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Pesach Stores – Not Everything is Kosher for Pesach

A reader sent in an email claiming to be a “Kosher for Pesach Kashrus Scam” victim, but thank g-d she caught on to it and speared her family of possibly eating kitniyos on Pesach.

Please be aware!

I just purchased Kvuzat Yavneh olive oil in a reputable pesach store with a badatz yerushalayim Heschsher and an OU –P. You can imagine my shock when I discovered that under the badatz symbol , which was printed quite blurry as opposed to the clear OU –P next to it, were even blurrier, almost illegible words stating that badatz certifies it for year round use ONLY.

Nowhere on the bottle does it say 100% olive oil or the ingredients it contains, so my family could have very well been eating kitnius, Rachmana Litzlan. Of course there are so many heterim that I am sure there was no problem, but on Pesach, our family strives to be extra stringent.

It is shocking that a company can deliberately market its product as kosher for pesach up to the highest standards when it is completely the opposite!

I am posting this so that hopefully other families who have fallen for this scam can be aware. I hope you will spread the word and prevent other families from being nichshal with this.

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18 Comments

  • am-ha-aretz

    this oil has the hechsher of the tur, beis yosef, ramah, pri migadim, shach, and taz
    see shulchan aruch yoreh dayah 114:7

  • joe shmoe

    it is kosher fpr passover as it has a ou-p, in Israel the ra-bonnim are all about the cash and charge extra for a “pesach” hechsher, so all it means is that they didn’t pay more for a hechsher it dosnt mean that it is not kosher for passover.. (i think a bunch of chocolates that everyone is eating on pesach is the same story..)

  • tired of this

    Your headline is terribly misleading at best. Extra virgin olive oil does not need any hechsher. The reason why the Badatz hechsher only applies to year round is because the Badatz does not give a hechsher to any food products on Pesach besides matzo and wine. Please do not make this into something that it is not.

  • Loshon Hara

    this is a clear case of Motzi Shem Ra, ignorance causes problems all the time. have you checked with the ou or with this company before you make your accusations online? i heard that vitamin water is cholov akum b/c there is magnesium lactate and calcium lactate in it both of which are electrolytes and they are not from milk but for those that associate the word lactate with milk you can see where there is a problem. i would not eat in your house on pesach b/c if you mouth is full of “chometz” your home is probably too

  • Milhouse

    What a scandal out of nothing. What’s wrong with the OU-P? Why do you think that the OU would give a hechsher on kitniyos (without saying so)? The Badatz hechsher is not for Pesach because it doesn’t certify ANYTHING for Pesach.

  • awacs

    Perhaps the Badatz does not certify the Pesach run (therefore they insist on the disclaimer), but the O-U does? What’s wrong with that?

  • this is what causes problems...

    It is people like this that cause problems and Machlokes in our communities…By sending out a letter spreading unsubstantiated “shailos” talking L”H about institutions and companies etc..

    Shame on you.

  • sg

    and its OU – P. P means kosher for passover! so even if badatz doesnt give it a pesach hechsher, it has one from the OU!

  • ss

    joe’s right. if it says kosher l’pesach it probably is so i wouldn’t worry. israelies are lazy like that not changing labels and stuff.

    also, if it really were kitniyos and not kosher l’pesach it could be a serious issue since it’s not “kosher l’pesach l’ochlei kitniyot” and not checked to make sure there’s no chametz in it.

  • Chossid

    The badatz doesn’t do pesach hechsheirim. They let other companies such as OU do it.

  • OU P means Kosher for Pesach

    OU P means Certified Kosher for Passover by the OU.

    It’s definitely not Kitniyos.

    Unless, of course, you don’t “hold” by the OU at all.

    Please stop posting this ignorance.

  • CR

    “…vitamin water is cholov akum b/c there is magnesium lactate and calcium lactate in it both of which are electrolytes and they are not from milk but for those that associate the word lactate with milk you can see where there is a problem.”

    Or, better yet, turkey is a treife bird because there is another bird called a “turkey vulture”. Therefore turkey = vulture. Come to think of it, there is also a bird called a chicken hawk. So you certainly better not use schmaltz in your cooking!

  • sarah

    so sad that people use the torah and mitzvot to go completely against the one purpose of torah and mitzvot: Ve-ahavta Lereacha Kamocha”.
    Using ignorant chochmology to spread separation and mislead people of israel. sad. why don’t you watch what comes out of your mouth many times more than what comes into it.

    use the torah to bring achdut. unity. love between people. to say positive things. check 10 times BEFORE you choose to blame anyone. 100 times. if people would be much easier to say positive things and much much much more careful before saying bad… maybe we would have mashiach already.

  • Another issue with OU cert. from Israel

    Does the OU still NOT hold by shmitta? I was told a few years ago that they do not require that companies they certify hold by shmitta.
    (I’m sure Kvuzat Yavne does, and of course the badatz Yerushalayim does.)

  • BP Yid

    OU holds by shmitta, stop listening to lashon hara and check your facts ( their website or call them!!) before deciding.

  • BP Yid

    Knowing a little bit is more dangerous than not knowing at all…this article is the proof.
    What do these girls learn in seminary/high school? Is halacha ( when I say halacha I don’t say minhagei or chumros chabad…HALACHA)(any part of the education?