Ice Cream and Soda Pop

Question

I was wondering, does ice cream needs kashrut supervision and a special kosher symbol. Also does soda pop?

0

Answers

  1. The Just Ask! - AskTheRabbi.org Team

    Ice cream does need kashrut supervision. There are many ingredients that go into ice cream and not all of them are acceptable. For example, gelatin is often used and gelatin is an ingredient that requires kashrut supervision. Even when there is nothing on the ingredient list that sounds problematic the ice cream needs to be supervised.

    Soda is less problematic, but there are also things that a person must be careful about. The most prevalent issue with drinks is whether they have grape juice in them. Many fruit juices (both carbonated and plain) have natural grape juice in them, even when the juice is a flavor that does not seem to have any connection to grapes. If they do, they cannot be drunk without supervision.

    Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team

  2. The Just Ask! - AskTheRabbi.org Team
    August 21, 2018 at 4:00 pm

    You lost me there. Does grape soda need a hechksher? As opposed to orange or strawberry?

    Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team

  3. The Just Ask! - AskTheRabbi.org Team
    August 21, 2018 at 4:04 pm

    Yes. Any drinks that have ingredients that might not be kosher or might be produced in a place or manner that might involve non-kosher ingredients – requires kashrut supervision.

    Grapes are especially problematic. If the grape flavor comes from real grapes there are potentially special Torah and Rabbinical prohibitions that might come into play.

    Having said that, although many drinks have a hechsher, there are lists that are known to the public from various kashrut bodies that list certain food products that are kosher without having a kashrut symbol. I have heard about this over the years, but am not personally expert in finding these lists. But people in the community who keep kosher are generally aware of these products.

    I hope this is hopeful.

    Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team