I had a very disturbing experience that I would like to share with a broad audience in order to raise awareness of a serious issue.
On Monday, during my daughter’s mid-winter vacation, we went to the American Dream mall to take advantage of some of the great fun amenities that they offer such as ice-skating, skiing, the water park etc.
There were many other Frum people with the same idea. It was nice to see so many Frum people out and about enjoying themselves.
However when I went into the store “It’s Sugar” which is a treife candy store that has a small Kosher section in the back, I was very perturbed to see many Frum people scooping candy from the large plastic canisters all over the front of the store.
I met a friend there and she was very upset with this and she attempted to inform a few people that the candies were really treife. In fact, the ingredients stated Beef gelatin, which is totally treife!
We were both horrified to observe many patrons of the store, whose attire visibly showed them to be religious Jews, filling their bags with Treife candy. To be dan l’kaf Zechus, perhaps they had heard that this store had Kosher products, however the Kosher section is in the back of the store, limited to a few of those open containers and it also has a number of wrapped candies that clearly are Kosher certified.
Please publicize this information as widely as possible that candies do need a hechsher. They are very problematic and can contain real tarfus. People should be very careful about stores that sell kosher and non-kosher to make sure that what they’re buying is indeed kosher certified.
Thank you very much!
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Same for quick check slurpees.
They put up a sign which says that some of the ingredients are kosher, but that does not mean that the slurpees that they sell are kosher, and yet people don’t look or seem to care
people do care. There is just a lot of ignorance of kashrus issues.
No it’s not the same. The quick chek slurpees are kosher. I asked a Sheila
Slurpees are kosher. Can you rely that quickcheck is using the correct brand in the machine? Quick Checks own policies say that not.
In such a store one should only rely on pre packaged candies with kosher supervision marking on wrapper.
Any candies sold lose in open containers with no kosher symbol on each piece of candy and claiming to be kosher has no reliance especially if the store is selling non kosher candies. What stops them from filling it with non kosher candies…
You can call 973-504-6200 to report any store which claims to sell “kosher” products and does not offer signage to indicate what is and is not kosher. The NJ Division of Consumer Affairs’ Kosher Enforcement Bureau can inspect the merchant for violations of state laws enacted to protect the kosher consumer. That said, people must take responsibility for their own kashrus observance, including keeping up with frequent announcements of mislabeled and unauthorized certifications.
there are very large & clear words on the wall above the kosher area. there r many it’s sugar stores around the tri state area. just any general store u need to check what’s kosher
@anon there is a kashrus certificate by quickcheck that says which flavors are kosher
Why are you so surprised?? Has anyone checked out the other stores that have hechsherim? Are those hechsherim good? Some of the kosher stores are opened shabbos who’s maintaining the kashrus then? Do we rely on cameras for shabbos?
The writer is 100% correct. Unfortunately people look at these things and use boych svoros as to what they can eat and why.
It should be noted also that there is an ice cream place in the mall claiming to be kosher which the reputable agencies say is questionable and should be avoided. Don’t know the name of it.
Beef gelatin totally treife you say? Where did you get that from? Did you learn the sugya. Actually not so poshut. Please don’t make stuff up!
YEs he IS right. Where are you coming from that not?
Maybe not everyone has your chumras, beef geletin does not need a hechsher its a chumrah to have it be kosher
it is pork
According to SOME poskim, gelatin is transformed from its original form to the degree that it’s actually kosher. NOT that we hold like this or should not be concerned, but let’s not pretend that we’re poskim based on what we were taught or what we hold.
Major Poskim Like Rav Ezriel Aurbach & Rav Moshe Shternbuch have stated that Pork skin gelatin (which is the source of the gelatin used in candy production) are treife & may not even be sold by a Yid to an aino Yehudi. This also the policy of the major hashgachos in the US. The high quality gelatin made from cattle bones (which the original shayla was about) costs more to produce & is mainly used in pharmaceuticals. Pig skin gelatin was never considered to be kosher by any posek. (The reason is because pig skin is an edible food)
If you’re such a tzadick and learning all of the sugyas then you shouldn’t embarrass somebody like that that he didn’t learn it and anyway I haven’t heard from a rov that didn’t say it wasn’t an issue, because most of the gelatin comes from pigs. And every quick check location is different but most flavors are kosher. Also, the it’s sugar Staff is very clear what’s Kosher and what’s not.
Anon 21
Beef gelatin or any gelatin without a hechser is not acceptable and treif per 99% of all reliable kahsrus agencies
No wonder why the candy tasted better then usual.
I had the same experience at Urban Air. They sell slurpees. There is a T’eduat Kashrus hanging right at the checkout counter listing which flavors are kosher. Not all available flavors are listed as kosher. There was a long snaking line. Only one other individual other than myself stopped to read the sign. To be Dan L’chaf Zechus, maybe many of them have been there numerous times before and already knew which ones were kosher. Unfortunately I find though, that many people just assume it’s all Kosher if other Jews are on line, buying the item.
And why is an ice cream store with “Cholov Yisrael” in it’s logo, but is really only Cholov yisrael by request. Why is that acceptable?
Every time this discussion comes up I feel people are talking to the wall doesn’t everyone ever understand? This issue came up so many times about the Slurpee Let’s Get the facts straight Slurpee is a slush sold in 7-Eleven they own the name Slurpee other stores you can call it what you want it’s not Slurpee so whenever anyone says Slurpee is kosher they would only be referring to 7-Eleven but who said that is kosher.
For starters there is no place as a major market store like 7-11 quick check wawa or any of these that have a kashrus supervision that actually give on that specific location. Anytime there is a sign there that says the kosher flavors the only thing that sign works for is to those specific flavors that are supplied by that actual company it has nothing to do with the actual machine that you are taking a drink from it is only on the company that the supervisor is giving and saying this flavor that this company makes is kosher now who knows if that actual flavor syrup is the actual flavor syrup that was put in to this machine maybe a differng flavor from a diff company was used.
So the only way to know is to actually go into the store go over to the manager and ask the manager if you could be taken to the back and he’s showing you the box in the machine at that present time and it’s only then that you know for that present time that it’s that flavor inside of it and then if it’s on the list could you read it but you need to make sure if it’s from that company and that specific flavor it can’t be a flavor with another additive or flavor in a different color because then it might not be the kosher item.
The list that the kashrus uses is for usually only slurpee which is 7-11 not any store that calls it Slurpee.
I spoke to ou and crc about this and they both said slurpee means 711 and I said but your paper says plain slurpee to which they replied Slurpee means 7-Eleven everyone knows that
Icee sold on wawa has diff issue and that is on ice web site they call themselves kosher but when I called n asked which kashrus supervision gives them the kosher statement to which they said Noone we just say we are kosher.
You obviously don’t know how a business as big as 7-11 operates. Stores only get product from 7-11 & they have big problems if they don’t. Also the easiest way to fix the problem is by changing to an available flavor.
I heard from the heads of the two Kashrus agencies that certify most of the syrups. You gotta check the specific syrup box from the machine. I’m not clear how often you need to check the same flavor in the same location though.
tell the schools you’d be better off in florida