The all-new Star-K website unveiled this past Thursday (www.star-k.org) breaks new ground in the arena of online resources serving the Kosher consumer. Beyond just product lists (indexed by brand and category, with kashruth status provided in real-time), the site features a plethora of information and resources covering virtually every aspect of halachic Jewish life.

“Rabbinic supervision today extends far beyond the traditional domain of commercially prepared food products,” says Dr. Avrom Pollak President of the Star-K. “The Star-K maintains an exclusive, up-to-date database relating the halachic status of things like kitchen appliances, countertop materials, insect infestation levels, Shmitta concerns, and a host of other knowledge bases that can benefit the Kosher consumer.

“Our goal with the new site,” says Dr. Pollak, “was to take this massive repository of ever-changing knowledge and put it at the fingertips of the kosher consumer in an intuitive, readily accessible format that remains constantly up-do-date. When we initially sat down with the folks at Duvys Media, the producers of the site, we knew this was a tall order. Indeed, they delivered, and the finished product exceeds anything we could have imagined.”

Say a consumer is tempted by a new leafy green displayed at the supermarket. Wondering about the infestation status of such vegetables at this time of year, he or she can simply log into the Star-K site on their smartphone, right there from the produce aisle. The Insect Checking page features a beautifully laid out pictorial chart with every vegetable shown in a full color image. Simply click on the vegetable image for an instant response on whether or not it requires checking and if checking/removal is practical or sufficient. Where applicable, another click takes you to a detailed instruction page for proper cleaning and checking, often with a live video tutorial or webinar relating to that product.

For those in the market for a new major appliance or an entire kitchen makeover, the Kosher Appliances page serves as the ONLY virtual buyer’s guide for certified Sabbath Mode products, including every type of heating and refrigeration product from wall units to cooktops to warming drawers to wine coolers, and everything in between. The detailed product specs for each specific brand and model number, in addition to the Sabbath Mode info, is geared to educate the consumer so that he or she can select their preferred brand, make and model, directly from the site, taking into consideration, brand, specs and of course, Halachic compliance. Consumers needing further guidance can always reach out directly to the STAR-K through the site’s live chat feature or the STAR-K Hotline at 410-484-4110.

Other comprehensive databases include acceptable national brands of over-the-counter medications, beer and liquor products, as well as the status of specific Starbucks locations or Slurpee flavors at 7-Eleven. The site features many practical halachic guides pertaining to all areas of Jewish life such a handy listing of Cereals_and_their_Brachos, Kosher Travel, Tevilas keilim, Heter Iska, and much more.

The all-new Star-K websites provides live-chat access to kashruth experts, a convenient Ask the Rabbi page, and searchable access to Star-K’s voluminous archives of webinars, videos, publications and consumer alerts.

The Star-K app, which will be unveiled in the coming months, will offer the very same features and capabilities in an optimized format for smartphones, tablets and other portable devices. The Pesach app, released by Duvys Media for the past two Pesach seasons, received rave reviews by consumers for its functionality and ease of use.

“From a technological standpoint,“ says Mrs Sara Rosenthal, who coordinated the project development  at Duvys Media, “a major breakthrough of the site is its direct, seamless integration into the Star-K’s in-house databases. This allows the Star-K to provide the consumer the very same up-to-the-minute information they provide for their own mashgichim and internal staff, in real-time, with virtually no room for error.”

While perhaps it’s a small step for technology, it’s a giant leap in the scope of the Star-K’s continued service to Klal Yisroel.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)