New York – In Time For Passover: OU Kosher Announces New “Ou Kitniyot” Certification Symbol

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    New York – OU Kosher, the world leader in Passover preparation and kosher certification, today announced a new symbol of authorization for Passover products: OU Kitniyot.

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    The new symbol of authorization will appear on packaging with the explanatory message: OU Kitniyot: Acceptable for those who consume kitniyot on Passover.

    Among the better known customs of Passover is the concept of kitniyot (legumes such as beans, corn, lentils, millet, mustard, peas, poppy seeds, rice, sesame seeds, soybeans and sunflowers), which are avoided by Ashkenazic custom, yet are consumed by those of Sephardic descent. The custom of Ashkenazim not eating kitniyot goes back to at least 13th century France and was instituted because kitniyot are often grown in close proximity to the five grains (wheat, oat, spelt, rye and barley); and because kitniyot can be easily confused with leaven (chametz) or the other way around.
    Non-Ashkenazic Jews follow the ruling of Rabbi Yosef Karo (1488-1575) who permits the consumption of kitniyot on Passover. Even then, caution must be taken because the kitniyot may be processed in ways that render them non-permissible to the Sephardic population.

    “Previously, the OU has not issued certification for retail kitniyot products for Passover due to the concern that different symbols of kosher authorization might confuse consumers,” explained Rabbi Moshe Elefant, OU Kosher chief operating officer. “The OU Kitniyot symbol is presented in such manner so as to avoid any confusion and the packages will not show Kosher for Passover except as indicated.”

    The label is currently found on a limited supply of products, including: Hagada Cookies Series, Papachoudo Cookies, Osem Bamba, Neptune Spices and Shkediya Sunflower Seeds. These products are manufactured with similar high supervision standards to those of other OU Passover productions, Rabbi Elefant noted.

    “While OU Kosher has for years been approving OU industrial kitniyot products for the benefit of the Sephardic community, this has been in the realm of industrial and institutional ingredients,” stated Rabbi Nachum Rabinowitz, OU Kosher senior rabbinic coordinator. “This decision was taken at the urging of our poskim (decisors of Jewish law), to benefit the many kitniyot consumers who relied on various assumptions—rather than actual certification—for kitniyot Passover products.”

    For the most up-to-date information on all OU Kitniyot and OU Kosher for Passover products, go to www.ou.org/passover. OU Kosher certified products for Passover can also be found using the free OU Kosher phone App, for iPhones, iPads, iPod Touch, and Androids.


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    23 Comments
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    proud-mo-israeli
    proud-mo-israeli
    11 years ago

    Kitniyot is an outdated Chumra. Most Jews in Israel eat kitnoyot nowdays regardless of their Galut backgrounds. Mainly because we are all marrying each other now & the old distinctions of Ashkenai & Sefardi are only being kept by the Hareidi Jews who enjoy these divisions.
    Me….. I gave it up caring about kitniyot years ago & so have most of my Orthodox acquaintances.

    yaakov doe
    Member
    yaakov doe
    11 years ago

    Very interesting. I assume it’s partly due to the growth of the frum Sefardic community in America.

    DRE53
    DRE53
    11 years ago

    This will encourage ashkenazim to eat kitnyot since many don’t bother reading what says on the lable and it’s enough for them to just see the ou symbol

    Justleftkolel
    Justleftkolel
    11 years ago

    This is a great idea, but even though I am Makpid on not eating Kitniyos on Peasach, I have made a few mistakes over the years, once in a grocery in Monsey I purchased a selection of spices, came home to find that in tiny print that they were Kitniyos, I purchased them in a Chasidishe store in Monsey, so I assumed everything did not have Kitniyos. I called up the store, and the manager apologized profusely and took them off the shelves.

    Recently, I spent Peasach in Miami, where there are lots of Sephardim, there were Kitniyos and Non-Kitniyos products interspersed on the same shelves, once I was aware of that fact, I just looked a bit closer at each product, not a big deal, but unless you expect to see some Kitniyos, you will just grab whatever is on the Kosher For Peasach shelf, especially if you have a few screaming kids with you at the store.

    Passaicguy
    Passaicguy
    11 years ago

    Great news. Kol Hakavod

    Norden
    Norden
    11 years ago

    This is tangential to the main theme of this thread, I know, but can anyone explain why my booba always adamantly insisted that tomatoes (yes, those red fruit with juice and seeds!) were chametz? She refused to serve them at all throughout the chag. FWIW, she and my zaidah came from Biala Podolsk and weresupporters of the Biala Rebbe.

    My aunts and my father (her children) used to argue this with her every Pesach for as long as I can remember, but she stuck stubbornly to her guns.

    What remains of my aunts and their families will doubtless bring the matter up again at the Seder and – for once – I would like to have some sort of rational explanation. Come to think of it, an irrational one might do – at a pinch!