[Avodah] Believing companies - kashrus

[Zev Sero]

Prof. Levine wrote:
> At 05:32 PM 12/10/2009, R. Dov Kaiser wrote:

>> It seems, then, that KOF-K does not follow R. Moshe Feinstein?s ruling 
>> in YD1:55 that a factory may be believed when it tells us that it has 
>> used vegetable oil.

> At one point Rabbi Lebovits wrote to me [...] These people who answer
> the phones do not know what goes into their products."
>[...] The one answering the phone has limited 
> knowledge regarding the items in a product.

I think here lies the difference between this case and the one RMF
discusses.  R Grubner z"l seems to have received an official letter from
the company certifying that they use only vegetable fats in their product.
It stands to reason that such a letter would not have been sent without
the company's chemist (or whoever is in control of the formulation) having
been consulted, and it was probably *from* the chemist.  This carries a
lot more credence than an off-the-cuff answer by whomever the receptionist
transferred the call to, which he can always deny if pressed.

Another thing to bear in mind, though, is that the teshuvah is from 1955,
and a lot has changed in food manufacturing since then.  Rabbonim who
pasken as if it's still 1955 are likely sooner or later to be machshil
people in serious issurim.

-- 
Zev Sero                      The trouble with socialism is that you
zev at sero.name                 eventually run out of other people’s money
                                                     - Margaret Thatcher