Info.

Question

The following was posted at protocols.blogspot.com Obviously the author hasn't been reading kashrut.org as his observation is nothing new. So at the local synagogue on Friday night, there's always a table with lots of literature announcing different events/classes, or providing information sources for said events/classes. This Friday night, there was a packet with a number of articles from Star-K Kosher Certification relating to observance of Passover. One such article was, "What Could Be the Problem With...", which details what does and does not require certification for use on Passover (for Ashkenazim, of course). So you'll notice that the first item is "Supermarket Produce," the potential problem of which would be the waxy coating used to protect said produce from wear and tear, which can be made from a soy by-product, hence raising the issue of kitniyos. In responding to the issue raised, the author declares that there are no problems because of batul b'rov, the concept by which a very minor ingredient doesn't affect a food's kashrus. Scroll down and you'll see the category "100% Pure," which would include things like 100% pure honey. Here, too, the author raises the potential of a problem relating to kitniyos, owing to the fact that, "100% pure honey could be adulterated with corn syrup without detection." But here, too, we'd be dealing with a minor ingredient, if we're dealing with an additional ingredient at all. In fact, the FDA characterizes as "Economic food fraud" the use of any supplementary ingredients in products labelled "100% Pure." So if the minor ingredient is batul b'rov on supermarket produce, why wouldn't a similar minor ingredient -- which is most likely not there, since it's illegal to place it there -- be batul b'rov in a product like honey? The answer would seem to be pretty simple: a kashrus organization can get away with supplying certification to honey, which just kinda feels "manufactured," while market realities presumably can't bear a kashrus organization trying to certify fresh produce.