for the Sabbath observer were the following:
1. Could the 12-hour automatic shutoff be bypassed?
2. Could the oven be opened without lighting an icon on the control […]