{"id":635,"date":"2013-08-15T20:25:45","date_gmt":"2013-08-15T20:25:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/?p=635"},"modified":"2016-05-09T15:53:16","modified_gmt":"2016-05-09T15:53:16","slug":"kosher-certification-food-safety-qualitys-eyes-and-ears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/kashrus-kurrents\/635\/kosher-certification-food-safety-qualitys-eyes-and-ears\/","title":{"rendered":"Kosher Certification-Food Safety Quality’s Eyes and Ears"},"content":{"rendered":"

Published Summer 2010<\/em><\/p>\n

Earlier this year, a couple of items in the secular media caught my attention. \u00a0I was particularly interested in them because they brought to mind how those who are not kosher observant view Kosher.<\/p>\n

The first item was a New York Times<\/em> article which started out by mentioning the fact that this year, for the first time, glatt kosher food (actually STAR-K certified!) will be sold at the Super Bowl. \u201cIn an era of heightened concern over food contamination, allergies and the provenance of ingredients, the market for kosher food among non-Jews is setting records,\u201d it said. It then quoted a consumer market research company spokesperson as saying, \u201cIt\u2019s keyed into the issues of food safety and consumer fear. The reputation of kosher is stretching beyond chicken, whether there is truth to it or not.\u201d<\/p>\n

The second item was a National Public Radio (NPR) broadcast which did not specifically mention Kosher; however, it did have implications for the conception of Kosher in the secular global world. The host interviewed two high school students who, with the help of researchers, recently spent four months testing the DNA of various foods. \u00a0The results revealed that of the 66 food items tested, the DNA showed that 11 were mislabeled; sheep\u2019s milk was actually cow\u2019s milk, venison dog treats were beef, and the sturgeon caviar was Mississippi paddle fish!<\/p>\n

I believe that both of these pieces in the secular media only reinforce the worldwide conception of Kosher, and the pivotal role kosher certification agencies are perceived as playing. Although observant Jews scrupulously adhere to the laws of Kosher for one reason and one reason alone–because we are mandated to do so by the Torah<\/em>–secular consumers may purchase Kosher because they view a kosher symbol as the Good Housekeeping seal of approval for superior safety and quality. As such, the kosher certification agency is their eyes and ears, assuring them that the product labels truly indicate that what they see is what they get!<\/p>\n

I admit, this does not mean to say that there have never been kosher products that have been mislabeled. Rather, the question is what does a responsible kosher agency do about it? \u00a0We at STAR-K train and expect our mashgichim<\/em> to look for misrepresentation on labels, even if it has no bearing on the kosher status of the food. In addition, we encourage them to become as informed about ingredients and manufacturing practices as possible. A number of years ago, an incident made us question just how big of a watchdog role kosher certifying organizations should play, in fulfilling such evident consumer expectations.<\/p>\n

A fruit juice company, located in the deep South, was exposed in the media for misrepresenting its products as 100% pure. Since the name of the company was very similar to that of a STAR-K certified juice company, located in New Jersey, both our company and our office received a number of complaints from irate consumers. The calls that STAR-K received expressed dismay about our putative certification of a product that, albeit kosher, was not the same product as was represented on the label.<\/p>\n

It was clear to us that a kashrus<\/em> organization is obligated to enforce and monitor the veracity of claims printed on a label which relate directly to a kashrus concern, such as \u201cPareve<\/em>\u201d, \u201cPas Yisroel<\/em>\u201d or \u201cYoshon<\/em>.\u201d But regarding nutritional claims on labels, such as \u201cpreservative-free,\u201d \u201corganically grown,\u201d \u201clow in sodium,\u201d or \u201ccholesterol-free,\u201d doesn\u2019t the validation of such claims go far beyond the scope and duty of even the most knowledgeable and alert mashgiach<\/em>?<\/p>\n

One time, STAR-K kashrus<\/em> administrators noticed that a letter, sent by a flavor manufacturer for approval of a particular ingredient, was forged. When we explained to the flavor company why they could not use that ingredient, we were thanked profusely and all business relations were promptly stopped with that supplier. \u2018If the supplier attempted to cheat on kashrus<\/em>,\u2019 the flavor company questioned, \u2018how can we be sure that they are not misrepresenting their products in other ways?\u2019<\/p>\n

How has this misrepresentation changed the buying patterns of some kosher consumers? With the bar being raised by consumers, both kosher and organic certifications have shared an integral role in delivering better quality merchandise. Fairly recently, STAR-K formed a partnership with Quality Assurance International (QAI) to offer a twin Kosher organic certification. No doubt, it is this double reassurance of quality standards that a growing number of consumers seek when they look for our twin STAR-K\/QAI logos. The similarities in the kosher and organic inspection processes, which certify that the foods, ingredients, handling, processing and packaging are up to certain requirements, provide these consumers with products they can feel confident in, as well as a greater quality assurance for their dollar.
\nSTAR-K is proud of the role it plays in helping the kosher consumer \u2013 and all consumers \u2013 in certifying quality products, so that what you see is what you get! As a recent New York Times Well Blog<\/em> put it, \u201cUltimately, the best part of buying kosher products is that it may help you know what is\u2014and more importantly, what\u2019s not\u2014in your food.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Published Summer 2010<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, a couple of items in the secular media caught my attention. \u00a0I was particularly interested in them because they brought to mind how those who are not kosher observant view Kosher.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,27,60],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-635","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kashurs-kurrents-2010","category-kashrus-kurrents","category-summer-kashrus-kurrents-2010"],"yoast_head":"\nKosher Certification-Food Safety Quality's Eyes and Ears | STAR-K Kosher Certification<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Published Summer 2010 Earlier this year, a couple of items in the secular media caught my attention. \u00a0I was particularly interested in them because they\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/kashrus-kurrents\/635\/kosher-certification-food-safety-qualitys-eyes-and-ears\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kosher Certification-Food Safety Quality's Eyes and Ears | STAR-K Kosher Certification\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Published Summer 2010 Earlier this year, a couple of items in the secular media caught my attention. \u00a0I was particularly interested in them because they\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/kashrus-kurrents\/635\/kosher-certification-food-safety-qualitys-eyes-and-ears\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"STAR-K Kosher Certification\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-08-15T20:25:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-05-09T15:53:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dr. Avrom Pollak\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dr. Avrom Pollak\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.star-k.org\\\/articles\\\/kashrus-kurrents\\\/635\\\/kosher-certification-food-safety-qualitys-eyes-and-ears\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.star-k.org\\\/articles\\\/kashrus-kurrents\\\/635\\\/kosher-certification-food-safety-qualitys-eyes-and-ears\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Dr. Avrom Pollak\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.star-k.org\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d2a029fdd1af2c91f436998cf9f2175c\"},\"headline\":\"Kosher Certification-Food Safety Quality’s Eyes and Ears\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-08-15T20:25:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-05-09T15:53:16+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.star-k.org\\\/articles\\\/kashrus-kurrents\\\/635\\\/kosher-certification-food-safety-qualitys-eyes-and-ears\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":865,\"articleSection\":[\"2010\",\"Kashrus Kurrents\",\"Summer\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.star-k.org\\\/articles\\\/kashrus-kurrents\\\/635\\\/kosher-certification-food-safety-qualitys-eyes-and-ears\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.star-k.org\\\/articles\\\/kashrus-kurrents\\\/635\\\/kosher-certification-food-safety-qualitys-eyes-and-ears\\\/\",\"name\":\"Kosher Certification-Food Safety Quality's Eyes and Ears | STAR-K Kosher Certification\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.star-k.org\\\/articles\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-08-15T20:25:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-05-09T15:53:16+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.star-k.org\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d2a029fdd1af2c91f436998cf9f2175c\"},\"description\":\"Published Summer 2010 Earlier this year, a couple of items in the secular media caught my attention. \u00a0I was particularly interested in them because they\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.star-k.org\\\/articles\\\/kashrus-kurrents\\\/635\\\/kosher-certification-food-safety-qualitys-eyes-and-ears\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.star-k.org\\\/articles\\\/kashrus-kurrents\\\/635\\\/kosher-certification-food-safety-qualitys-eyes-and-ears\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.star-k.org\\\/articles\\\/kashrus-kurrents\\\/635\\\/kosher-certification-food-safety-qualitys-eyes-and-ears\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.star-k.org\\\/articles\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Kosher Certification-Food Safety Quality’s Eyes and Ears\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.star-k.org\\\/articles\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.star-k.org\\\/articles\\\/\",\"name\":\"STAR-K Kosher Certification\",\"description\":\"Providing Kosher certification worldwide\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.star-k.org\\\/articles\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.star-k.org\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d2a029fdd1af2c91f436998cf9f2175c\",\"name\":\"Dr. Avrom Pollak\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/6831565bccefe5a7b1a83b00e506dade75ca412ac53d0614e85f786f2e6ea289?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/6831565bccefe5a7b1a83b00e506dade75ca412ac53d0614e85f786f2e6ea289?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/6831565bccefe5a7b1a83b00e506dade75ca412ac53d0614e85f786f2e6ea289?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dr. Avrom Pollak\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.star-k.org\\\/articles\\\/author\\\/avrom\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Kosher Certification-Food Safety Quality's Eyes and Ears | STAR-K Kosher Certification","description":"Published Summer 2010 Earlier this year, a couple of items in the secular media caught my attention. \u00a0I was particularly interested in them because they","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/kashrus-kurrents\/635\/kosher-certification-food-safety-qualitys-eyes-and-ears\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Kosher Certification-Food Safety Quality's Eyes and Ears | STAR-K Kosher Certification","og_description":"Published Summer 2010 Earlier this year, a couple of items in the secular media caught my attention. \u00a0I was particularly interested in them because they","og_url":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/kashrus-kurrents\/635\/kosher-certification-food-safety-qualitys-eyes-and-ears\/","og_site_name":"STAR-K Kosher Certification","article_published_time":"2013-08-15T20:25:45+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-05-09T15:53:16+00:00","author":"Dr. Avrom Pollak","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dr. Avrom Pollak","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/kashrus-kurrents\/635\/kosher-certification-food-safety-qualitys-eyes-and-ears\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/kashrus-kurrents\/635\/kosher-certification-food-safety-qualitys-eyes-and-ears\/"},"author":{"name":"Dr. Avrom Pollak","@id":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/d2a029fdd1af2c91f436998cf9f2175c"},"headline":"Kosher Certification-Food Safety Quality’s Eyes and Ears","datePublished":"2013-08-15T20:25:45+00:00","dateModified":"2016-05-09T15:53:16+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/kashrus-kurrents\/635\/kosher-certification-food-safety-qualitys-eyes-and-ears\/"},"wordCount":865,"articleSection":["2010","Kashrus Kurrents","Summer"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/kashrus-kurrents\/635\/kosher-certification-food-safety-qualitys-eyes-and-ears\/","url":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/kashrus-kurrents\/635\/kosher-certification-food-safety-qualitys-eyes-and-ears\/","name":"Kosher Certification-Food Safety Quality's Eyes and Ears | STAR-K Kosher Certification","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/#website"},"datePublished":"2013-08-15T20:25:45+00:00","dateModified":"2016-05-09T15:53:16+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/d2a029fdd1af2c91f436998cf9f2175c"},"description":"Published Summer 2010 Earlier this year, a couple of items in the secular media caught my attention. \u00a0I was particularly interested in them because they","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/kashrus-kurrents\/635\/kosher-certification-food-safety-qualitys-eyes-and-ears\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/kashrus-kurrents\/635\/kosher-certification-food-safety-qualitys-eyes-and-ears\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/kashrus-kurrents\/635\/kosher-certification-food-safety-qualitys-eyes-and-ears\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Kosher Certification-Food Safety Quality’s Eyes and Ears"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/","name":"STAR-K Kosher Certification","description":"Providing Kosher certification worldwide","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/#\/schema\/person\/d2a029fdd1af2c91f436998cf9f2175c","name":"Dr. Avrom Pollak","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6831565bccefe5a7b1a83b00e506dade75ca412ac53d0614e85f786f2e6ea289?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6831565bccefe5a7b1a83b00e506dade75ca412ac53d0614e85f786f2e6ea289?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6831565bccefe5a7b1a83b00e506dade75ca412ac53d0614e85f786f2e6ea289?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dr. Avrom Pollak"},"url":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/author\/avrom\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/635","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=635"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/635\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3822,"href":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/635\/revisions\/3822"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=635"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.star-k.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}