PRINT18 Elul 5770
August 28, 2010
I guess I am aging myself with the title to this kosher alert, but for those of you who remember this commercial for Dr. Pepper, you understand.
Anyway, in the JKN Kashrus Guide about to be released on this Wednesday, September 1st (see the BTYA website for details of the event ), I make mention of seeing Dr. Pepper (page 34) around Ramat Beit Shemesh and Beit Shemesh, but none of the cans display a hechsher. Some of the people involved in the project questioned why I warned against buying this product, since “everyone knows it’s kosher”.
As I explain in my lectures, items appearing familiar may not necessarily originate in North America where they may be kosher, and Dr. Pepper is a prime example. Since sending the guide to the printer we have learned that the kashrus approval for Dr. Pepper only applies in N. America, not in the Mideast. In short, I am not saying it is not kosher, but I am saying we simply do not know.
I now add more disturbing news regarding Dr. Pepper, this time from the KLBD Kashrus Agency, which announced erev shabbos that even the cans sold locally with an importer label bearing the KLBD are not under supervision.
In the email I received I am told the importer’s claim is simply bogus, fraudulent, and I remind you all once again that you must see the original kashrus agency symbol on an imported item and one may never rely on the importer’s label for the kashrus integrity of an imported item.
In conclusion, the Dr. Pepper sold in Israel is without a hechsher. Therefore, its kashrut status is questionable. Those cans with a Hebrew import label with the KLBD kashrus logo are bogus!
19 Elul 5770
August 29, 2010
More on Dr. Pepper
I am happy to report a number of readers have informed me that they have personally seen Dr. Pepper for sale in Israel with an OU printed on the can, not an import sticker.
Obviously, any hechsher on the original is assumed valid and if it is a hechsher that one relies on, one can make the buy and enjoy.
Thanks to all of you who took the time to write in. I hope the legitimate cans with the hechsher will rapidly replace the bogus ones around town.
This is strange, because it is certified in the uk, but there is no logo on the large bottles or cans, I have seen the cans being sold in the “big deal” stores in Jerusalem , but they r from the USA and do have a kashrut symbol
I have seen and purchased the product in Givat Shaul, Jerusalem. There the import label says “under the O-U”.
The silly thing is it’s just a soft drink, which in most countries except the US and Israel people generally drink anything with few questions asked. Why do they need the trickery and symbol changing - is it deceipt, or just ignorance that Kof-K, OU and Cheif Rabbinate are each marks which must be backed up with doumentation.