The KEURIG coffee machine & the kosher consumer

OU Kosher Addresses Kashrus of Keurig (Including Pesach)

Rabbi Eli Eleff and Rabbi Eli Gersten

THE KASHRUS OF KEURIG (INCLUDING PESACH)
By Rabbi Eli Eleff and Rabbi Eli Gersten
OU Kosher Rabbinic Coordinators

Coffee throughout the ages has played an important and often critical role in people’s lives and daily operation. Be it in the halls of the bais medrash, at work, or even waking in the morning, many individuals look toward coffee as a vital boost to their daily energy. In fact, this beverage is so important to some that the Mishna Berura (89:22) rules that one may drink unsweetened black coffee before Shacharis in the morning, so that he will be able to daven with the proper concentration. This seemingly innocuous beverage has been almost universally accepted as kosher, with little issue regarding the vessels used, as most coffee machines are dedicated only for coffee.

Hirsch on SUCCESS

 Rav Hirsch notes that one of Man's greatest enemies is success,

 for, when he achieves it, 

he easily forgets his Creator and views himself as master of his own destiny.

One must recognize that success is our enemy, and that humility is our savior.

Amen

Kashrus Alert: 1-212-990-7238

New Jersey Crosswalk rule

 New Jersey 39:4-36. a. The driver of a vehicle shall yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within a marked crosswalk or within any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, except at crosswalks when the movement of traffic is being regulated by police officers or traffic control signals, or where otherwise prohibited by municipal, county, or State regulation, and except where a pedestrian tunnel or overhead pedestrian crossing has been provided, but no pedestrian shall suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle which is so close that it is impossible for the driver to yield. Nothing contained herein shall relieve a pedestrian from using due care for his safety.

To Kosher or not to Kosher?

The new owners "Shlomo Rechnitz" decided to kosher the entire operation, even though most equipment was not used hot.

Therefore, everyone should step up to the plate and kosherize their equipment.

Retirement

 RETIREMENT

As I was checking my 401 (k) account and thinking about retirement, I saw an article about nursing and retirement homes are.

'Tis the Season- California cellery have leaf miners

'Tis the Season- California celery have leaf miners. Out of 2 cases of celery there were 85 stalks with leaf miners. The Leaf miners are found in the outer darker green stalks. Their tell tale trails is a somewhat wavy translucent  trail.

Update: Blueberries were found to be infested regardless from what part of the USA or Canada they originate from. We recently checked with a company that produces Blueberry filling with a hashgocha their process. They use "wild blueberries" ( Cultivated blueberries have somewhat less infestation). They have the Mashgiach check them for infestation (and never found any blueberries that are infested). They cook it with water for a while then add the thickening agent. We were not able to justify using the Blueberry filling.

There was a large fish monger operation in the Boston area under a Hashgocha, but did not have a mashgiach on premises. The Certifier was questioned "how do certify a skinless fish operation without a mashgiach on premises"? He responded that he visits a few times a year and he has a special battery operated WAND that he passes over the tanks of fish, if there are any non kosher fish IT BEEPS!

He was asked how do you know it works? He responded "it never beeped"!!!

Why some Heimish hashgocha claims to be the best Hashgocha? "Attributes"!!

1-They claim the new company with pre-washed Romaine, Lettuce, Cabbage is Green-House grown, ........Hashgocha knows it's not true-It's market product.

2- When others ask the Mashgiach "is any of the chocolate Blommers"? He is told by certifier to lie and say NO. The mashgiach wants to know, "is you concern milchig, lechitin or other kashrus issues? Really all of them is the concern.

3- Make a PESACH production of oil, and the mashgiach forgot to go to the production. Hashgocha doesn't know which citric acid was used, Chometz, kitniyous, or pesachdik.

4- Heimish certifier  themselves don't use their own "broineh zeklach of salt & sugar for pesach". Domino sugar and Diamond crystal salt is just fine for them for pesach.

5- Heimish hashgochas are fine with OU oils from any of their plants. Heimish hashgocha is very comfortable with the OU Palm oils shipped in holding tanks, etc with no mashgiach.

6- Pretzel in Pesach potato chips?

7- Shufra Pesach adulterated cocoa powder from China, No mashgiach at production in China, No mashgiach at packing that was done at a packer that also does chometz.

Reliable source for Bais-Yosef beef

A Reliable source for Bais-Yosef beef is

SOLOMONS & Fischels. It's under the hashgocha of New Square Bais din. It's strictly North American beef.

Alle / Meal Mart has changed their Bais Yosef standards in their beef.

The  NPGS / Lakewood Co-op's beef, even though much of it is labeled as Bais Yosef,  should not be relied upon to be Bais yosef.

List of speed traps by State & Muncipality

http://www.speedtrap.org/

The insects that help the Israeli farmer for "pest free produce"

http://nocamels.com/2013/02/meet-the-insects-that-help-israeli-farmers-keep-produce-pest-free/
Meet The Pirate Bugs That Help Israeli Farmers Keep Their Produce Pest-Free


Dealing with pests is never an easy task for farmers, having to navigate between keeping their crops pest-free and not using harmful chemicals. Israeli farmers at the Arava region use another method – predatory insects that kill pests but not crops.

Kashrus Alert-Palace catering "hospital/airline meals"

Kashrus Alert-Re: Palace catering "hospital / airline meals".
when heated in non-kosher microwave according to instructions, the seals burst-therefore the meal is "Not-kosher".

We contacted the Rav, Palace catering & the OJ Organization that puts their stamp of approval. We heard back from none. as of now.

Palace Kosher -TEL. 718-761-5200 or 646-772-1000 FAX 718-370-7148

VAAD HAKASHRUS OF STATEN ISLAND

RABBI  SHLITA-718-436-4685

WE ARE PROUD TO BE OJ APPROVED- 718 782 0063

Kashrus ALERT: Bais yaakov cookbook

Kashrus alert:

Some of the items in the Bais Yaakov cookbook are not kosher. We only have a sample of some of the recipes. The recipes have numerous infested items that the consumer is unable to check for infestation. See Mishnah Berurah Hilchos pesach (Maror) the chasam sofer.

The cookbook has Raspberries, fresh cilantro, fresh parsley leaves, leek (removing just the dirt does not remove the infestation), fresh basil leaves, 8 oz bag romaine lettuce, frozen strawberries. all of these items are infested. The rest of the cookbook may have other non-kosher ingredients. Beware:

Baron Herzog

Baron Herzog wines are under the Hashgocha of  Kehila kosher. 
Many do not feel comfortable (saying it mildly) with that Hashgocha & therefore they don't use it. 

The fact that there is another Hashgocha's emblem does not give the level of comfort for those that don't use it.

ציצית-BEWARE

BEWARE- There are "tzitzes" in the market that were manufactured in the far East via non-Jews & is therefore POSUL. Insist on seeing the Hashgocha before purchasing. Do not rely on the seller/importer.

ALERT: Israeli produce

ALERT: Israeli produce sold in the USA, even with hashgocha should not be used. Some have an OU stating no chashash orlah, etc. Don't rely

Kashrus= kash-R-us

Shocking? No, not at all

The infestation by Blueberries is a well known fact since at least  the past 4 months, yet the kashrus certifiers are just sitting back (besides the Magrova Rav). Shocking? No. They say" in G-D vee trrrust".
Yes, and it's printed right on the the almighty dollar, thereby obstructing the insects.

Chasam Sofer & Mishnah-Berurah on insect checking

Chasam Sofer & Mishnah-Berurah state as some of the requirements for insect checking are;

Excellent eyesight (20/20).
Specially designated individuals = experienced & Yirei-Shomayim.
Patience.

The average consumer does not meet the required criteria.
The only processor that meets the criteria, is the Positive Company Lab.

Therefore when kashrus certifiers tell you either wash very well under a strong stream of water, or soak, sponge, rinse etc. You may not use the product, as you don't meet the criteria.

Or the certifier tells you it's hard to check and of course you don't have the patience either, cut it in half & inspect for string that look like the parts of the fruit, etc, or break the buksa in small pieces & inspect & wash each small piece, etc. They are just fooling themselves & the consumer.

All kosher certified frozen strawberries requires a blending to a puree or cooking, regardless of the misinformation a kosher certifier may tell you.

They may be right in theory, but are not correct in fact.

COSTCO & Wallmart have Israeli "Clementines"

USP FOOD FRAUD DATABASE

http://www.foodfraud.org/

Kashrus Alert: defining Currants used in bakeries

Kashrus Alert: Defining  Currants used in bakeries.
Listed in Hisachdus buletin that their bakeries do not use any raisins but use "currants".

Currants may be from a plant that produces berries that are called currants when dried.
Currants may also be from a seedless-raisin, therfore it would be not permitted as it is a raisin in disguise,

Updated: Which Heimish hashgocha has all of these "attributes"?

NOTE: There are many more "Attributes" לתועלת but מקצת שבחו בפניו וכו

1. Accepts insects as large as 1.2 mm in their checked vegetables. (so don't use any of their certified vegies)
2. Allows bakeries to use the same oven for parve and dairy without a supervised kashering.
3. Accepts oils, etc from the major global certifiers & utilizes their koshered tankers, only requires a mashgiach at the bottling of the oil. If the heimish mashgiach doesn't arrive, it's still acceptable.
4. Does a Heimish Pesach oil production & forgets to send the Mashgiach for the production. The producer utilizes non-pesach additives. They did accept the oil for the Heimish pesach productions.
5. Does not maintain a staffed office. Does not maintain production records. Does not have any traceability capabilities.
6. Their Mashgichim must wait 6 months to a year to get paid. They don't always get the correct amount, but it doesn't pay to fight after waiting so long.
7. Never answers to the consumer or to Rabonim that question their standard, system, etc.
8. Has a reputation of never removing a hashgoch for a kashrus issue (which they'll never realize), as long as the certification fees are current.
9. Use strong arm tactics to force producers to take their certification.
10. As a policy does not allow other Rabbonim or certifiers to inspect any of their facilities. (guess why)
11. Can't rely them for their Yoshon information.
12. Does not return calls to consumers or Rabbonim.

13. The popular Hashgocha based in Yerushulayim, shamefully uses this heimish hashgucah's unreliable Mashgichim.

                                                                    I GIVE UP!

Still infested

Still infested:

Blueberries-Fresh, frozen, canned, processed, etc
Strawberries-Fresh, frozen, canned, processed, etc


All wild Salmon have the anisakis in the flesh, even the ones that claim to check & remove them-are only removing some of the larger ones only.

Chcking for infestation

UPDAte: Shiduch crisis & the BMG Freezer

 An Alteh Bochur pushing the freezer.

All of the Gedoilm including Rav Leib Steinman, Rav Chaim Kanievsky, shlita & Reb Yosef Sholom Eliyashev, Z"L- said the Freezer is אסור al pi Torah.

RE: Wild salmon anisakis

It's a known fact that wild salmon have anisakis worms in their flesh. Only the farmed salmon does not have the worms in the flesh.

There is a store in Borough Park thsam is selling wild salmon from Norway & Scandanvia that they claim to check with a black-light. It's of interest that they claim they don't find any worms in the wild salmon.

There was an unreliable hashgocha that was certifying a large fish monger operation without an on-site mashgiach. He was asked how do you know they don't have non-kosher fish. He says he has a special electronic "wand" that he waves over the containers of fish & it beeps if there any non-kosher species.
He was asked how do you know it works? Well it never beeped. 

Don't purchase any fish in that type of store!

Even in China where they are in darkened room with black light, they only remove some of the larger worms, not all of them so it's still an infested fish & can't be eaten.

GMO Salmon may soon be in the market

Published: Dec. 22, 2012 at 1:44 PM GMO Salmon

WASHINGTON, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- WASHINGTON, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- The biotech industry said a U.S. government report on genetically engineered salmon would move the technology closer to the market. The Food and Drug Administration Friday released a draft report on so-called AquAdvantage salmon that concluded they were safe to eat and would not harm the environment.

ALL Cigarettes were "assered" by the Chofetz Chaim

Many people in Lakewood who bought cigarettes online some years ago are now being sent letters from the NJ Department of Taxation that they have to pay taxes on those purchases. Do you know of this? Is there a way to fight it? What should they do about it? Could you post about this?


Thank You

Why " Smith Brothers" not "Ricola" cough drops?

The Ricola brand cough drops sometimes has a Hashgocha from a Rav in Switzerland, and at times does not have the hashgocha. Either way it's not to be relied upon.

The Smith Brothers cough drops OU certified (not D), is reliable.

1 lady-bug consumes 1000 aphids a day

1 lady bug consumes 1000 aphids a day. The kosher certifiers of prewashed vegetables may soon avail themselves to using the "lady-bug" in order to get rid of the aphids. Don't be taken back by this new tried & tested method.

Is your extra virgin olive oil "adulterated"? MOST PROBABLY

How virginal is the olive oil in the pantry? By Greg Lucas, 04/28/11 12:00 AM PST

Extra virgin? That’s the best, of course. Virgin? Hopefully it’s not “virgin but unfit for human consumption.” Is it refined but not virgin? Or is it just plain old olive oil?

The International Olive Council, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the California Olive Oil Council, the University of California at Davis Olive Center and Sen. Lois Wolk, a Davis Democrat, want to ensure that olive oil users are getting what they pay for.

Because, right now, three out of four times, olive oil buyers aren’t, according to two recent UC Davis studies.

מה זה מחמיר ומה זה מיקל ?Are we being Machmir or Maikal

תסביר, מה זה מחמיר ומה זה מיקל

 יש הבדיל גדול בין מחמיר ל חמור

ובין מיקל ל קל   ?  

Lakewood schools officials spent millions in questionable deals

 http://www.app.com/viewart/20121028/NJNEWS2003/310280019/lakewood-schools

The Lakewood Board of Education’s dealings with some of its largest vendors have been plagued by lax oversight and questionable contracts over the years, an Asbury Park Press investigation has found.

In one case, the school board paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for grounds-keeping and school custodial services — before work was done.

In another instance, the district paid $10,000 to Michael I. Inzelbuch, the school board attorney, for an unspecified reason as part of the sale of a former public school building used for the district’s administrative offices to Beth Medrash Govoha, a prestigious rabbinical college in Lakewood, according to the settlement statement.

In addition, it appears that the school board paid tens of millions of dollars to an educational company that provides nonpublic students with a wide variety of services without anyone in the district verifying the accuracy of the company’s bills, according to the current school board attorney, Stephen J. Edelstein.

Don't get mad

Some people don't get mad, they get even,
Getting even, takes patience.

ALL Pearled Barley requires checking for infestation

ALL Pearled Barley requires checking for infestation regardless of the season or date codes.

Checkin in cold water does NOT work.

You can do a 1 lb bag at one time, by soaking in tap hot water for 5 minutes and stiring once or twice.

Barley should be stored in the freezer.

Don't let "KROHN" do the BRIS-see krohn videos

Krohn is not the one in this article- see the following article "Krohn's butchered brisim".

Not Kosher- Brit milah- Hundreds in north may undergo circumcision corrections

Chief Rabbinate to hold hearing on rabbi from Haifa area suspected of not removing entire foreskin during brit ceremony. Following discovery, dozens of concerned parents contact experts to check if their children's circumcision was performed thoroughly. No concern for medical complications

“A man does what he must - in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures - and that is the basis of all human morality.”

Court punts on kosher ministerial exception:by The HR Specialist: Florida Employment Law on October 21, 2012 1:00am

 Human Resources,Overtime Labor Laws -Under Title VII, religious institutions that employ workers to engage in religious activities are exempt from complying with anti-discrimination laws under the so-called ministerial exception.

That is, employees performing religious services such as preaching or teaching religious doctrine aren’t covered by Title VII. Employees who perform nonreligious work are protected. But what about minimum wage and overtime? Are ministerial employees entitled to protection under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)? A federal court in Florida recently sidestepped the issue.

Lomdei Daf Yomi

http://www.lomdeihadaf.org/

A true Rebbi "Threw him out of yeshiva"

YES, THE ONE WHO "THREW HIM OUT" OF YESHIVA

In response to the dilemma regarding throwing boys out of a yeshiva, I have a story to relate.

After completing 11th grade, my son, Yanky, was not invited back to attend his well-known Yeshiva for the 12th grade year. It is now five years years later, and I stiil think that he doesn't even know that he was "kicked out."

"Oi Vei"- All N. American blueberries (including Canadian) are infested

All blueberries (including Canadian) are infested. Evn after soaking & rinsing 4 times, they still had infestation.

“ Some of us will do our jobs well and some will not, but we will be judged by only one thing-the result. ”

The sad part is she's so right.

http://thelakewoodview.com/Impact/watch-obamacare-summed-up-in-one-sentence/#comment-166514

UPDATE: Lice on farmed Salmon issue was taken care of "4 years ago"

Did "Mivakshei Kashrus" miss the boat?

ALERT: Does the שליח ציבור consume cholov stam / akum (treif)?

ALERT: Does the שליח ציבור consume cholov stam / akum (treif)?

According to most prominent Poiskim the vet operated cows are Treif & their milk products are therefore Treif. Poiskim include Rav Shmuel Wosner, Shlita, Rav Sholom Eliyashev, Z"L, etc

Olives from Italy without a good hashgocha, may be dairy, treif, wine vinegar, etc

A "U-TURN" on a double yellow line in NJ "PERMITTED"

Vegetable oils "OU-Mehadrin" standard

In Vegetable oil what would be considered Mehadrin?

What are the other standards available?

Mehadrin= Produced in an all kosher facility. Processed from the crush of the bean through the complete refining, processing, & packaging all in the same plant-That's a mehadrin product.

The Nature Valley brand "vegetable oil" (soybean) [not their other oils, e.g. corn] sold by Dollar General stores.
The Carlini brand "vegetable oil" (soybean) [not their other oils, e.g. corn] sold in the Aldis stores.
The Carlini & the Nature Valley brands are the MEHADRIN brands. BTW- Both are OU Mehadrin certified brands.

Other oils with a lower standard would include the ones processed in an AV plant (Animal/Vegetable), or transported by tank, tanker, rail car, etc for further processing & packaging.

The Heimish fall under this lower standard category. A certain heimish brand "special production". They took the processed oil from an OU facility, trucked it in an OU kashered tanker, bottled it in a facility with a heimish mashgiach and it became a Heimish "special production". The mashgiach was in the "HEIM" for production & came for the bottling.

Why would one pay a premium for the Heimish brand, when you could buy an OU oil with less transpotation kashrus issues? I give up!