Mar 30, 2009

Interesting Psak: no special hechsher on sweets

and once we are on the topic of hechshers and kashrut, Rav Yitzchak Yosef recently made an interesting statement on the issue.

According to News24, Rav Yitzchak Yosef, one of Rav Ovadia Yosef's sons, said in a recent shiur that while for meat and chicken the basic Rabbanut should not be relied upon, for sweets however everything is muttar and the regular Rabbanut is fine. there is no need for a "better" hechsher on sweets.

I am not sure why such a blanket statement can be made. Candies and sweets could have gelatins that a person does not want to rely on (even if some accept it) or oils or other issues. Maybe a candy is made in the same factory as something else that is problematic.

Perhaps Rav Yosef holds those are not issues - technically the gelatin is allowed even if it is not accepted by any hechsher in the US or by any hechsher in Israel other than Rabbanut.

Either way it is an interesting psak.
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11 comments:

  1. EliezerMarch 30, 2009 1:12 PM

    so if I can get a rabbanut on these: http://www.hotlix.com/ they're fine?!

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  2. Rafi G.March 30, 2009 1:39 PM

    ich...

    good luck getting the rabbanut to sign off on those....

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  3. EzzieMarch 30, 2009 4:59 PM

    I don't understand the Q - it's saying that there are no concerns that we have about the regular Rabbanut's approach to these items, as opposed to meat, etc.

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  4. mother in israelMarch 30, 2009 5:16 PM

    I'm shocked--I just read that mashgichim found that much of the sugar produced in China is milchig. The article made the point that sugar was considered to be unproblematic--but now everything has changed.

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  5. JeremyMarch 30, 2009 9:36 PM

    "Candies and sweets could have gelatins that a person does not want to rely on"

    Not for sfardim.

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  6. Rafi G.March 30, 2009 10:20 PM

    sfardim consider gelatin acceptable "l'chatchila"? I was not aware of that...

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  7. yaakMarch 31, 2009 1:21 AM

    Besides Rabbi Abadi, Rav Ovadia and the Tzitz Eliezer allow it. See this written by a former Chicagoan.

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  8. AnonymousMarch 31, 2009 7:27 AM

    The heterim previously given for gelatin may no longer be relevant.

    See:
    http://www.oukosher.org/index.php/common/article/5467

    Porcine Gelatin
    Manufacturers have found that if they made gelatin from the hide/skin of young pigs, they would require considerably less bating (see sidebar) than if they made it from animal bones. For this reason, about 90% of American gelatin is porcine – made from pigs – and the higher-quality gelatin made from bones is reserved for the photographic industry. The halachic ramifications of this are as follows:

    Animal bones and hides are considered inedible and “kosher” even if they come from a non-kosher or non-slaughtered animal (see Rambam, Hil. Ma’acholos Asuros 4:18), and are only forbidden mid’rabannan. However, just two halachos later, Rambam cites the Mishnah that states a number of exceptions to the aforementioned rule. One exception is that the hides of domesticated pigs have the halachic status of meat, are considered edible and are most-definitely not kosher. Thus, even those who argued that gelatin made from the hides of beef or from bones is kosher, would have a harder time defending that position as relates to gelatin made from pig hides.

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  9. anonMarch 31, 2009 10:25 AM

    Rabbanut is required to print l'ochlei gelatin if gelatin from a nonkosher source is used. This is a requirement of the Chief Rabbinate, but I am not so sure that all of the local Rabbanuyot keep to it.

    (R. Veitman, Rav Hamachshir for Tenuva claims not to use any animal Gelatin other than kosher fish gelatin in any of its (even non-mehadrin) products.)

    It is possible that even those hechsherim that allow gelatin, use only gelatin from completely dried bones.

    IIRC the Rabbanut only allows gelatin from non kosher sources in locally made products, but they are more strict on imported products which receive the Ishur of the Chief Rabbinate.

    R. Abadi however seems to allow any and all gelatin. I think, but I'm not sure, that it is based on the fact that it regardless of the state of the bones. or hide at the time the gelatin is made, the gelatin powder itself is inedible.

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  10. AnonymousApril 02, 2009 8:09 AM

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000V5IFCE?ie=UTF8&tag=shopwiki-uk-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738

    that's an example. they roll up and are easy to store and it's good as a spare keyboard, so i keep it around you can use it during the year in a pinch too - it just rinses off

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  11. AnonymousApril 02, 2009 8:10 AM

    sorry i posted the above in the wrong thread

    ReplyDelete