Jan 14, 2016
Are Stella Doro cookies kosher? In Israel?
here is another example of an issue I've mused about before..
in the latest Rabbanut kashrut update, an old American Jewish favorite item is spotlit...
Recently, Stella Doro cookies have been imported to Israel. It seems this has been done without the authorization of the Rabbanut.
as you can see from the explanation, items imported without authorization of the Rabbanut could possibly have halachic issues such as "chadash", "pas akum", "chalav akum", bishul akum, or others.
So, if you have eaten Stella Doro cookies your entire life and/or if you trust the OU to certify your food as kosher, must you be worried about it being not kosher because the Rabbanut didn't give their authorization?
So, are Stella Doro cookies kosher in Israel?
in the latest Rabbanut kashrut update, an old American Jewish favorite item is spotlit...
Recently, Stella Doro cookies have been imported to Israel. It seems this has been done without the authorization of the Rabbanut.
as you can see from the explanation, items imported without authorization of the Rabbanut could possibly have halachic issues such as "chadash", "pas akum", "chalav akum", bishul akum, or others.
So, if you have eaten Stella Doro cookies your entire life and/or if you trust the OU to certify your food as kosher, must you be worried about it being not kosher because the Rabbanut didn't give their authorization?
So, are Stella Doro cookies kosher in Israel?
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The psak we were told is "Chumros hamokom", plus living in Israel means taking on the "baseline" kashrut here, which is the Rabbanut. Since the rabbanut does not allow liquid chalev akum, that would not be allowed, here or in the states, even if one used it his whole life. Powered milk, would be different, since the rabbanut allows that.
ReplyDeleteSo the answer is, stella dora cookies would not kosher in Israel.
They're pareve. So what's the issue now?
Deletestella doro cookies, as far as I can remember, are pareve. so are they ok according to your rule of thumb?
ReplyDeleteThe rule of thumb is whatever the rabbanut considers kosher. If the rabbanut is makpid in chodosh, for example, we should also be.
ReplyDeleteIt's about chadash. This time of year many imported products, if you read the label, lack the ishur of the Rabanut. The ou is not concerned about chadash, but in Israel it's a big no-no.
ReplyDeleteReminds me of the time When Krispy Kreme came to Toronto. COR would not recognize them as Kosher going as far as removing KSA from the list of Kashrut organizations they accepted.
ReplyDeleteThere were people who would not eat them in Toronto because of the ruling. They would drive to Buffalo to have their Krispy Kreme fill even though they were under the same KSA.
Some good comments above. I just want to add that I don't want the rabanut to be a rubber stamp for any overseas hashgacha and that they do check every shipment, especially with Israeli markets being more open to grey market 'private' import shipments rather than the permanent official importer.
ReplyDeleteRegarding 'chalav', Stella D'Oro only make pareve cookies.
ReplyDelete?pat yisrael?
ReplyDeleteAs far as i understand, Stella Doro (also Entemens cakes for example) are pas akum. The chul kashrus organizations give a hechsher on "pas palter" and the Rabanut does not allow it.
ReplyDeletePat yisrael vs pat palter acceptability depends on 'minhag hamakom'. Adding communal chumrot is not allowed, in this case.
DeleteWhat was the 'minhag' custom before the trend towards 'chumrot' stringecies came about? I bet you It was to allow 'pat palter.'
Having said that, i find it hard to believe one would want to import these cookies into israel. Israeli baked goods are ten times better.
Regarding entenmans, that is considered kosher lePesach. Any flour in it is 'batel beMeah veShishim', nullified in 160. So it cannot be 'pat palter'.
Food is ridiculously expensive as it is here. Based on the chumros hamokom its kosher as it is produced in us and meets the ou standards.
ReplyDeleteIsrael is the most expensive place to buy kosher food.
Have you been to Europe? When I fly there I lose weight because i just can't seem to accept those prices and the occasional Israeli product selling for cheap is indeed rare.
DeleteWhere can you buy Stella Doro in Jerusalem?
ReplyDeleteAs someone else mentioned, Chadash is potentially the biggest problem.
ReplyDeleteEven if you hold that Chadash doesn't apply in Chutz L'Atretz, I think all opinions agree that it does apply in Eretz Yisrael, and according to some opinions, it applies in Eretz Yisrael even on Chadash produce gown abroad but consumed here.
In Fact the OU booklet prepared for Eretz Yisrael recommends that consumers should refrain from eating Chadash while in Israel:
"Therefore, consumers in Israel must be sure that yashan grains are consumed."
See page 36 of the following booklet:
https://www.ou.org/life/files/Kashrut_Organization_Nov13.pdf
So it seems that by the OUs own standards, the produce is OK outside of Israel, but not in Eretz Yisrael,
So yes, it is reasonable for the OU to certify the product to be eaten in Chutz L'Aretz, but the Rabbanut not approve for it to be eaten here.
(If people are bringing OU certified cereal or other products from Chutz L'Artetz, they should investigate this issue further, even if they are not strict about Chadash while they are abroad)
The following site also says that if you eat Chadash in Chutz L'Aretz, it does not automatically follow that it would be allowed in Israel, even for imported produce:
DeleteAll of the above leniencies only apply outside of Israel. However inside Israel all agree that one must be stringent. Products that are imported to Israel are a matter of dispute, somewhat dependent on what stage of production they are imported in.
http://www.torahlab.org/download/yoshon_and_chodosh.pdf