[Avodah] Avoiding Kitniyos in Israel

[Akiva Miller via Avodah]

R' Micha Berger wrote:

> Why can't one argue that as long as the qitniyos is a mi'ut of
> the cottage cheese, and as long as it's not against the mixer's
> own minhag or that of the main bulk of people for whom he is
> mixing, the food is permissible for Ashkenazim too?
>
> ... What if an Ashkenazi was doing the mixing on a product where
> most of the target customer base is Sepharadi?

I would like to focus on the words "target customer base". We have to
distinguish the manufacturer's customer base from the hashgacha's
customer base. The two might be identical for a small brand that
markets only to frum neighborhoods, but not for an industry giant like
Strauss.

We can presume that the manufacturer and their target customer base is
mostly not makpid about kitniyos. Therefore, the manufacturer is doing
nothing wrong by putting kitniyos into the product, and once they have
done so, it is acceptable even for Ashkenazim, exactly as RMB
suggests.

But the hashgacha cannot put their certification on it.

The target customer base of this hashgacha seems to be people who
*are* makpid on kitniyos. (If they're not the majority of the
hashgacha's clientele, they are at least a very significant minority.)
And as such, the hashgacha has accepted the responsibility to act in
place of their clientele at the factory. This turns it into a "bittul
lechatchila" situation, and the hashgacha cannot grant an official
okay to such products without an accompanying warning, which is
exactly what they seem to have done.

> (Now, add to that mei qitniyos, and whether corn should have
> been added to the minhag, the observation that it is primarily
> NOT made for Ashkenazi Jews, and ask the same thing about Coca
> Cola.)

Not just Coca Cola. Weren't we discussing chocolate bars a few weeks ago?

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