664628 Wed Nov 04 07:40:37 -0800 2009 10 28 Kosher 0 5154741 I saw what appeared to be a kosher hechsher on America's Choice canned fruit cocktail. I'm not sure if that is what it was but it kind of looked like a funky three lined k and o. Any ideas? Wed Nov 04 07:40:37 -0800 2009 61945 jaknny 1 5154757 Are you sure it's not the Canadian COR mark? Thy usually have numbers to designate the processor. Wed Nov 04 07:46:23 -0800 2009 5154741 202198 ferret 1 5154800 Here's a listing of most North American symbols. The COR symbol usually appears with numbers. http://www.beth-tzedec.org/kosher_symbols/ Wed Nov 04 07:58:45 -0800 2009 5154741 202198 ferret 2 5155990 Check this out as well. http://www.kosherquest.org/symbols.php Wed Nov 04 13:18:15 -0800 2009 5154800 16616 MartyB 1 5155683 I am fairly certain you are referring to Sephardic-K out of California, I cannot find an image online, but it is a very stylized "k" with 3 vertical lines forming one part of the "k" and then what looks like a backwards 9, also made of 3 lines forming the other part of the 'k'. Not new, here is the contact info. Kelemer and Associates PO Box 5348 Beverly Hills CA 90209 Rabbi I. Yisroel Kelemer Wed Nov 04 11:51:04 -0800 2009 5154741 193375 vallevin 2 5156190 It's not new, as Vallevin mentioned, but I would like to advise you that this product likely contains carmine: A purplish-red pigment, made from dye obtained from the cochineal beetle, which according to most ashkenazim is not acceptable. I am not commenting on the reliability of this hechsher, just advising you on the likelihood of the product containing carmine. Wed Nov 04 14:18:31 -0800 2009 5155683 47807 latke 3 5156337 I think most orthodox Jews, even Sephardim, would not accept carmine. Interesting article about the rabbi, http://www.jewishjournal.com/community_briefs/article/one_of_a_kind_20010119/ . Traditional, maybe not orthodox. Wed Nov 04 15:05:55 -0800 2009 5156190 23013 ganeden 4 5160185 From the article, certainly not orthodox. If he uses a microphone on Shabbos, as the article implies, his testimony that something is kosher is not valid, carmine or no carmine. Fri Nov 06 01:23:30 -0800 2009 5156337 16064 zsero 2 5156210 Looks like you are right and it is Kelemer and Associates. See an example of their certification letter: http://images.fsenablers.com/Kosher/19/2009%20Kelemer%20Seneca.pdf This symbol must have been spun off from KOAOA. This certification does allow carmine and cochineal extract as kosher, so if you do not consider those items as kosher you should check the ingredient labels of any products with their kosher symbol. Wed Nov 04 14:25:25 -0800 2009 5155683 174176 jdh11 1 5156197 I believe it was a spinoff of the half-moon K (Kosher Overseers Associates of America) that followed a standard that allowed "cochineal extract" and/or "carmine" as kosher. Believe it or not, there are legitimate orthodox opinions (Rav Ovadia Yosef, Rabbi Abadi among others), that allow these items as kosher, although it is a minority opinion. Cochineal and Carmine are a red coloring that are from dried insects. You can see the symbol in question at http://www.kashrusmagazine.com/ksg/Old%20and%20deleted/ksg_index.html and select California. It's the one just above KSA. I saw it also on a fruit cocktail package just the other day in Walmart. The version I saw at walmart did not have the hebrew writing or the circle around the K but it was the same K with the three lines you described. Wed Nov 04 14:20:30 -0800 2009 5154741 174176 jdh11 1 5159980 Thank you very much. It is the symbol of Rabbi Kelemer. I always thought that Del Monte fruit cocktail wasn't kosher because of the grapes but I guess it was the cherries after all. Thank you everybody. Thu Nov 05 20:44:59 -0800 2009 5154741 61945 jaknny