Apr 1, 2012
Hechshers On Bleach
In a conference on Thursday about different aspects of Pesach, one of the speakers, Rav Avraham Yosef discussed some of the stringencies we mistakenly keep and what the ramifications are.
Rav Yosef specifically related to ashkenazim who sell kitniyot to a non-Jew along with the chametz being sold. He called such people ignoramuses. The halacha is clear that kitniyot cannot be eaten by an Ashkenazi (notwithstanding Rav David Bar-Hayyim opinion), but there is no need to sell it or treat it like chametz in any way.
A second issue related to by Rav Yosef was the hechshers we find on bleach, shampoo and other household items that have absolutely no need for a hechsher. Rav Yosef said that putting the hechsher on these items is blackmail, and is a method of advertising for the kashrut organization, and it has absolutely no basis in halacha.
(source: Kikar and Srugim)
The Eida in the past has defended the practice of certifying household items like bleach by admitting that it is not necessary, but claiming the people want it, perhaps out of ignorance, and the companies therefore also demand it. They have said the companies demand it also as advertising, as they then make claims that their products are certified by the Badatz.
Regardless of demands, ignorance should never be promoted. Instead of saying you have no idea what you are talking about so we will give you what you want and also charge you more for the product, they should explain that it is not necessary and not certify such products.
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Rav Yosef specifically related to ashkenazim who sell kitniyot to a non-Jew along with the chametz being sold. He called such people ignoramuses. The halacha is clear that kitniyot cannot be eaten by an Ashkenazi (notwithstanding Rav David Bar-Hayyim opinion), but there is no need to sell it or treat it like chametz in any way.
A second issue related to by Rav Yosef was the hechshers we find on bleach, shampoo and other household items that have absolutely no need for a hechsher. Rav Yosef said that putting the hechsher on these items is blackmail, and is a method of advertising for the kashrut organization, and it has absolutely no basis in halacha.(source: Kikar and Srugim)
The Eida in the past has defended the practice of certifying household items like bleach by admitting that it is not necessary, but claiming the people want it, perhaps out of ignorance, and the companies therefore also demand it. They have said the companies demand it also as advertising, as they then make claims that their products are certified by the Badatz.
Regardless of demands, ignorance should never be promoted. Instead of saying you have no idea what you are talking about so we will give you what you want and also charge you more for the product, they should explain that it is not necessary and not certify such products.
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I remember when I was working as a Mashgiach for one Kashrut agency(in the US) and another started giving hechsherim to bleach, soap, lye, and bottled water. Every year as the annual Mashgiach conference they would give us a lecture about how unnecessary it was and that it was even geneiva, since it would cause the price to go up and thus cost Jews there money... That was until that agency started doing the same thing, and then it was all about how you could never be too careful.
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