Question:
An airline is offering orange juice as a complimentary beverage. It comes in a can, company is minute maid, hechsher is … Firstly, is this considered a reliable Hechsher? I know there is controversy regarding this Hechsher. Secondly, the flight attendant handed me the can already opened (this is the normal way they serve it). Do I have to be concerned that he switched some out/put something in? Here are all the facts that I believe are relevant:
1. Orange juice from concentrate
2. Flight attendant has no reason to switch or add anything
3. The can is filled almost to the top, so anything added would be minimal (although he could have poured some out before adding something)
4. It’s possibly a שעת הדחק (on the plane)
5. It’s 100% juice (ingredients listed are water, concentrated orange juice, vitamin c).
6. A flight attendant works for the airline who wants to keep their reputation (so maybe there’s a heter of קפילה by extension?)
Thank you!
Answer:
Thank you for your question.
According to a kashrus professional, according to the ingredients you wrote there isn’t really any need for a hechsher on such orange juice.
Additionally you do to have to be concerned that the flight attendant switched the juice inside the container, because she doesn’t care what brand it is, and has no reason to switch it.
Best wishes
Sources:
see: https://www.ok.org/consumers/kosher-an-overview/kosher-supervision/
Food Technology and Kosher
Apple juice is a good example of what can happen to a natural product when nature meets technology, so we will explore it in further detail. Even “pure” apple juice or apple cider, with “no artificial ingredients or additives,” may not be kosher.
“Pure apple juice” generally has gelatin (made from the skin, cartilage, bones and meat of non-kosher animals) added to remove the pectin from the juice and to give it a clear appearance. The pectin attaches itself to the gelatin and both are filtered out. Kosher problems can arise in the filtering method or if the juice is heated before filtering. Even a cloudy juice, which would seem to indicate that no clarifying agent has been added, sometimes indicates the opposite: the gelatin has been added, but not totally removed, in order to give it a natural appearance.
My answer was coming from a kashrus professional that wants to remain anonymous.
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