Author Archives: Admin

It’s a Siman that it’s Kosher: Avoiding Bosor Shenisalaim Min Hoayin

It’s a Siman that it’s Kosher: Avoiding Bosor Shenisalaim Min Hoayin

An Interview With Rabbi Moshe Heinemann
STAR-K Rabbinic Administrator


INTRODUCTION:

The world of kashrus has played, and continues to play, a dominant role in the life of a Jew and the life blood of Judaism. This centrality is evidenced by the significant halachic treatment of kashrus in the Shulchan Aruch, by our Poskim, and in contemporary Torah journals, as well as the particular attention paid to the kosher consumer stretching from the aisles of the supermarket to the media portfolios of the marketplace.

Star-K Certified Canned Vegetables

Star-K Certified Canned Vegetables

(The following list of certified canned vegetables are certified kosher only when bearing the Star-K symbol)

 

Aegean Gourmet
Finesse
Ningbo Orient Jiuzhou
Sysco

Agro Dutch
Foodtown
Noam Gourmet
Sysco Arrezzio

Alessi
Freshlike
Olympion
Sysco Classic

Allens
Fronte
Pacific Delite
Sysco Imperial

Alma
GFS
Pathmark
Taco Mac

Ambrosia
Gandules
Pocahontas
Taylor

America’s Choice
Geisha
Popeye
Tongfa

American Roland
Georgia Belle
Premium
Tops

Ashley
Giant
Princella
Trappey’s

Assagio Classico
Gold Plum
Red Feather
Tuna Delight

B-Tam
Great Value
Red Rooster
Tyling

Bellagio
Guiguo
Reese
U.S. Blue

Benz’s Bilo
Happy Chef
Restaurant Row
U.S. Food Service Roseli

Bountiful Harvest
Harvest Valu
Roland
U.S. Red

Brown Beauty
Herko
Royal Prince
Uncle Williams

Bruce’s
Homefolks
Royalty
Ungers

Butterfield
Horn of Plenty
Ruby
Veg-All

California Delight
Inter-Food
Rykoff Sexton Green
Vigo

Casa Diva
Jeraci
San Pablo
Vitarroz

Casa Fiesta
Jinke
Santa Lucia
Viva Mexico

Chai-Kee
La Romanella
Saruhan
Vivaci

Chopsie’s
Lijiang
Selena
Wegman’s Whyte’s

Classic/Arrezzio
Louisiana
Smart & Final
Wolco

Conservas Martinez Garcia
Mancini
Snack Delite
Yarden

Crest Top
Manolito
Southern Home
Yilong

D&S
Marco Polo
Stone Mountain
Zumdieck

Del Destino
Marcove
Stop & Shop

Dintel
Mexene
Sugary Sam

Dorman
Milfiore
Sun of Italy

Dunbars
Mistral
Sunfield

East Texas Fair
Monte Lupo
Sunshine

Eden
Montecito
Super G

El Rio
Moody Dunbar
Supremo Italiano

Empress
Natural Value
Sylvia’s

 

A “TAIL” OF TWO CITIES: Worldwide Fish Production

A “TAIL” OF TWO CITIES: Worldwide Fish Production

By: Joel Weinberger, Star-K Field Supervisor

The following article describes the saga of two diverse Star-K fish productions in two very different parts of the world – Kodiak, Alaska, and Sarong Irianjaya, Indonesia. Salmon is produced in Alaska, and tuna is produced in the Far East. Traveling to both locations is equally arduous and each location presents its own set of challenges to the traveling Mashgiach.

Money-Saving Tips and Strategies for Passover and Year-Round

Money-Saving Tips and Strategies for Passover and Year-Round

When we prepare to celebrate our freedom from Egyptian slavery on Pesach, the last thing we want to do is enslave ourselves to debt in paying for that eight-day celebration! Although the Gemorah states that when Hashem assigns a person’s livelihood on Rosh Hashanah for the coming year, He does not deduct Shabbos and Yom Tov expenses from the sum allocated, it is no mitzvah to spend money for those expenses, needlessly. With a little forethought and planning, you can implement some helpful money saving tips, year-round, in anticipation of Pesach.

Optimally, it would be wise to budget for Pesach, well in advance. Decide how much you will have to spend, and what you might need to cut from your budget to achieve that figure, by asking yourself: How much do I typically spend on groceries, monthly? How much did I spend on Pesach, last year? What are the specifics of […]

Hotel Kashrus on the Front Lines

Hotel Kashrus on the Front Lines

Rabbi Mayer Kurcfeld, Star-K Kashrus Administrator

Published Summer 2007

Introduction

The world of hotel kashrus is exciting, stressful and always a challenge.  Effective hotel
kashrus demands a keen understanding of modern equipment and complex facility
dynamics, along with an excellent mastery of the hotel food and beverage industry.  These
criteria are essential in facilitating the role of the administrator and mashgiach as respected members and powerful presence in the hotel kitchen.  The role of the mashgiach, once typecast as that of an old man with a white beard sitting on a chair, has changed.  Not only does the mashgiach need to know that dairy and meat must be kept separate, the “new-age” mashgiach must relate to the kitchen and serving staff with diplomacy and grace.

Star-K Side Bar Summer 2008

Star-K Side Bar Summer 2008

Other News From The STAR-K

STAR-K CERTIFICATION

Announces Monthly TeleKosher Conference Program for Local Kashrus Agencies

Star-K Side Bar Fall 2008

Star-K Side Bar Fall 2008

Other News From The STAR-K

STAR-K CERTIFICATION

TeleKosher Conference Program for Local Kashrus Agencies

Star-K Side Bar Fall 2011

Star-K Side Bar Fall 2011

Women’s Mashgicha Conference Planned for Fall, 2011

STAR-K’s first Mashgicha Enrichment Program, held in November, 2009, attracted veteran mashgichos from around the U.S. and as far away as Israel.  It was so successful that STAR-K is planning its second all-women conference this coming fall.  The two-day program will be held at its Baltimore headquarters and is open to a limited number of women who are currently employed as mashgichos worldwide.  The curriculum will include kashrus procedures, insect checking, and visits to local food service establishments.

Side Bar Winter 2013

Side Bar Winter 2013

STAR-K CERTIFICATION

STAR-K Kashrus Administrator Rabbi Dovid Heber will present a webinar series on Hilchos Brochos, scheduled every other Monday from December 17, 2012 through February 11, 2013 at 12 noon.  Some of the topics will include:  fruits, vegetables and processed grains, ikker v’tafel, cereals, kadima, and the various foods included in the brochos of Hamotzi and Hagofen.  To sign up, visit Kosher University.

National Kashrus Lecture Series

National Kashrus Lecture Series

Star-K’s National Kashrus Lecture Series features various topics delivered by Star-K administrators. Topics cover: Glatt Kosher Meat Today, Kosher Travel, The High Price of Kosher Foods, Caterers and Restaurants, Meat and Poultry, Kosher Liquors, Shabbos & Yom Tov Appliances, and the Kashrus of Medicines & Vitamins. Cassettes of these lectures are available through the Star-K office. For more information, click here or call Star-K,
(410) 484-4110.

Shidduch Incentive Program

Shidduch Incentive Program

Star-K’s Shidduch Incentive Program offers a cash gift of $2500 to those who successfully match its hometown Orthodox single women, by Chanukah, 2009. A local attempt at remedying the universal Orthodox singles problem in Baltimore, its widespread impact has become a motivating factor in matching single Orthodox women around the world.

Please Note: Effective January 1, 2010, the STAR-K award will only be paid to shadchanim who have received a minimum shadchanus fee of $1500 paid by the choson and kallah or their families.

Advanced Halacha Webinar Series

Advanced Halacha Webinar Series

STAR-K is committed to utilizing its resources for the education of Jewish communities worldwide. Our Advanced Halacha Webinar Series Project features STAR-K’s Rabbis and our Rabbinic Administrator, Rabbi Moshe Heinemann, who has always been on the cutting edge of advanced technology and halacha. We will discuss various topics through an interactive presentation which allows participants from around the globe to experience a live workshop through the use of audio, video and pictures.

Kashrus Training Program – REGISTRATION CLOSED

Kashrus Training Program – REGISTRATION CLOSED

The Star-K’s widely acclaimed Kashrus Training Program has been held annually since 2004, at the Star-K offices in Baltimore, Maryland. This intensive seminar is limited to 25 students ; Rabbonim, certifying agency administrators, kollel members, and others serving in klei kodesh ; who will be taken behind the scenes of a first class luxury hotel’s kosher kitchen and a manufacturing plant. Seminar participants will also benefit from lectures delivered by Star-K administrators, audio-visual presentations, and a hands-on practicum to find the less obvious thrips and aphids hiding in a restaurant’s vegetables.

Sabbath Mode and Sabbath Compliant Appliances

Sabbath Mode and Sabbath Compliant Appliances

Updated January 2023

Appliance manufacturers, with the aid of modern technology, have designed kitchen appliances to be safer and more efficient while incorporating various features to enhance operation. However, the integration of this technology may pose a challenge to their proper use on Shabbos and Yom Tov.

THE INTRODUCTION OF SABBATH MODE

In 1997, a historic technological project was launched between a major appliance manufacturer and a kosher certification agency. Whirlpool Corporation (manufacturer of KitchenAid) approached STAR-K to help modify their ovens for use on Shabbos and Yom Tov. Prior to that time, many of their appliances did not conform to halachic guidelines.

Following some adjustments, a successful mode was developed. Whirlpool called this “Sabbath Mode” and was awarded a patent in 1998 for this concept.

STAR-K kosher certification on appliances falls into one of two categories:

1. Sabbath Mode Appliances – these are models that have unique software/hardware specifically […]

Kosher and Organic

Kosher and Organic

Now You Can Have Your Organic Cake and Eat it Too…Thanks to STAR-K!

Once upon a time, organic produce and processed foods were found only in health food stores. Today, not only can you walk into most any mainstream grocery store and find a variety of organically certified foods, you can find them in stores catering to the most discriminating kosher consumer, as well. The rapidly, rising global demand for kosher products bearing a trusted, recognizable kosher logo now parallels that of labeled certified organic products. The two intersecting trends have given rise to a flourishing new specialty food category, kosher organic, which meets both the strict requirements of Jewish dietary laws and the USDA National Organic Program specifications. The major impact on sales of these doubly certified products is reflected in Mintel International’s 2008 research data; both “kosher” and “organic” were amongst the top ten claims for new products.

The term […]

Personal Stories: Becoming Kosher

Personal Stories: Becoming Kosher

If WE Can Do It, So Can You!!
Naomi Lazerow

I was raised in a home where I was told, “you’re Jewish.” That was the extent of my Jewish education. On the Jewish holidays, we went to my grandmother’s and ate the appropriate foods. On Passover we ate matzah but didn’t have a seder. My mother, a widow with four small children – my three younger brothers and me – lived in a non-Jewish neighborhood in Baltimore. We stood out as different, even though we didn’t really know what made us different. My husband Carl was raised in a very assimilated family and attended a large Reform Temple. Needless to say, when we married, we never would have predicted we’d have a kosher home some day.