what kind of hechsher is k or kd?

sayinghi

Mon, Mar 03 2014, 5:33 pm

I just bought yogurt and cheese with these hechshers. I know they are not cholov yisrael but who certifies these products? Where can I see a list

Tia

nylon

Mon, Mar 03 2014, 5:49 pm

A plain K with no symbol?

Anyone can put that on, it doesn't belong to anyone.

Sometimes, it's backed by a recognized supervision, like on Kelloggs--these are the KVH, and for some reason Kelloggs will not print a hechsher symbol.

On some products, however, it means that it is an independent supervision and may not be up to generally-accepted Orthodox standards... and yoghurt and cheese are the two prime culprits for this. AYLOR and read the labels.

sayinghi

Mon, Mar 03 2014, 6:02 pm

MaBelleVie wrote:

They are not considered reliable in the orthodox world. Polly o cheese has ou on some packages.

Does anyone know where I can find a list of cholov akum hechshers accepted in the general orthodox world?

the world's best mom

Mon, Mar 03 2014, 7:01 pm

K usually means that the owner of the company, who may not be Jewish, thinks that according to his knowledge of Mishna Brura, his food is Kosher. It's no Kashrus certification at all.

Last edited by the world's best mom on Mon, Mar 03 2014, 8:58 pm; edited 1 time in total

MaBelleVie

Mon, Mar 03 2014, 7:16 pm

sayinghi wrote:

Does anyone know where I can find a list of cholov akum hechshers accepted in the general orthodox world?

Generally the same as the acceptable pareve ones. CRC has a pretty comprehensive list https://www.google.com/url?sa=.....Rkrnw and you can always aylor regarding anything not on their list.

Lady Godiva

Mon, Mar 03 2014, 7:18 pm

sayinghi wrote:

Does anyone know where I can find a list of cholov akum hechshers accepted in the general orthodox world?

1. People who eat chalav stam tend to NOT call it chalav akum, so you won't find a list of chalav akum hechsherim that are accepted in the general Orthodox world. Chalav akum is not chalav stam and the two terms are not interchangeable. It's incorrect and offensive to label chalav stam products as chalav akum.

2. K and KD is not generally relied on alone. They're only generally considered kosher when a company is known to produce those specific products as kosher products (such as Kelloggs which was mentioned above).

3. Be VERY careful with dairy products that don't have a proper hechsher. Stick with OU, OK, Star K/Star D and Kaf K for dairy products, or ask a Rabbi if you're unsure.

naomi2

Mon, Mar 03 2014, 7:18 pm

its not a hechsher. any manufacturer can put it on the pkg. so it means nothing.
also, I've only seen polly-o ricotta with an ou-d not hard cheese

amother

Mon, Mar 03 2014, 7:25 pm

When I was pregnant, the orange glucose drink my doctor gave me for the gestational diabetes test had a plain "K" on it. I emailed the manufacturer and found out it was under the supervision of some rabbi I was not familiar with, but I checked with Star-K and they said it was acceptable. Never hurts to check. Could turn out to be good.

MaBelleVie

Mon, Mar 03 2014, 8:32 pm

naomi2 wrote:

its not a hechsher. any manufacturer can put it on the pkg. so it means nothing.
also, I've only seen polly-o ricotta with an ou-d not hard cheese

Polly o makes some string cheese with an ou-d.

amother

Mon, Mar 03 2014, 8:36 pm

I asked my father who is a mashgiach and he said that k is a letter of the alphabet... not acceptable on its own except for Kelloggs and so in as previous posters said. anon bec don't want to out myself

bluebird

Mon, Mar 03 2014, 11:00 pm

Activia yogurts contain the colorant carmine (crushed beetles). I can't see how it would be kosher, but I've heard opinions that it's OK if it's older than 12 months. I do not understand that reasoning, but there you go.

nylon

Wed, Mar 05 2014, 8:30 am

On yoghurt, a K instead of an OU usually indicates the presence of gelatin. There is a "kosher gelatin" made from beef hides (not from kosher-slaughtered animals) that is not accepted by Orthodox supervisions. If you look at plain Dannon in tubs, you'll see it's OU.

On cheese, it usually means treif rennet and/or not full supervision through the process. Some Conservative authorities accept this kind of cheese, but not Orthodox.