The following are among the Top Ten Questions for July 2013 Questions and Answers from cRc Kosher (Chicago Rabbinical Council Kosher), and are edited by Rabbi Yisroel Hisinger, Shlita, Executive Secretary, Kashrus Information Center (KIC), as published in the Torah Times:
Q: Does flavored beer need a hechsher?
A: Yes, flavored beer requires a hechsher.
Q: I recently acquired a basting brush whose bristles are made with pig hair. Are there any kashrus concerns?
A: No, there are no restrictions on using pig hair, and the basting brush may be used.
Q: Do I need to buy cranberry juice with a reliable kosher certification?
A: Juices can be pasteurized while hot in the same pasteurizer used for non-kosher products, such as grape juice, and therefore juices must bear a reliable kosher symbol.
Q: Does brown sugar need a hechsher?
A: In general, sugar, in all its forms (brown, granulated, powdered, etc.) does not need a hechsher. Some sugar does, however, require certification for Pesach.
Q: Does salt need a hechsher?
A: Salt that contains no kosher sensitive ingredients does not need a hechsher. Some common ingredients that do not pose a kashrus concern are Calcium, Silicate, Dextrose and Potassium Iodide.
Q: If the cRc policy is that black coffee may be purchased at any Dunkin Donuts, why does the cRc not recommend the iced coffee?
A: The iced coffee at Dunkin Donuts is actually produced from an iced coffee mix and, therefore, requires hashgacha.
Q: This month, we visited our local 7-Eleven, and when examining the cRc Slurpee list, I noticed some are listed as dairy. Do these flavors contain milk?
A: In order to freeze correctly, some diet Slurpees use a sugar known as Tagatose which comes from whey, making the sugar dairy.
Q: Do pumpkin seeds need a hechsher?
A: Raw or dry roasted pumpkin seeds do not need a hechsher. Pumpkin seeds that are oil roasted or contain additional flavors do require a hechsher.
The Sefer Mesilas Yesharim (Chapter 11) writes the following moving words about the primacy that careful Kashrus observance must have in our lives: “…for forbidden foods bring tumah mamash into the heart and soul of a person to the point that Hashem’s Kedusha leaves and moves far away from this person. [When this happens] a person’s ability to have true knowledge, and the seichel that HaKadosh Baruch Hu gives to those that are pious, leave him. The forbidden foods enter his body and become a part of his very being. Anyone with a brain in his head should view forbidden foods as poison, or in which some poison has been mixed. If one would be concerned for any portion of poison in a food–would he dare eat from it?! Even if one has the smallest doubt about it, he would not be lenient–and if he would risk it, he would be considered a Shoteh Gamur–a complete fool.” Of this”, concludes the Mesilas Yesharim, “Shlomo HaMelech writes (Mishlei 23:2): “Vesamta Sakin Belo’echa Im Ba’al Nefesh Atta-and you should put a knife into your jaw if you are a man with a mighty appetite.”
As we conclude the year 5773, we should look back at the food that we brought into our homes, or that we ate while we were out over the year. Were there michsholim that we succumbed to? Were we lenient when we did not know what the Hashgacha was? Did we ignore Kashrus issues that we knew existed, simply by placing the burden or responsibility on the Kashrus agency? Did we speak to our Rav before attending a Simcha at a facility that had to be Kashered and/or about the questions that one should ask at a restaurant or food establishment out-of-town, or with which he was not familia? The parsha of Kashrus is reiterated in the Torah–after all, eating is something that we all do at least two, three or more times a day, and thousands of times a year. It is imperative that we review our ways, to ensure that our body and soul are nourished in Kedusha–so that our actions and deeds will be able to express that holiness in all places, at all times, and to all people!
(Sourced from Hakhel.info)
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