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Oct 3, 2021
Pork that is kosher but isn't
The Impossible Foods company has come up with a new plant based fake meat product, this one called Impossible Pork. (TOI)
Like its other products, this is completely plant based and technically kosher. the problem is that the OU won't certify it as kosher because of the word Pork in the name. When the OU certified fake bacon in the past they got a lot of confused calls about bacon being kosher and think it is more prudent to not certify a "pork" product (even with no pork in it) as kosher, and Impossible Foods won't take the word Pork out of the name. So Impossible Pork will not be certified kosher. Some may eat it anyway as it is plant based and technically kosher but the overwhelming percentage of the kosher consumer community will likely not eat this product.
That's a shame that the name is the problem and therefore cannot be certified as kosher, even though it is. This seems like a problem that should be simple enough to resolve. They can change the name while keeping the word pork - maybe Impossible Fake Pork or Impossible Pork-Like. And if the company insists on the name Impossible Pork and no changes, the OU could easily create a new kashrut symbol for the fake meats, maybe even adding a disclaimer about it not being real pork. When I suggested this to someone he suggested something like OU-FM (for OU certified Fake Meat). This is pareve anyway and needs to be certified in a different way. The OU is the king of certification abbreviations for various scenarios - OU Fish, OU Pesach, OU D, OU DE, OU D Cholov Yisrael, and probably many others - they could easily create a new one for this new form of fake meats.
This isn't something I personally need and likely I would never even buy it (if it were ever to be sold in Israel) but plenty would and it seems to me to be a shame to drop this product on this minor issue that is not really a kashrut issue.
It also seems to me that the OU is taking the lead from the Rabbanut. Several months ago it was reported that the Rabbanut threatened to remove the hechsher from Crave, a popular Jerusalem restaurant, unless they would change the name of their lamb bacon to facon, as people though t the word bacon can't be kosher.
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How silly. The gemera says that everything Hashem forbade us has something equivalent that is permitted. The Shibuta fish is specifically mentioned as the equivalent of pork.
ReplyDeleteAll of the company's products say MADE FROM PLANTS prominently on the package. You can see the pork version here:
https://www.foodservicedirect.com/impossible-ground-pork-made-from-plants-2-2-pound-6-per-case-23053875.html?gclid=CjwKCAjwqeWKBhBFEiwABo_XBv8aGA5PIHdbOmzyBnDTSEdyKK-7DZ962WVSA4WfCkDX2fZ-y3_31RoCN2UQAvD_BwE
You have to be a real idiot not to understand what it is.
I think it's more of an issue of "marat ayin" – people will see observant Jews walking around the supermarket with packages that say "pork" on them. The fine print under the kashrut symbol won't help.
ReplyDeleteI think they stopped the fish one a while back. I know they ended DE.
ReplyDeletethey stopped fish? I thought you can still find it on worchesstershire sauce that has more than whatever percent of fish in it
Deletethey officially stopped DE but I am pretty sure youc an still find it on some products, at least imported to Israel. DE was confusing, I think, for some people, but without DE they are just labeling everything dairy when it isnt necessarily so, so I am not sure getting rid of DE was a great idea.
Supposedly, you can call them about DE. I guess email or webbe rebbe or ask the rabbi
DeleteSome of the "plant based only" uses a meat starter, similar to sourdough bread.
DeleteThe starter has to be certified, but OU claims it doesn't, but they have a weak argument. "Yonek min haTreifa", but they don't accept that argument for carbonic acid or aspartame.