2006 Kashrus Training Seminar

Rabbi Chaim Moshe Levy, a Mesivta rebbe in Lakewood, New Jersey, knew it was coming, yet he still felt unprepared. In July, he received an overseas telephone call informing him that the time had come to take over the pulpit of his deceased father, Rabbi Daniel Levy, zt”l, as the Rav of I.R.G. (Khal Adas Yeshurun) in Zurich, Switzerland.

Terumos and Ma’asros

By: Rabbi Moshe Heinemann

Published Spring 2002 | Updated August 2024

Eretz Yisroel has the unique privilege of being the recipient of the Ribono Shel Olam’s brachos throughout the year. Its agricultural industry continues to grow and flourish. Consumer products from Israel that are exported to the American marketplace include Jaffa oranges, grapefruits, pomelos, clementines, carrots, parsley, Carmel and canned tomatoes, peppers, candies, jams, jellies, olives and pickled products. Industrial products used for manufacturing include tomato sauce, tomato paste, orange oil, lemon oil and spices.

Besides for all the ingredients and processing concerns which confront the kosher consumer, additional kashrus requirements apply to foods grown, produced or imported from Israel. A consumer must be sure that terumos and ma’asros have been properly separated before eating, and that the fruits do not come from trees that are orla or neta revai or shemita.

What Are Terumos and Ma’asros?

Terumos (literally, separations) and ma’asros (literally, a tenth) were compulsory […]

Star-K Certified Canned Vegetables

(The following list of certified canned vegetables are certified kosher only when bearing the Star-K symbol)

Aegean Gourmet
Finesse
Ningbo Orient Jiuzhou
Sysco

Agro Dutch
Foodtown
Noam Gourmet
Sysco Arrezzio

Alessi
Freshlike
Olympion
Sysco Classic

Allens
Fronte
Pacific Delite
Sysco Imperial

Alma
GFS
Pathmark
Taco Mac

Ambrosia
Gandules
Pocahontas
Taylor

America’s Choice
Geisha
Popeye
Tongfa

American Roland
Georgia Belle
Premium
Tops

Ashley
Giant
Princella
Trappey’s

Assagio Classico
Gold Plum
Red Feather
Tuna Delight

B-Tam
Great Value
Red Rooster
Tyling

Bellagio
Guiguo
Reese
U.S. Blue

Benz’s Bilo
Happy Chef
Restaurant Row
U.S. Food Service Roseli

Bountiful Harvest
Harvest Valu
Roland
U.S. Red

Brown Beauty
Herko
Royal Prince
Uncle Williams

Bruce’s
Homefolks
Royalty
Ungers

Butterfield
Horn of Plenty
Ruby
Veg-All

California Delight
Inter-Food
Rykoff Sexton Green
Vigo

Casa Diva
Jeraci
San Pablo
Vitarroz

Casa Fiesta
Jinke
Santa Lucia
Viva Mexico

Chai-Kee
La Romanella
Saruhan
Vivaci

Chopsie’s
Lijiang
Selena
Wegman’s Whyte’s

Classic/Arrezzio
Louisiana
Smart & Final
Wolco

Conservas Martinez Garcia
Mancini
Snack Delite
Yarden

Crest Top
Manolito
Southern Home
Yilong

D&S
Marco Polo
Stone Mountain
Zumdieck

Del Destino
Marcove
Stop & Shop

Dintel
Mexene
Sugary Sam

Dorman
Milfiore
Sun of Italy

Dunbars
Mistral
Sunfield

East Texas Fair
Monte Lupo
Sunshine

Eden
Montecito
Super G

El Rio
Moody Dunbar
Supremo Italiano

Empress
Natural Value
Sylvia’s

Can it be Kosher

By: Rabbi Tzvi Rosen

How often have we heard the query, “What’s the problem with plain canned vegetables? It’s only vegetables, water and salt in a can!” True. It’s also true that today you can buy vegetables with a hechsher, salt with a hechsher, water with a hechsher even cans with a hechsher! But does 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 4? Can a kosher consumer buy canned corn off the shelf or should the kosher consumer beware?

Hydroponics

By: Rabbi Zvi Goldberg

The AeroGarden is a unique hydroponic system, enabling home-growing of vegetables. ( Note: STAR-K no longer certifies The Aerogarden) The entrance of this system into the marketplace presents an opportunity to discuss the history and halachos of hydroponics.

The Tell Tail Sign

By: Rabbi Moshe Heinemann

Our Rabbis in their sage understanding of human nature tell us, “Al tistakel b’kankan elah b’mah sheyaish bo.” Do not look at the outer receptacle, look at its inner contents. This adage has often been loosely translated into the famous American adage, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” In the case of kosher fish supervision, in order to determine whether the fish is, indeed, kosher it has to be judged by its cover.

The Torah states clearly how one is to determine whether or not a fish is kosher. If the fish has ‘snapir v’kaskeses’, fins and scales, the fish is kosher. Fish that have only fins, such as catfish, or totally smooth skin, such as eel, or crustaceans, such as lobster, are non-kosher.

Fish production is an active global enterprise. Nile perch from Nairobi, tuna from Fiji, farm-raised salmon from Chile and flounder from China arrive daily to fish companies […]

Brachos for Breakfast

By: Rabbi Dovid Heber

For the most updated Cereal List click here.

Published Winter 2012
Updated Winter 2019

STAR-K has researched breakfast cereals for the past 30 years and has published Brachos lists and halachic guidelines for these products based on the psak of Rabbi Moshe Heinemann, shlita, STAR-K Rabbinic Administrator. It is with great pride that STAR-K has begun certification of the following three cereals distributed by Nestle in Israel: Cheerios, Fitness, and Crunch Cereals. The hashgacha is coordinated by our newly expanded Israel office. The products bear a STAR-K symbol and are pareve, bishul Yisroel, and yoshon. The brocha rishona on all three cereals is mezonos and the brocha achrona is al hamichya.

STAR-K OPENS NEW ONLINE INTERACTIVE VIRTUAL KOSHER UNIVERSITY

02 | 01 | 2006

Those who are clueless but curious about kosher, have the opportunity to access the
only formal, online, interactive introductory classes about kosher on the web. Star-K’s
Virtual Kosher University will allow the kosher novice to learn the basics from Star-K’s
expert Kashrus Administrators—whether they live in Calabasas, California, or Caracas,
Venezuela! Regardless of one’s schedule, the world of kosher is now open as never before,
at one’s own pace, in the comfort of one’s own home.