An estimated 300 new items are expected to be introduced for Passover, according to an early survey by KosherToday. Sources in the kosher food industry say that new product introductions have driven profits in the past 5-7 years and this year will be no exception. Kosher Today will publish its annual review of new products for Passover in its next issue of February 4th.
But some of the new products are not without controversy. Some rabbis are concerned that newly developed products for Passover look too much like year-round products and may potentially confuse customers as well as store personnel. Rabbis in Israel have required factories like Osem to use bags or different canisters for their Passover croutons. Other rabbis in the US have told congregants to avoid eating foods that “look, smell and sometimes taste” like chametz.
Brooklyn-based US Chocolate is the largest manufacturer and supplier of Passover baking ingredients. They produce a Passover Dough Base which can be made into fresh pizza. Their free flowing base can produce delicious Passover pizza, rolls, knishes, and many more items that closely mimic the year-round baked with just adding water, oil, and an egg (all a shehakol, non gebrokt and non kitniyos). It is but one example of foods that are being made to taste like the year-round foods but yet are made with ingredients that make them fit for Passover.
In years past such foods include bread crumbs and cereals, not to speak of bagels and pizza. While an increasing number of products are made to look and taste like the year-round versions, some rabbis remain concerned about the possible confusion.
(Source: Kosher Today)
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7 Responses
If the product is clearly marked as kosher for pesach and has the proper hashgacha, why should they car about the packaging? Its the responsibility of the buyer to check for the hashgacha and confirm its from a certifying body they trust.
I can’t understand why there’s a need for many of these products such as pizza, pancakes, toast rather than tradfitional foods for 8 days. Is there a reason that the hashgochas can’t agree not to endore these kind of products?
To No. 2
If these products enhance the enjoyment of yom tov and makes it easier and more attractive for some non-frum families to be kosher for peseach, why are you objecting? If you want to be machmir or impose some restrictions on yourself, certainly they don’t force you to buy or eat these products
These products give people a choice. Nobody is forcing anyone to buy/eat them.
A rather flagrant example of confusion is Osem mayonaisse that is kosher l’Pesach. They product both a kitniot and non-kitniot product. Both have identical label, the only difference is some VERy small printm well hidden that says which variety the jar contains.
I dont think anyone is going to mistake these products for chometz given their price tag and their taste.
You can get world class chemists and chefs into a room and give them an unlimited budget but they will never find a way to make something kosher for pesach taste like chometz..they might get close but your taste buds will still tell you “it’s not the same”
And to the tzadikim who think these products should be “banned” and not given hasgacha..not everyone can eat eggs and potatos for 8 days straight…so let’s dial it back a bit and maybe be grateful for the fact that Pesach is a little easier to enjoy then it was back in the shtetle.
#1: Please note that you used the word “clearly”, and I agree. The problem is that what is “clearly marked” in one person’s eyes is not so clear to another person. That’s why they want to make these distinctions *very* clear. (I myself usually doublecheck the entire pantry a few days before Pesach, and on rare occasions I find that I *did* make a mistake.)
This is a big problem for the ashkenazim. This gets to the heart of the kitniot issue. Beit Yosef asured kitniot when there was a concern of wheat or the other 4 grains getting mixed in with kitniot. The reasoning of the Rema, and the reason kitniot are not eaten by ashkenazim who follow their Poskim, is because with kitniot, products that look like all year every day hamets can be made. In other words, maarit ayin.
So I passed through the aisles in Toronto, and looked at pancake mixes, and bread mixes, and cookies and cereals. Tell me honest folks if those products dont look like hamets! Im not expecting honesty from all people. THe fact is, if you are going to eat these products, and not eat kitniot, you are drowning in foolishness.
Ive heard conservative jewish women wearing pants with plunging necklines, explaining to others why they do not eat kitniot!
I am a convert, and I side with the sefardim, so sorry folks. I left an inconsistent world, a confused world, a world of dishonesty, and do not wish to join such again.
If you will not eat kitniot, do not eat those products!