With
the several references in the parsha to wine and grapes, I thought an
article dealing with some practical grape skin problems might be in order.
Observing
a Colorful Lifestyle
By
Rabbi Yirmiyohu Kaganoff
Question
#1: Are
there any non-kosher food colorings?
Question
#2: Why
would a hechsher insist on a recall of a product?
Question #3:How can
a non-kosher ingredient be noticeable, and yet the finished product is kosher?
At one
point in my life, when I worked as a
kashrus supervisor, I made a surprise inspection of a company that
produced juice drinks – let’s call it Generic Juices, Incorporated. I was
surprised to discover that the plant was not following the instructions it had
received from its hechsher and was bottling beverages containing
enocianina, a coloring derived from grape skins. This product was not on the
list of approved ingredients, and for good reason, as I will explain shortly. The
kashrus concerns involved now created a serious problem for the hechsher,
the company, and most of all, the unsuspecting consumer. Before discussing what
happened, I must present the halachic issues involved.
THE
FOOD COLORING INDUSTRY
Whether
we like it or not, many of our foods are colored with a host of coloring agents.
Some are derived from food items, such as beets, berries, sugar (caramel
coloring), turmeric and annatto, whereas others are derived from inedible
materials whose sources most consumers would prefer to ignore. Although
processing colorants can compromise the kashrus of the finished product,
few food colors are themselves obtained from non-kosher materials. However, there
are two common food pigments that originate from non-kosher substances: One is
carmine red, also called cochineal, which is a very common color used to color
fruits, yogurts, juice drinks, maraschino cherries and more. Cochineal is
extracted from an insect that is native to South America. A closely related dye
color, kermes, is a shade of scarlet derived from scale insects, which may
have been the source of the tolaas shani dye used in the Mishkan and
Beis Hamikdash. We should note that the Hebrew word tola’as, which
is usually translated worm, may include insects and other small
invertebrates. Thus, it may indeed be that the tola’as of the verse is a
scale insect that produces a red dye.
The
verse (Yeshayah 1:18), “if your sins will be like shanim, they
will become as white as snow; though they be red as the tola, they will
become white like wool,” clearly indicates that tola’as shani is a red
color. On this basis, some authorities identify tola’as shani as kermes
(see Radak to Divrei HaYamim II 2:6). One can rally support for
this approach from the verse in Divrei HaYamim (II 3:14), which
describes the paroches curtain as woven from techeiles, argaman,
karmil, and butz, which is linen; whereas the Torah describes the paroches
as made of techeiles, argaman, tola’as shani, and sheish, which
is linen (Shemos 26:31). The words karmil and kermes certainly
seem to be cognate. Similarly, the Rambam explains tola’as shani
to mean “wool dyed with an insect” (Hilchos Klei HaMikdash 8:13). Thus,
karmil appears to be another word for tola’as shani. The ancients
derived a red dye from the dried bodies of the species called Kermes ilices,
which served as one of the most important pigments for thousands of years. As a
matter of fact, the English word crimson derives from this ancient dye.
(Without
going into the subject in detail, it is appropriate to mention that some
responsible rabbinic authorities rule that cochineal is kosher, since it comes
from an inedible part of the insect. However, I am unaware of any major kashrus
organization today that treats cochineal as kosher.)
some of The Heimish 
Your bakery, take-out, caterer, restaurant, poultry , etc. aren't using these eggs. Mach zich nisht mishugeh!
