The Elite Company will not be permitted to write “mezonos” on appropriate items, those items upon which the bracha ‘mezonos’ is recited, the Vaad Kashrus of the Eida Chareidis has decided. The decision was precipitated by a debate among the rabbonim regarding the bracha to be recited on Baguette Crunch crackers.
The cracker is in essence small pieces of baguette and on the package, consumers are informed the bracha is ‘mezonos’. However, Sephardim have been complaining for some time since for them, the bracha is ‘hamotzei’ and not ‘mezonos’.
The production process of that product begins at a bakery in the south, and then it reaches the plant of Elite Strauss, where it is cut, seasoned and baked. This product was developed on the basis of a successful American product that was sold to a company that is a partner with Elite Strauss.
Various rabbonim visited the facility where the snack was baked, and after discussions over the past two weeks, a decision was made to remove the caption ‘Birkat Mezonos’ from the packages and instruct Elite to refrain from writing it in the future.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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3 Responses
I don’t understand this. At least some Sefardim say mezonot over matzah year round, except for Pesach. Why would they say the bracha on this is not mezonot?
You’re right, Takamamash. If anything it’s the opposite; the Sefardim should be the ones saying it’s mezonot, while the Ashkenazim should be arguing to remove the notation. I don’t think we have enough information here. If you think about it, even if you’re Sefardi, if you bake a baguette and slice it thin, and over-salt and over-spice the slices such that they taste like geshmak chips, they’re still hamotzi. Whatever chup Elite might be doing to make these chips anything but hamotzi (I dunno- deep frying them, or maybe the chips are spiced before they’re baked)- would probably make them a safek hamotzi regardless of what “Eida” one comes from.
I could just imagine a Sefardi hechsher taking Ashkenazi opinions into account. This pc gone mad again. Would it not be difficult to write both opinions? Ashkenazim – mezonos. Sefardim – Hamotzi?
Many products on the market do not state which berachah they require, and this is a cause for grave concern. Not everyone is clear in the intricacies of content and function of that content to decide for themselves. If the machshir is qualified to give a hechsher, one would expect him to be qualified to rule over the berachah as well. The Eidah is notorious for not requiring any notification, and say that their yearly publication gives all those details. Thanks a lot! But to remove notification that a manufacturer voluntarily adds to his product – that is downright wicked.