Kosher concerns
In the SD
Hello Rabbi,
I wanted to ask you a question about a subject that I know nothing about in terms of halacha, matters of kashrut and mixtures, etc.
Many times, rabbis ban non-kosher products abroad due to all sorts of concerns.
For example, a bottle of 100% natural orange juice will be banned abroad because according to standards abroad, there is no obligation to advertise an ingredient up to 2% of the product. So you know what might be added to you. The same goes for any product that does not involve gentile cooking and the ingredients in it are kosher. Each one of them may add something else (as they are allowed) and not write it down. Or maybe the heating system is, for example, steam and also includes other non-kosher products in the same system, and everything is wasted, etc., etc.
So I wanted to ask whether it is indeed appropriate to consider all these claims in times of relative pressure (for example, someone who is abroad and has difficulty obtaining a kosher product)?
Discover more from הרב מיכאל אברהם
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Discover more from הרב מיכאל אברהם
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
So after I felt that it was a good idea that abroad they don't have to write all the ingredients on the product, I checked their standards at the FDA. And this is what it says there: Any minor ingredient that has no functional or technical impact on the finished product does not need to be mentioned in the product ingredients.
It is a bit difficult for me, then, why add it to the product. But the reason they give is that they add additives (usually preservatives) that if they have no technical purpose, they don't need to write it, even if it is a quantity that is less than 10ppm. It is on the order of one in a hundred thousand.
Do they say that there are cancellation laws in such quantities for something that has no real purpose? Even though it was introduced from the beginning, but usually for other non-Jews.
Is it necessary to declare ingredients in “trace”, i.e., incidental amounts?
Can sulfites be considered incidental additives?
Answer: FDA does not define "trace amounts", however, there are some
exemptions for declaring ingredients present in "incidental" amounts in a finished product
food. If an ingredient is present at an incidental level and has no functional or
technical effect in the finished product, then it need not be declared on the label.
An incidental additive is usually present because it is an ingredient of another
ingredient. Note that major food allergens (as discussed on pages 20-24), regardless
of whether they are present in the food in trace amounts, must be declared.
Sulfites added to any food or to any ingredient in any food and that has no
technical effect in that food are considered to be incidental only if present at
less than 10 ppm. 21 CFR 101.100(a)(3) & (4)
I really don't understand. There are sensitivities like gluten that are dangerous even at such doses. You need to ask people who deal with kosher and know the field.
It is written here to cheer up:
Note that major food allergens (as discussed on pages 20-24), regardless
of whether they are present in the food in trace amounts, must be declared.
Leave a Reply
Please login or Register to submit your answer
