Rabbi Dovid Cohen-Why Foods Need Hashgacha: The Differences Between Recommended and Non-Recommended Hashgachos<br><br><i>or why we need 1200 (and growing) agencies world wide</i><br><br>
Good examples of issues in Kashrut which the lay person might not be aware of including:<br>
*processing ingredients not required to be listed in the ingredients list<br><br><i>Misleading.Any substance used in machinery that can migrate to the food product must be listed</i><br><br>
*natural flavors means the source is natural and it has flavor (e.g.
natural vanilla flavor could come from a chicken, not a vanilla bean,
and still be called natural vanilla flavor)<br><br><i>Again, misleading. Natural vanilla flavor could indeed come from chicken, but if it does, then the chicken is a significant ingredient and MUST be listed, as any major component of "natural flavours" must be. If it is not significant (i.e. mixed up with many other flavourings) it is batel b'shisim</i><br>
<br>*canned products may require technical issue resolution (e.g. bugs, bishul akum)<br><br><i> Still misleading. Look for bugs yourself. If you can't see them, they are not there. And as for bishul akum, not sure what product he is talking about, not fit for a kings table or can be eaten raw take care of everything I can think of, but even if there is something, steaming and smoking is not cooking</i><br>
<br>Best<br>Martin Brody<br><br>