Re'eh 5785

Will Foods We Know as Kosher Remain Kosher?

In this week’s Torah portion, Re’eh, we once again encounter the laws of kashrut. The text sets out which animals, fish, and fowl may be eaten, and which may not. But it also addresses the way our food is prepared.

Do you remember how meat was cooked in your childhood home? In mine, it was always well-done —sometimes almost to the texture of leather. Brisket soaked overnight in its gravy, the thin slices bringing tenderness and flavor. This practice stems from the Torah’s prohibition against consuming blood. Our mothers and grandmothers took no chances.

Today, many of us have moved to medium or medium-well, with just a touch of pink. That takes skill, especially on the grill, where meat continues to cook even after it comes off the heat. The halachic concern, though, remains unchanged: ensuring we do not partake of blood.

But will the foods we know as kosher remain kosher in the years ahead?

Not long ago, a question arose about milk. When the FDA announced it was suspending federal testing of commercially produced milk, the Orthodox Union’s kashrut hotline lit up. Since 1954, American Jews have relied on Rav Moshe Feinstein’s ruling that government oversight renders commercial milk kosher. Even with federal testing suspended, state testing remains in place, and U.S. law requires that milk sold as “milk” be from cows. Rabbi Avrohom Gordimer, chair of the OU’s dairy committee, confirmed that the ruling still holds.

A bigger challenge may come from recent FDA rulings on food dyes and colorings. Kellogg’s, for example, agreed to phase out artificial dyes from cereals like Froot Loops and Apple Jacks by 2027, after pressure linking such dyes to health issues in children. Other companies are expected to follow.

This raises new kashrut questions. Replacing artificial dyes with “natural” ones sounds good—but “natural” does not always mean kosher. Some flavorings and colors are derived from non-kosher animals. For example, carmine, a common red dye, comes from insects. The FDA permits such ingredients under broad labels like “natural flavors” or “certified color additives.”

Kosher consumers can look for vegan-friendly products, since the CJLS (the Conservative Movement’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards)  permits vegan and vegetarian foods. But in the end, kosher certification remains our most reliable assurance.

And then there’s one more possible change: “Kosher for Passover” Coca-Cola. Many of us hunt for the yellow cap bottles each spring, made with cane sugar instead of corn syrup, which is forbidden on Pesach. But if Coca-Cola permanently shifts back to cane sugar—as has been requested by political leaders and is already the case in Canada—the special Passover run might disappear. While that may disappoint some, I confess I still prefer water or Dr. Brown’s Passover Cream Soda.

Hopefully, these evolving realities in food production will not alter the foundations of kashrut. But, being attentive and informed is part of our role as Jews committed to mitzvot, and who remain attentive as to what goes on our tables.

At least now, you know.

Am Yisrael Chai!!!

Bring them home now!!!!

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi K.