Mortified- Bought Unkosher, What to do??

amother

Yellow

Sat, Feb 23 2019, 11:15 pm

I accidentally bought a hot cocoa mix, that I later realized is not marked kosher- after my family already had it. I feel terrible. What should I do?

Also, do I have to kosher all of my utensils and glasses??

The mix is Swiss Miss milk chocolate hot cocoa. It's confusing, because larger sizes of the same brand and type (28.5 oz cannister) ARE kosher. The ingredients are basically the same, except the kosher one has artificial flavor and the unkosher one (that I had) has natural flavor. I really feel so bad. Please advise.

Anonymous because of my obvious embarrassment. Sad

yksraya

Sat, Feb 23 2019, 11:18 pm

Call up ou (or whichever hecsher the other one is)and ask them if this one is indeed not kosher. Sometimes it just doesn't have the certificate.

If indeed it isn't kosher, you need to ask your rav/dayen what to do abt utensils etc.

amother

Yellow

Sat, Feb 23 2019, 11:31 pm

they are not going to be open until Monday. It's certified by OK. If anyone knows someone I can ask before, please let me know.

Kumphort

Sat, Feb 23 2019, 11:34 pm

Don’t be embarrassed. It happens to the best of us. I also just recently bought on 2 occasions snacks that I assumed to be kosher that weren’t
One we caught in time and the other only half the package was finished.

Talk to a rabbi who for sure heard worse than this regarding specifics depending on how hot things were etc.

amother

Yellow

Sat, Feb 23 2019, 11:35 pm

Hi Royalblue, thank you for your response. How do you know that? What is that based on?

amother

Yellow

Sun, Feb 24 2019, 12:03 am

Thank you Kumphort. Oy, that is so hard. It's really confusing when brands have only certain products certified. An unfortunate reminder to always check for kashrus symbols.

amother

Yellow

Sun, Feb 24 2019, 12:10 am

yes, I can, but they wont be open until Monday. I was hoping to find an answer sooner.

amother

Royalblue

Sun, Feb 24 2019, 12:19 am

amother wrote:

Hi Royalblue, thank you for your response. How do you know that? What is that based on?

Rabbi Abadi holds that as long as the ingredients are kosher, it doesn’t need to be marked with a hechsher.

malki2

Sun, Feb 24 2019, 12:21 am

Is it kosher but not cholov Yisroel, or just not kosher? There is a difference, even if you keep cholov Yisroel.

amother

Yellow

Sun, Feb 24 2019, 12:28 am

not kosher/not marked kosher. the only difference between the one in the canister that has the kosher symbol and the one in the packets that doesn't is that the canister says artificial flavors and the packets say natural flavors. Also the kosher one has a few more ingredients than the non kosher one.

MommyM

Sun, Feb 24 2019, 12:49 am

There is an OK Kosher WhatsApp hotline, you can try: 646 306 8661. It can take up to 24 hours though to get an answer.
I would really suggest asking because ingredients do not have to be included on the ingredient list if under a certain percentage, but it can still make a product not kosher.

amother

Azure

Sun, Feb 24 2019, 1:27 am

I once served dairy ice cream after a fleishig shabbos lunch to my own family plus abt 6 yeshiva guys. I only realized after shabbos that what I thought was the parve whip that I always use to make homemade icre cream, was the same brand, but the real dairy heavy cream version. Can't Believe It

I still cringe when I think about it..

Iymnok

Sun, Feb 24 2019, 2:02 am

Call your Rav. If it is really not kosher, you have to know what to do with the keilim it was used in.
Call the certifying agency. They would know if this is a situation that you could be meikel or not.

FranticFrummie

Sun, Feb 24 2019, 5:38 am

I think we've all made that mistake at one point or another (even if we don't all know it, I'm sure we've all done it.)

Set aside all keilim that were involved, and carry on with your life until office hours are open.

I hope you get a favorable ruling. Hug

teachkids

Sun, Feb 24 2019, 6:32 am

If I remember correctly the main issue with certain Swiss Miss sizes is that there's a variety with non kosher marshmallows and other varieties in the same size package run on the same line, but I'm not sure if that's still true or would help you.

Ruchel

Sun, Feb 24 2019, 8:33 am

I would check if it's on a list and then I would see if I used it hot (above 40ish)

oneofakind

Sun, Feb 24 2019, 1:17 pm

I've also done these kind of things, serving regular chrain on Pesach, not kosher marinara sauce and then had to ask what to do about my toaster oven.....it can happen to anyone.

creditcards

Sun, Feb 24 2019, 1:22 pm

Now I know why I shop in a grocery that carries only kosher ingredients. I know not everyone has this convenience available.