Meat, Poultry, Fish at Passover Some things need K4P, others don't

 

According to R. Ya'aqob Menashe in his Torah Minute for 17 March/15 Adar, A man should inquire about the halakhoth (laws) of Pesah (Passover) thirty days before Pesah to teach himself, during these days, all laws pertinent to the holiday of Pesah, every day.

Do otherwise kosher meat, poultry, and fish need special Kosher for Passover (K4P) certification?

It depends on who you ask.

If you ask the local kosher market, the answer probably will be "They do (require specialK4P certification)."

And the butcher may be correct - for that particular store.

On the other hand, if you ask the Orthodox Union (the OU), the answer is "No, providing …"

Others weighing in on the question include:

* Jewish Virtual Library

* Ohr Somayach

* Shemay Israel

* Vaad HaRabanim of Greater Seattle

* Young Israel of Staten Island (YISI)

 

WITH THE EXCEPTION of the Vaad HaRabanim of Greater Seattle, all kashrut organizations in the U.S. are strictly Ashkenazi. Seattle's 2014 list is a mix of Sefardi and Ashkenazi and both are clearly marked. The cRc's list for 2014 flags products that are kitniyot and suggests that readers "contact their local Sefardi rabbi" to determine if the product is K4P for Sefardim and Mizrachim.

Seattle Vaad Sample Page

 

Since the entry was first written, the Jersey Shore Orthodox Rabbinate has revived its Recommended Passover Product List For Sephardic Communities so now there are again two trustworthy Sefardi lists.

The JSOR discontinued its list for 2013, relying on other (Ashkenazi) lists.

I'm glad its back.

Orthodox UnionThe OU's opinion comes from its web site and states that "Cuts of raw meat can be remedied for Pesach by an effective rinsing of their surface under cold water. Ground meat, though, cannot be sufficiently “cleansed” by rinsing as the meat is often processed in grinders that also process chametz-containing products such as kishke. Without a thorough sanitation of the machinery between different products, the ground meat can potentially contain actual kishke particles – nullifying its use for Pesach.
Products from local butcher stores and supermarkets, with the plethora of products (including Chametz ones) being processed nearby, cannot be recommended without a there being a special Passover program in place – even for raw meat and poultry products."

Vaad HaRabanim of Greater Seattle GENERAL SEPHARDIC POSITION: Meats, Chicken, Fish, Fruits, Fresh Vegetables, etc. and all natural non-Chametz foods are naturally Kasher, whether these products are bought specifically for Pesach or not, they can be washed before and used for Pesach. - Vegetables (frozen & fresh: Many vegetables may be used on Pesach. Frozen vegetables: It is preferred to buy fresh. However, if it is hard to find the same quality in fresh - frozen vegetables may be purchased before and then used for Pesach even though sometimes they are blanched in the same equipment as pasta. We don’t worry about absorbed residue on commercial equipment if the food is bought before Pesach. - Canned fruits and vegetables: Even though some manufacturers produce cheese and other items it does not affect the clean production of vegetables.

Star K The Star K puts out its annual Star K Passover Director; it's 2014 version already is on the WWW. The K4P list suitable for Ashkenazi - products containing kitniyot are listed as "not kosher for Passover." The 2014 guide states under the heading Meat and Poultry, Packaged that Fresh raw meant and poultry bearing a reliable kosher certification may be used on Passover, however, all ground meat and poultry require K4P certification.
Under the Fish, Frozen Raw that Frozen raw fish with no added ingredients, bearing a reliable kosher certification does not have Pesach concerns. (Exception - Individual vacuum=packed frozen salmon pieces should be used with K4P symbol of certifying agency approval).

Jewish Virtual Library The JVL's web site is unequivocal, with the caveat: "All fresh fruits and vegetables, fish and meats are kosher for Pesach as long as they have not come into contact with chametz."

Young Israel of Staten Island (YISI) states in a PDF file that "All frozen or fresh raw meat and poultry with kosher supervision in original factory packaging."

Shemay Israel SI's site tends to obfuscate by stating that "Meats and Poultry: All brands of raw poultry are kosher for Passover year round. After your butcher "koshers" for Pesach, all raw varieties of meat, cut chicken and veal are acceptable." That leaves me with the question: If you buy before the store is kashered (made kosher) for Passover, are the products K4P?

Answers via email in the order received.

* Ohr Somayach: R. Reuven Lauffer writes from Jerusalem that "It is absolutely essential that all meat, fowl and fish have special Pesach supervision." March 17/15 Adar 2

* Chicago Rabbinical Council: R. Sholem Fishbane responds for crcweb.org that "Usually meat and poultry from the factory does not (require a special certification {ed.})but from a store would need. Not sure about fish though." March 17/15 Adar 2

* OK   Miriam Wudowsky writes that The cryovac bags have a starch inside which could be (corn) kitniyos. They get special starchless ones for P.

KASHRUT.COM If the question is "Is it kosher?" or "Is it safe?" Arlene J. Mathes-Scharf's Kashrut.com is, without a doubt, the best gateway to the world of kashrut and food safety.

Ms. Mathes-Scharf's weekly emails (free subscription) and web site collects

* information about things kosher from the major certifying agencies in the U.S. and elsewhere

* identifies general food health alerts from the U.S. and elsewhere

* lists organizations with special K4P lists

among other things of interest to people who eat.

Kashrut.com is the Google of kosher information. (I prefer Dogpile's search engine, but that wouldn't sound good when talking about food.)

ALWAYS CHECK Kashrut.com's Passover Alerts before heading to the market.

Some K4P lists

cRc http://www.crcweb.org/Passover/2014/complete_passover_guide-2014.pdf (2014) 65 pp of everything from pre-Pesach prep to what to put on the table - and how.

COR - Kashrut Council of Canada http://www.kashrut.com/Passover/pdf/CORPassoverGuide-2014.pdf (2014) English only

Jersey Shore Orthodox Rabbinate (JSOR) http://www.jsor.org/2014Passoverlist.pdf (2014)

MK Canada http://mk.ca/f2/ 188 pp in English and French.

OU http://issuu.com/oukosher/docs/passoverguide14/1?e=2900859/7057805 (2014) - Note this Guide is 100 pages long.

Scroll K / Vaad Hakashrus of Denver
http://www.kashrut.com/Passover/pdf/ScrollK_2014.pdf (2014) Includes form to sell hametz.

Star K http://www.star-k.org/PassoverDirectory2014_Web.pdf (2014) - Note this Guide is 126 pages long.

KosherQuest http://kosherquest.org/magazine_flip/ 32 pp including advertisements (2014)

Va’ad HaRabanim of Greater Seattle http://seattlevaad.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/SEATTLE-VAAD-2014_5774-PASSOVER-DIRECTORY.pdf (2014)

Kosher & China??

 

Two adjacent headlines from Kosher.com, THE Website for kashrut information ( http://www.kashrut.com/News/.

Increase of kosher food production in China

Information on pesticides and aduteration in foods from China

 

Chinese kosher: According to an article in Arutz 7 ( http://tinyurl.com/acf62nb), “The China Ministry of industry reported that more kosher products are being produced in China for domestic use and export. According to the report, the amount of kosher production rose 60% in 2012, compared to the year before.

“Much of the food being produced is exported to markets around the world, including Israel, which is a big customer of fish, canned vegetables, and other grocery items "made in China". But some of that kosher production is also being used domestically for the Chinese themselves.”

 

Dangerous foods: “Pesticides and aduteration in foods from China. Food Sentry had analyzed nearly 1,000 reported food violation incidents in 73 countries. They found that China had the most violations of any single country. Produce was most likely to be contaminated with pesticides while seafood was most likely to be contaminated with antibiotics. "32 distinct pesticides found in Chinese foods, mostly in produce, fruit and spices. In one instance, a cumin sample had six different pesticides (acetamiprid, carbendazim, profenofos, cypermethrin, hexaconazole and Ethion) detected at violative concentrations in laboratory testing." Some of the issues found are the following:

• "Antibiotics were a particular problem with seafood from China. We found multiple instances of leuco-malachite green (a metabolite of malachite green), enrofloxacin and ciprofloxacin (fluoroquinolone drugs), and sulfamethoxazole (a sulfonamide drug) contamination." "Leuco-malachite green/malachite green have been banned in aquaculture by the FDA since 1983 due to serious toxicity, so their continued use in Chinese aquaculture is cause for concern. It is actually a dye used in the clothing industry, but it has anti-bacterial properties that are effective for use in fish farming. In this case we found it reported as a contaminant in tilapia, grouper, mackerel, carp and crabs." The FDA inspects only 2 percent of all food imports and tests much less than 1 percent, there’s a good chance that some contaminated tilapia is getting through.

• Escherichia coli, Clostridium botulinum and unspecified coliform bacteria being reported multiple times.

• “Mycotoxins from poisonous molds were present, mainly in seeds, oils, dairy and rice. Economically Motivated Adulteration (EMA) continues to be an issue in China.

• “Seafood has water added to increase its weight. The fish is soaked in sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP), which at high concentrations can be toxic. Israeli Video showing water addition in a the Chinese fish processing plant.

“Food Sentry ( http://tinyurl.com/b5f26og) has found that very little of the total import amount is actually inspected and tested, and the results from foreign laboratories that do test demonstrate some persistent level of contamination across a range of products.”