Top Ten Questions for July 2013
Presented by Chicago Rabbinical Council (cRc)
Q: Does flavored beer need a hechsher?
A: Yes, flavored beer requires a hechsher.
Q: I recently acquired a basting brush whose bristles are made with pig hair. Are there any kashrus concerns?
A: No, there are no restrictions on using pig hair, and the basting brush may be used.
Q: Does brown sugar need a hechsher?
A: In general, sugar, in all its forms (brown, granulated, powdered etc.) does not need a hechsher. Some sugar does, however, require certification for Pesach.
Q: Do I need to buy cranberry juice with a reliable kosher certification?
A: Juices can be pasteurized while hot in the same pasteurizer used for non-kosher products, such as grape juice, and therefore juices must bear a reliable kosher symbol.
Q: Does salt need a hechsher?
A Salt that contains no kosher sensitive ingredients does not need a hechsher. Some common ingredients that do not pose a kashrus concern are Calcium Silicate, Dextrose and Potassium Iodide.
Q: If the cRc policy is that black coffee may be purchased at any Dunkin Donuts, why does the cRc not recommend the iced coffee?
A: The Iced Coffee at Dunkin Donuts is actually produced from an iced coffee mix and therefore requires hashgacha.
Q: Recently there was a concern about worms and bugs in barley. Is there still such a concern?
A: Our research has shown that currently there is no infestation problem with barley. However, as with any grain, it is prudent to wash the barley and make a cursory inspection to rule out the presence of insects.
Q: This month we visited our local 7-Eleven and when examining the cRc Slurpee list I noticed some are listed as dairy. Do these flavors contain milk?
A: In order to freeze correctly, some diet Slurpees use a sugar known as Tagatose which comes from whey, making the sugar dairy.
Q: Do pumpkin seeds need a hechsher?
A: Raw or dry roasted pumpkin seeds do not need a hechsher. Pumpkin seeds that are oil roasted or contain additional flavors do require a hechsher.
Q: Some fruit stores sell corn that has been shucked and trimmed. Can one purchase such items?
A: Yes, one may purchase shucked and trimmed corn from a fruit store.
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What’s a chassidishe beer to drink?
If the Corona beer is Kosher why I never saw the Kosher symbol?
All sugar in UK (maybe other places) are chometz as they are made on the same manufacturing lines as glucose, which comes from starch. In UK they use wheat starch which is chometz, in USA mostly corn starch which is kitnious.
Please don’t spread false info with no basis! Corona is listed on the OK website as being under their supervision. You can see it here:
http://www.ok.org/kfgProducts.asp?ir=r&irb=r&S=corona
In a small store it sometimes happens, but unless you know they’re doing it you don’t have to worry about it. The bigger the place the less chance that they will do this.
I disagree with the CRC about the cut corn.
Small stores will use the same knife to cut pork and chicken as well!
If you are buying it packed by a large company it would be acceptable, since there would not be such concerns.
I live in Mexico and never heard Corona is not kosher. On line the company says they use no animal products even in filtration process. Where do you get your information from??
I have been in fruit and vegetable stores where they used the same knives for trimming vegetables as they used for the pork tails.
Sugar cubes are made from pure sugar. There is no other ingredient. The sugar is simply poured into a mold and then heated to melt it a bit, just enough to stick together. Nobody puts gelatin in, and it’s difficult to imagine what the gelatin would do. There’s nothing jelly-like about them, after all. I think someone was having a little joke with you.
Corona beer is made from the same ingredients as all normal beers: barley, water, hops, and yeast, all of which are kosher with no shaylos. Isinglass added as a precipitant is not a problem, because it’s filtered out afterwards.
I once went on a tour of an old Sugar plant in Texas and asked them about their Sugar Cubes.
I was surprised to learn that they used GELATIN to hold them together.
I asked if all sugar plants do that, the reponse was that only Diamond used a air drying system that did not use Gelatin.
This was over 20 years ago…
Not ONLY does flavored beer need a hechsher – but ANY, (even NON-FLAVORED) beer also needs a reliable hechsher.
Case-in-point: Corona Mexican beer is made with questionable ingredients which are derived from whey, beef (bovine) and pork.
Beer companies use these ingredients in the malt that is used to produce beer.
Unless you use beer with a reliable hechsher – COORS, MILLER etc. You are most assuredly drinking treifus mammash.
Anyone know of some common “flavored” beers that we should keep an eye out for?
THANK YOU
Helpful
Thank you for posting.