Letter: Can you please post on the scoop that the Rita’s stand in the ocean county mall is NOT certified kosher (see below)?
There were quite a number of yidden buying from it, because they just asked the person before them if it’s kosher and they said yes…
(When they asked for the certification, it was sitting on the counter and she passed it to them…but they just see the Hechscher letterhead and don’t bother to read the actual papers.)
Tizku Lmitzvos
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Hi, I live in Toms River, NJ near the ocean county mall and frum ppl were buying ices/ice cream there from the Ritas stand.
I asked the next customer in line of its kosher and she said yes.
I told her that I was wondering, since I never heard about it and perhaps ppl and mixing it up with the main toms river storefront in toms river…
So she asked the employee if they have a certification and they handed her a printed booklet of papers from OU.
Firstly the address on top was for a location in P.A. and secondly, in the list they all said sealed containers only…which is not how they sell their products…they scoop it out.
So I was wondering if your hashgacha is actually for their location (booth in middle of the walkway in the mall) and if it’s ok to purchase.
Firstly, I’d love to know for myself and secondly, if it’s not ok how you would like to notify the public. There were many yidden walking around on Sunday (it’s generally quiet..)
Thank you,
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Thank you for contacting the OU.
1. Regarding your first point – as you realized from the LOC – we do not certify this establishment. The address is wrong, the LOC very specifically certifies ONLY SEALED containers, and not once it is opened.
2. It is clearly on our website – https://oukosher.org/summer/ and when people ask, we tell them that this is not considered certified. The fact that people decide for themselves what is and isn’t kosher is an issue meant for the Rabbanim to deal with. From our end, we tell everyone. We publicize this clearly on our website.
3. According to OU policy, establishments that sell ice cream from opened containers require Hashgacha temidis. This includes all ice cream trucks as well. If they do not have Hashgacha Temidis and a Letter of Certification, THEY ARE NOT CERTIFIED. If the ice cream bar is sealed, it is the same as buying sealed items from Target, Walmart, Costco, etc. which would be fine. If it is opened, it is not considered certified.
Please do not hesitate to contact us again should you have any further questions.
Sincerely,
The Webbe Rebbe
Orthodox Union Kashruth Division
the whole mall is very much not kosher not just the food it is center for not kosher things
Please clarify what you meant? I was just there and seemed just as kosher/ not kosher as any other non Jewish store.
Webbe Rebbe ?
That’s the OUs question and answer screen name.
The fact is that all ritas buy their ingredients from the same supplier so while a particular establishment doesn’t have a hechsher its kosher, unless you can demonstrate how it could be non kosher if all the “kosher” ones are kosher
Ask the Rav Hamachshir. Don’t assume because one place has a Hechsher that means that all similar places have hechsherim. Can you buy a donut from any dunkin donuts, or only one that has a hechsher? They also all get their donuts from the same place.
It’s just as kosher as a slurped from 7-Eleven
As long as the product is certified kosher (they’ll usually show the bottle if you ask) the product remains kosher even if the person selling it doesn’t pay for certification.
Slurpees from 7 eleven are very different as they are kept in a machine. Check out the CRC website for more info. There’s an article on there about the kashrus of slurpees and all about the machine itself.
@ein issur chal al issur. Ocean county mall is probably more kosher then many malls in lkwd.
On a similar note, everyone should realize that the slurpees from QuickCheck are also not kosher, even the coke. As per the OU some of the flavors are outright treif!
Can you elaborate on that? Why is the coke not kosher? Do you have information that they are not using the brand name syrup (if they advertise it as Coke, many authorities say there is a fear of a lawsuit which would allow one to rely on them not putting something else in)? Or are you saying that Coke brand syrup is not kosher?
Which brand coke do they use? There is no requirement that they use Coca cola trademark cola syrup. Some 7elevens also have had this issue in the past. 7eleven also sells pina collada, which is not chalav yisroel. I’ve seen many Lakewood people buying it and not knowing or even realizing that it’s even dairy! They were shocked when told it was dairy and not chalav yisroel.
I don’t remember the details of what the OU said just that they are not kosher even the coke
(from quickcheck, coke from 7/11 is different) and some flavors are outright treif. You can contact them directly for details 212-613-8241 ext 3 or [email protected]
Letoeles Harabim please find out and post the answer here.
Do your own research. Reach out to A rav that’s a maven in these subjects. Why would you trust a google search, when you can talk to a posek who is a maven. If you live in Lakewood area, reach out to Rabbi Y. Aurbach. He spent decades in the Hashgacha field. He can fill you in on all the issues that can arise, even if there is an official hechsher on such places. In particular one that relies on come and go, once a month for 30 seconds to collect paycheck. BTW that’s the method of the vast majority so called kosher dunkin donuts. Some dropped hechsher when the Rav started coming and spot checking more often and more randomely.
Hello to all, I am just wondering why you all seem to want to put this garbage into your bodies. Easy to solve this problem, don’t patronize convenience stores and ice or icecream shops. We all need to take better care of our health. I never allowed my children to eat anything with added sugar and as adults they still dislike anything with added sugar.
Once we’re naming stores that are issue. Starbucks is a huge huge problem. Most products are not kosher and yet people buy from there without thinking. Noone should buy anything without always checking with the hechsher directly
Its unfortunate but you’d be surprised how many people are not very makipid when it comes to Kashrus. As you can see from some of the posts here, they will eat anything until you prove to them the item is not kosher. Even when the hashgocha tells them straight out that it s a problem they claim its made up.
Why do we have to police what every person is eating. There are different standards for different people. For instance, does everyone hold that we have to wait 7 full hours between meat and dairy? Let people decide for themselves what they want to eat and let HaShem deal with it. We shouldn’t be judging others, that’s not our job.