653726 Sun Sep 20 18:51:57 -0700 2009 39 28 Kosher 0 5044796 over rosh hashanna we found out that tootsie rolls will soon bear the ou symbol Sun Sep 20 18:51:57 -0700 2009 147978 koshergourmetmart 1 5046288 According to the OU consumer line, they have no knowledge of this. The person I spoke to indiciated he was unaware of any application for supervision as of today 9/21. You sure ou is the orginaztion providing approval? Mon Sep 21 10:52:04 -0700 2009 5044796 243800 patriotsmass 1 5046299 I know someone very high up in a national kasrut organization, and he went personally to see about getting Tootise Rolls a haskacha, and he said that it would not happen because the company would not change a key ingredient. That was two years ago. Mon Sep 21 10:56:03 -0700 2009 5044796 20420 azcohen 2 5046361 yes. I met someone very high up in the OU who said they are unofficially under hasgacha and will have thge symbol soon. They are also working on gatorade Mon Sep 21 11:14:33 -0700 2009 5046299 147978 koshergourmetmart 3 5047626 you made my day! can't wait for the tootsie rolls! Mon Sep 21 18:19:40 -0700 2009 5046361 217807 cheesecake17 1 5046879 Here's what I received today from the Tootsie Rolls company in response to my inquiry: "Kosher certification is under consideration at the present time." Mon Sep 21 13:37:46 -0700 2009 5044796 24247 morris 2 5047951 Sorry to go totally on a tangent here, but why aren't Pop-Tarts kosher, and is Kellogg's considering it?! Anyone have any idea? (And if there's real discussion here, feel free to start a new thread. I'll find it.) Mon Sep 21 20:41:55 -0700 2009 5046879 1092941 tamarw 3 5048375 I believe it's our old foe, Mr. Unkosher Gelatin at work. Here is the ingredient list http://www2.kelloggs.com/ServeImage.aspx?BID=26889&MD5=8ff292d2a9ba0d710a0ce8ed8bb1e805 Tue Sep 22 05:28:57 -0700 2009 5047951 193375 vallevin 3 5048731 This important issue has long been a goal of mine . Mr. Unkosher Gelatin only makes an appearance in the frosted varieties; Vallevin's link is to PT Splitz, which are partially frosted. The unfrosted versions list no obvious problematic ingredients. Over the years, I have tried to orchestrate letter/e-mail writing campaigns to Kellogg's. Maybe the thing to do would be to petition the OU, which certified Eggos a few years back. The resistance may be due to a reticence to have some flavors and not others certified, as opposed to Eggos, which are all certified (surely production could be kept separate). However, I think we could be counted on to know which is which. It would be easier than tracking the ever-moving Slurpee list! Write to Kellogg's! Write to the OU! Write to your senator! Tue Sep 22 07:59:33 -0700 2009 5047951 26162 Kosher Critic 4 5050598 I'm game with this. I think we should orchestrate this on Chowhound for sure. Maybe someone can start a petition? Tue Sep 22 17:24:58 -0700 2009 5048731 1092941 tamarw 3 5050423 There is a brand of "pop tart" like products in many flavors that are kosher. Some are even frosted. They are even organic. I buy them at Fairway. I will post the name as soon as I get some more we don't have any in the house right now and I am having one of those senior moments juniors sometimes get. (-: Tue Sep 22 16:18:33 -0700 2009 5047951 19523 mommysmazal 4 5050957 The brand is Nature's Path. Search "Kosher Organic Toaster Pastries at Costco" on this board for a thread on this brand. (I don't know how to do a clickable link.) Tue Sep 22 20:04:26 -0700 2009 5050423 159087 queenscook 5 5051106 Thanks, found it here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/555279 I find it highly ironic that one of the commenters mentioned there that Tootsie Rolls are becoming OU in that specific discussion. That was TOTALLY unplanned! :) Tue Sep 22 21:29:35 -0700 2009 5050957 1092941 tamarw 6 5051484 The Nature's Path Pop Tarts are also available at Trader Joe's. Wed Sep 23 05:56:41 -0700 2009 5051106 67362 craigcep 1 5047385 Sounds exciting to me. Mon Sep 21 16:40:45 -0700 2009 5044796 163929 cappucino 2 5047441 Sounds great! I miss tootsie pops and chocolate and vanilla tootsie rolls from my non-kosher days!! Mon Sep 21 17:00:54 -0700 2009 5047385 59484 sig 1 5047461 ?? kosher supervision is meant to ensure that a food is kosher, but that does not mean that something not supervised is not kosher, however there is the possibility. this op is saying that tootsie rolls will soon be supervised and therefore known to be kosher. hope that helps Mon Sep 21 17:10:14 -0700 2009 5047448 21946 Bugg Superstar 2 5047552 the original post just said that they will "bear the OU symbol." I did not say they were not kosher before, they just did not have certification Mon Sep 21 17:45:08 -0700 2009 5047461 147978 koshergourmetmart 1 5047821 tootsie roll is owned by the gordon family-who are jewish. 2-3 years ago they bought concord confections and proceeded to drop the o-u certification.people in the trade were amazed in an era when natinal companies r adding kosher cert. that someone would actually drop their kosher. about 4 months ago i was contacted and i confiremd w/ the o-u that concord will again be kosher and lablelled as such as they get into newly printed packaging. until that time i don't think any kosher dist. will get involved that being the case there can always be a possibility of tootsie getting certified Mon Sep 21 19:44:03 -0700 2009 5044796 72972 gleibler 1 5057701 This is from the OK... Royal Candy Company of Brooklyn, NY has been distributing tootsie roll midgies, vanilla caramels, and other soft candies with an unauthorized OK symbol. Only hard candies are certified by OK Kosher Certification. Corrective measures are being taken. Fri Sep 25 08:49:17 -0700 2009 5044796 81876 KosherChef 2 5058091 it sounds like royal candy company did something they should not. when tootsie rolls become certified it will be under the OU not the OK Fri Sep 25 10:46:47 -0700 2009 5057701 147978 koshergourmetmart 3 5089495 I called Tootsie Rolls co. I was told that they will be kosher within about 6 months. the rep. could not tell me under whose supervision. hope it is a reliable one... now lets work on those pop tarts... Thu Oct 08 15:57:58 -0700 2009 5058091 178416 WillieWillie 4 5099755 kosher today reports Although there is yet to be a formal announcement, sources told KosherToday that Tootsie Roll and Gatorade will be the next icon food brands to acquire a major kosher symbol. For kosher consumers, such news has become less frequent than in the 90’s and early 2000’s when many major brands made the move. They included Nabisco’s Oreos, Keebler, Entenmann’s and other national brands that kosher consumers had considered “forbidden fruits.” More recent members of the club include Topp’s Bazooka and Jelly Belly. Tootsie Roll, a Chicago-based company, has grown to become one of the country's largest candy companies, with operations throughout North America and with distribution channels in more than 75 countries. Gatorade is a brand of flavored non-carbonated sports drinks manufactured by the Quaker Oats Company, now a division of PepsiCo. Pepsi’s competitor PowerAde, owned by the Coca-Cola Co., has OU certification. Kosher sources explain that news of a major brand going kosher is rare these days “since most of them already have a major kosher symbol.” One certification agency told Kosher Today: “We are rapidly approaching the day when every major US food brand that can be kosher certified will be kosher.” Tue Oct 13 10:09:44 -0700 2009 5089495 147978 koshergourmetmart 5 5102485 The article mentions Keebler , however the majority of their cookies remain uncertified. Wed Oct 14 09:48:14 -0700 2009 5099755 178399 websterhall1994 5 5105154 Re: "More recent members of the club include Topp’s Bazooka.."- are they talking about the Bazooka with the Hebrew lettering (which I assume comes from Israel), which is in the kosher stores? It would nice to be able to buy kosher gum in a supermarket... Thu Oct 15 08:48:07 -0700 2009 5099755 224939 Lissy63 6 5105222 Bazooka's "Ring Pops" now have OU certification (it was apparently a big deal when it happened). That may be what they're referring to. Thu Oct 15 09:10:16 -0700 2009 5105154 202198 ferret 1 5129330 Its OU! On November 7th, there will be a Kashrus seminar in Passaic. One of the topics is: How Tootsie Roll became OU certified. http://pcjewishcommunity.blogspot.com/2009/10/harry-h-beren-ask-ou-kashrus-outreach.html Sun Oct 25 09:38:21 -0700 2009 5044796 23394 hanistor 2 5129769 yes-we knew it was OU-see original post. Sun Oct 25 14:13:23 -0700 2009 5129330 147978 koshergourmetmart 3 5140544 Has anybody seen Tootsie Rolls bearing the OU symbol in stores yet? If so, what stores? Thu Oct 29 10:56:09 -0700 2009 5129769 70905 brunodavid 4 5140998 not as of yet but rabbi at the ou booth at kosherfest said that the tootsie roll midgies are kosher now. not the tootsie roll pops-those are not certified and will not be certified for the time being Thu Oct 29 13:26:41 -0700 2009 5140544 147978 koshergourmetmart 5 5142572 Do you mean that a person can buy the midgies now even without the heckser and they are under ou supervision. (kind of like with Trix, a person could buy them even without the hecksers, or so we were told) as they were under supervision, but the packaging was still old , i.e. pre-OU markings Fri Oct 30 07:23:21 -0700 2009 5140998 243800 patriotsmass 6 5142623 yes-that is what i was told Fri Oct 30 07:39:13 -0700 2009 5142572 147978 koshergourmetmart 7 5142834 That's very irresponsible of you, koshergourmetmart. You were probably told that current production is kosher, under the OU. How can it be that anyone can go to any store and buy midgies, which may have been sitting inn the store for 6 months from old, non-supervised production, and assume it is kosher? Please... Fri Oct 30 08:44:30 -0700 2009 5142623 23394 hanistor 8 5142946 Actually, the person at the OU should have been more responsible too and told koshergourmetmart that one can not just go into any store and buy what's on the shelf. Usually the official OU policy is that it must have the OU on the individual package to be certain that it is certified by the OU. I'm really surprised that the person at the booth wasn't more specific. I guess most of us will have to wait a bit longer. Fri Oct 30 09:25:59 -0700 2009 5142834 1111624 chicago maven 8 5142951 Hanistor- I don't think it's irresponsible at all- I was actually at kosherfest myself and forgot to ask the same question. I remember years ago when M&M's became OU certified, the OU specifically told the public that you COULD buy any M&M product with or without an OU. That applied to all flavors. I was in high school at the time and vividly remember all these kids eating the M&M's without hechshers and I called the OU and they confirmed an OU was not required. The same thing happened with Starbucks Liqueur last year - it did not require an OU. So if that's what koshergourmetmart was told, it's more than likely true and you shouldn't berate him (or her) for informing us of this. Fri Oct 30 09:28:04 -0700 2009 5142834 47807 latke 9 5143103 I am just reporting on what I found out at kosherfest. It is up to you to follow this opinion or not. My question was can I buy tootsie rolls now, and they said yes. I believe the hold up is that they are waiting for new packaging and that can take a while. Jelly Belly also was OU kosher for a while with the old KO hasgacha. Jelly Belly was waiting for their old packaging to be used up. Fri Oct 30 10:13:27 -0700 2009 5142951 147978 koshergourmetmart 10 5143280 It's possible that the midgies have always been made from kosher ingredients, on a line where none of the other candies produced contain non-kosher ingredients. In that case, the OU might say that all midgies (with hechsher on the packaging or not) were fine, which is what I'm assuming happened with the M&M's back in the day. Fri Oct 30 11:01:57 -0700 2009 5143103 39900 GilaB 11 5143317 Midgees contain the same ingredients as the large tootsie rolls, albeit in a smaller size. If midgees were always kosher, so were the regular tootsie rolls, and that's not the case. Midgees may be kosher "already" because the plant that produces them (as opposed to the regular version) is the first one to be under supervision. Fri Oct 30 11:12:57 -0700 2009 5143280 23394 hanistor 10 5146078 jelly belly at least had a hecsher on it. concord confections which is owned by the tootsie family had dropped their certification about 2 years ago because tootsie bought then and made the dumb mistake of dropping their kosher cert. even the people in the company couldn't understand that logic. now concord is back under the o-u but they haven't started using the new packaging yet and my compnay is refraining from taking in goods until they have the o -u packaging. the same is with topp's lolly's and candies. most kosher distributor will not waste time ordering product with kosher logos on it as many of the local vaad rabbi's will not allow it in the stores and it just creates alot of confusion Sat Oct 31 20:37:52 -0700 2009 5143103 72972 gleibler 11 5148977 Some cold water: I was told by the OU today that tootsie rolls are not certified until the symbol appears on the package. Mon Nov 02 08:54:51 -0800 2009 5146078 26162 Kosher Critic