THIS SECTION IS FOR NEWS AND INTERESTING STORIES RELATED TO FOOD, NUTRITION AND FOOD PROCESSING. THEY ARE NOT NECESSARILY RELATED TO KOSHER BUT MAY BE OF INTEREST TO THE KOSHER CONSUMER, MANUFACTURER OR MASHGIACH.
April 21, 2022 - from CPSC in conjunction with Healthy Canadians
Insignia Air Fryers and Air Fryer Ovens have been recalled because the air fryers and air fryer ovens can overheat, posing fire and burn hazards.
Consumers can register online at www.insigniaairfryerrecall.expertinquiry.com or call Best Buy at 800-566-7498 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or go online at http://www.bestbuy.com/productrecalls or www.bestbuy.com and click on Product Recalls for more information.
This recall involves the Insignia Digital Air Fryers, Insignia Analog Air Fryers, and Insignia Digital Air Fryer Ovens, model numbers NS-AF32DBK9, NS-AF32MBK9, NS-AF50MBK9, NS-AF53DSS0, NS-AF53MSS0, NS-AF55DBK9, NS-AFO6DBK1 and NS-AFO6DSS1 sold by Best Buy. The brand name INSIGNIA is on the top or front of each unit. A rating label on the underside of each unit identifies the brand INSIGNIA and the model number.
The air fryers and air fryer ovens have cooking chamber capacities ranging from approximately 3.4 to 10 quarts, and plastic or plastic and stainless-steel bodies in black and stainless-steel finishes.
Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled air fryers and air fryer ovens and return the product to Best Buy for a refund in the form of a credit for use at Best Buy stores or Bestbuy.com. Best Buy is contacting all known purchasers directly to arrange returns and providing pre-paid shipping boxes and labels and return instructions. Consumers will receive a credit of $50 or the amount on the purchase receipt if higher. Consumers do not need a purchase receipt to get the $50 credit.
Incidents/Injuries: Best Buy has received 68 reports from U.S. consumers and 36 reports from Canadian consumers of the air fryer or air fryer ovens catching fire, burning or melting. These include seven reports of minor property damage and two reports of injuries, including an injury to a child’s leg.
Sold At: Best Buy stores nationwide and online at www.bestbuy.com, www.eBay.com and www.google.com from November 2018 through February 2022 for between $30 and $150.
April 7, 2022 - from CPSC in conjunction with Healthy Canadians
Clikk high chairs have been recalled because the white plastic seat can break, posing fall and injury hazards to children.
Consumer Contact: Stokke toll-free at 877-978-6553 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday email at info-usa@stokke.com online athttps://recall.stokke.com/clikkwhite or www.stokke.com and click on “Product safety and recall information” at the bottom of the page for more information.
This recall involves Stokke Clikk high chairs in white. The recalled high chair has a white molded plastic seat and foot rest with wooden legs. Only Clikk high chairs that are white in color, have item number 552104 and within the following serial number range 135AA057070 – 135AA0057908 are included in this recall. The item and serial number are printed on a label located under the seat of the high chair. The recalled high chairs were manufactured between December 16-18, 2020, and have Stokke Clikk High Chair on the label.
Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled white high chairs and contact Stokke for a free replacement. Consumers will receive the free replacement Clikk high chair in white after visiting Stokke’s website to confirm their product is included in the recall and registering the product online.
Sold At: Target, Buy Buy Baby, and other children’s product stores nationwide and online at www.stokke.com and www.amazon.com from January 2021 through June 2021 for about $180.
April 3, 2022 - from Food Beverage Insider:
"A federal court has ruled that a food labeling law in the state of Louisiana is unconstitutional, in response to a 2020 lawsuit filed by Tofurky, a producer of plant-based meat products.
"Tofurky challenged a Louisiana law that took effect in 2020, the “Truth in Labeling of Food Products Act (Act),” which forbids representations of a food as meat, beef or pork, for example, when the food is not derived from such things as harvested beef, poultry and domesticated swine.
"In a March 28 order granting summary judgment to Tofurky, U.S. District Judge Brian A. Jackson agreed the law infringes on constitutionally-protected speech in violation of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
"Those subject to the law faced fines of up to $500 daily for using terms such as “burger” and “sausage” to represent their plant-based meat products, according to Tofurky and the organizations that represented the producer in federal court—the Animal Legal Defense Fund and the Good Food Institute.
"The law barred plant-based meat products from using those terms even when their labels featured such modifiers as “vegan,” “veggie” or “plant-based,” the groups added.
"Jackson found the law was an infringement on protected commercial speech, based on a four-part test expressed by the U.S. Supreme Court in a 1980 decision, Central Hudson Gas & Elec. Corp. v. Pub. Serv. Comm’n of N.Y.
"While Tofurky challenged the Act, the government official responsible for administering and enforcing it—the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF) commissioner—had not brought an enforcement action against the plant-based meat producer for violating the food products labeling law, according to the judge’s summary judgment order.
"Nor had the LDAF received any complaints from consumers about Tofurky’s labels or, more generally, labels for plant-based meat products or cell cultured food products, Jackson observed."
April 3, 2022 - from Jewish Press:
"In light of the ongoing situation in Ukraine, the truck drivers’ strike in Spain and in order to prevent an egg shortage on Passover, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is increasing the number of sources for the import of eggs to Israel and has approved the importation of egg from Poland.
"Poland joins countries that have previously been approved for egg imports – Bulgaria, Portugal, Spain and Italy.
"The Ministry of Agriculture predicts that in the coming week, millions of eggs will be imported to meet the holiday demand in Israel.
"Data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development show that Israelis consume an average of 240 eggs each year, and an average of 20 eggs a month. On the other hand, in preparation for Passover, consumption increases by about 10%, to approximately 22 eggs a month.
March 31, 2022 - from the NY Attorney General
"New York Attorney General Letitia James today issued a consumer alert urging New Yorkers to be mindful of potential discriminatory pricing practices at car washes in the days leading up to Passover. In previous years, there have been reports of car wash businesses in predominantly Orthodox Jewish communities in New York City raising prices by as much as 50 percent for Jewish customers seeking cleaning services close to Passover. In advance of Passover, many Jews clean their homes, cars, and other spaces to remove “chametz,” or leavened products, from these spaces because they are not eaten for the duration of the holiday. According to reports provided to the Office of Attorney General (OAG) from Assemblymember Simcha Eichenstein, some companies have advertised “specials” for car washing services related to Passover, but instead, charged higher prices to Jewish customers. Attorney General James also sent letters to two organizations representing car wash owners in New York to remind their members that any such business practice is illegal and should be reported to OAG.
"If you believe you were charged more for services because of your religion, race, or background, or know of businesses using these discriminatory practices, please file a complaint with OAG.
April 1, 2022 - from the FDA
Best Brands Consumer Products, Inc. is voluntarily recalling two (2) finished product lots of The Mandalorian Hand Sanitizer Ethyl Alcohol 68%, available in green and blue formulations and Mickey Mouse Hand Sanitizer Ethyl Alcohol 68% blue formulation to the consumer level. FDA testing found the presence of benzene in The Mandalorian Hand Sanitizer product and methanol in the Mickey Mouse Hand Sanitizer product. Best Brands imported these two lots, which were produced by a third-party manufacturer.
Upon being notified of the testing results by FDA in late February, 2022, Best Brands promptly investigated and determined that both of the affected lots were produced during the months of April and May, 2020 and confirmed that the affected lots had already been removed from sale in April 2021 for unrelated commercial reasons.
The Mandalorian Hand Sanitizer available in green and blue formulations and Mickey Mouse Hand Sanitizer are used to help reduce microorganisms that can potentially cause illness when regular hand hygiene measures (i.e., washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds) are not readily available or feasible and is packaged in 2.11fl. oz/60 mL bottles. The voluntarily recalled finished product lots and expiration dates are listed in the table below. The product, which was distributed nationwide via three retail outlets, has since been removed from sale at each outlet for unrelated commercial reasons, and was not further distributed.
| Product | MFG Lot # | EXPIRE DATE | NDC # |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mickey Mouse Hand Sanitizer, Ethyl Alcohol 68%, blue color, 2.11 fl. oz bottle | 20D21 | 6/30/2022 | 74530-013-02 |
| The Mandalorian Hand Sanitizer, Ethyl Alcohol 68%, blue/green color, 2.11 fl. oz bottle | 20E21 | 9/30/2022 | 74530-012-02 |
March 31, 2022 - from JTA
"The city of Dania Beach, Florida, shut down a Jewish food distribution site which has been operating since June 2020.
"The organizer of the kosher food bank, Dovi Katz, says he serves 4,000 children and 1,500 families a week across Florida.
"The city government sent a notice to the food bank last week that read: 'Your special event application will be revoked immediately due to life safety and traffic concerns expressed by the Broward Sheriff’s office.'
"The Broward Sheriff’s Office denied being responsible for revoking the permit, instead blaming the Dania Beach government.
"Food bank organizers says that’s simply not true and that the Broward Sheriff’s Office is completely responsible for the permit having been pulled."
"'We are working to find a new location, but we plead with the Broward Sheriff to give us a week or two or three to get our new location set up,' Katz said."
March 30, 2022 - from JTA
"On Feb. 24, two shipping containers laden with 20,000 pounds of shmura matzah were slated to head out of port in Odessa, Ukraine, on their way to Orthodox Jews in the United States.
"Two hours before they were to be loaded onto a ship, Russia invaded.
"The shipment was the last of 200,000 pounds of unleavened bread that Ukrainian matzah bakeries shipped to the United States this year, in addition to what they ship to Europe and Israel.
"Now, technically outside of Ukraine’s customs zone, it could neither be returned to the country nor travel on to the United States.
"Rabbi Meyer Stambler, head of the Chabad-affiliated Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine, estimates that his factories in Ukraine account for about 15-20% of the U.S. market share for shmura matzah, the carefully “guarded” variety that many observant Jews prefer to use during the seder."
March 30, 2022 - from Israel National News
"A UK matzah maker has set a goal to bake one million matzahs for the Ukrainian Jewish community, who are lacking supplies for Passover, according to the Orthodox Union.
"The Orthodox Union said that the war has caused a major shortage of matzah for the community and for Jewish refugees who have fled to nearby countries.
"The Rakusen matzah factory worked 24-hours a day to bake enough matzahs to send to the community in Ukraine, the UK Jewish News reported.
"The Orthodox Union initially contacted the London Beth Din who put them in touch with Rakusen, who agreed to bake extra matzah for Passover.
"The order was for 70,000 boxes, the equivalent of about a million matzahs. The order will be ready by this Friday, with the boxes sent to Hungary and then off to Ukraine. Each box has been labelled by hand to say that it is for Jewish refugees."
March 25, 2022 - from RCBC and yeahthatskosher.com
"The Rabbinical Council of Bergen County (RCBC) has just announced that they will be revoking their kosher certification of The Humble Toast and La Cucina Di Nava, both owned by Shalom Yehudiel, who was arrested last week on grounds of sexual misconduct.
"Prior to Yehudiel’s arrest, the RCBC had decided to maintain their certification as long as Yehudiel was not present at either restaurant. After his arrest last week, the RCBC made the decision not to renew the kosher certification at both The Humble Toast and La Cucina Di Nava. The RCBC is contractually obligated to provide kosher certification through October 1st 2022 for The Humble Toast, and January 1st 2023 for La Cucina Di Nava. After these dates, the restaurants will no longer be certified by the RCBC."
Letter is here
March 21, 2022 - from FDA. The March 11, 2022 alert is here
Kao USA Conducts Voluntary Recall of Jergens® Ultra Healing Moisturizer, issued 11-Mar-2022 by Kao USA Inc. over PR Newswire, we are advised by the company that in the IDENTIFYING THE AFFECTED PRODUCTS section, two lot codes have been added to the 3 oz size section ("ZU722861" and "ZU722871"). The complete, corrected release follows:
CINCINNATI, Ohio, March 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Kao USA Inc. is asking consumers to check their Jergens® Ultra Healing Moisturizer 3 oz and 10 oz products to determine if it is part of a voluntary recall of the product.
Select units of Jergens® Ultra Healing Moisturizer could show the presence of Pluralibacter gergoviae, a bacterium which typically poses little medical risk to healthy people. However, people who have certain health problems such as weakened immune systems may be more susceptible to infections. Kao USA is urging consumers to discontinue use of the recalled lotion specified below as a precautionary measure.
The amount of recalled product is limited to two sizes offered for Jergens® Ultra Healing Moisturizer.
Only specific lots of the 3 oz and 10 oz sizes are affected. IDENTIFYING THE AFFECTED PRODUCTS
ZU712851 ZU712911
ZU712861 ZU722851
ZU712871 ZU722881
ZU712881 ZU722861
ZU722871
ZU722741 ZU732791
ZU722771 ZU732801
ZU722781 ZU732811
ZU732781 ZU732821
Anyone who has product from a recalled lot should call the Kao USA Inc. Consumer Care Center for a free product coupon at the following number: 1.800.742.8798 or send an email to: consumer@kao.com. (Hours of operation: Monday - Friday, 9AM - 5PM US ET) A postage paid label and plastic bag will be sent to consumers via mail to easily return the product.
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