[Avodah] Why is it Suggested that Gluten Free non-KLP Certified is not to be used during Pesach?

Akiva Miller akivagmiller at gmail.com
Tue Apr 12 12:35:12 PDT 2022


R' Meir G Rabi asked:

> If 50% is Kitniyot
> but not discernible to the eye at casual inspection
> even though its taste is certainly identifiable, rice for example,
> manufactured by a non-Y for the general population
> Why might it be a problem to consume during Pesach?

The question as phrased in the Subject line is subtly different than the
one raised in the body of the post, but it is a very important
distinction, and it applies all year round:

I have personally seen Certified Gluten Free foods which contain oats. Many
people would not realize this unless they look at the ingredients, and they
would mistakenly think that the food is Shehakol, and it might actually be
Mezonos or even Hamotzi.

And this leads to one possible answer about the body of the post: The
problem is that we are human and accidents happen.

In theory, I agree with RMGR's implicit suggestion that the "problem" is
minor or even nonexistent. And that's why I try to avoid saying things like
"that's chometz" or "that's treif" except in blatant cases. In other cases,
I try to follow the example of my childhood shul rabbi who usual response
was, "It should have a hechsher."

But, one may ask, WHY should it have a hechsher?

When I first read this post, the first things that jumped into my mind
were, "What about the keilim?" and "What about tiny amounts of undisclosed
ingredients." Many would answer those questions with "aino ben yomo" and
"batel b'shishim". Those are indeed valid rules, and there's nothing wrong
with using them and relying on them, provided you know HOW to use them.
They have many details and exceptions, and -- speaking only for myself -- I
am not expert enough to go up to a no hechsher drink and say, "What problem
could it possibly have?" and then drink it.

In contrast, there are certain people who know the halacha very well, and
also know the current manufacturing processes very well. So if they tell
me, for example, that I can use any brand of aluminum foil baking pans,
then I will do exactly that, and not pay even a penny more for the
supervised ones. Likewise for certain foods that they've told me don't need
a hechsher.

But at the same time, I recognize that I am RELYING of the knowledge of
those experts, and if someone else prefers to use products that were
actually SUPERVISED, so that there is less chance (I will *not* say "no
chance") of problems, then yasher koach to them.

Akiva Miller
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.aishdas.org/pipermail/avodah-aishdas.org/attachments/20220412/5c6d65b2/attachment-0001.htm>


More information about the Avodah mailing list