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    24 Aug KASHRUS QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK WITH RABBI MOSHE ELEFANT

    Posted at 01:03h in by
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     Is there anything more that can be said about the baby formula shortage?

    It’s a very serious situation, especially for the frum community. As supply chain issues continue to take their toll, the baby formula shortage crisis is straining families’ ability to feed their infants. The plight is even more dire for Orthodox Jewish families, who may only use kosher-certified baby formula and whose birth rates (three to eight children per family) are significantly higher than the national average (about two children per family). We, B’H, have so many children in our community, and they rely on this baby formula. We’ve been using all of our connections to try and keep the stores in our community stocked, but it’s not something we can control. What we have heard from the United States government is that they’re beginning to allow baby formula from places outside the United States. Some of these factories are already certified [kosher] and others aren’t, but we are working closely and diligently with these companies to make sure they get certified as quickly as possible so that products can be available in the United States. Kosher certification should not be an impediment to the availability of that product, the baby formula, for our community. OU Kosher is addressing the pressing need of the Jewish community and beyond by marshaling its forces to certify more baby food plants, dedicating three rabbinic coordinators specializing in baby formula to find more facilities willing to undergo the organization’s strict certification process, which includes careful inspections and oversight of the baby formula-making process. Just a few weeks ago, OU Kosher rabbis certified a plant in Singapore and are now in the process of certifying two other baby formula plants – one in Spain and another in England.

    Does baby formula need to have a Hechsher?

    Absolutely. Baby formula has many very complicated ingredients that need to be certified and one has to make sure that this product is only manufactured on equipment that only makes kosher baby formula. Pareve baby formula is a very complicated product in terms of kosher and it’s something that we have to watch very carefully. We have wonderful relationships with the manufacturers of baby formula, and they are currently under more pressure than we are, but we are working together trying to solve this issue.