16 Adar I 5771
February 20, 2011
Earlier this month, JKN quoted an alert circulating in the secular and chareidi media in Israel regarding Trident chewing gum bearing a hechsher from the Triangle-K, Rabbi Aryeh Ralbag.
I have succeeded in contacting Rabbi Ralbag in order to obtain firsthand credible information pertaining to the gum as the press appears to have somewhat sensationalized the report, seeking to intimate that all gelatin is treif, thereby rendering the gum treif.
Anyway, for readers who do use kosher bovine gelatin, Kolatin ®, which has an OU hechsher, you are in business. Rabbi Ralbag explains that is what is being used in the supervised chewing gum, gelatin obtain from kosher shechitah. A mashgiach was sent from Israel to kasher the plant in Turkey and supervise the entire process, and only the special production [which includes special lot numbers] bear the Triangle-K hechsher. Rabbi Ralbag stresses the mashgiach was present during the entire production process.
Once again, for those who wish to purchase Trident, you must make certain that you see a hechsher on the original packaging and one is never to rely on the hechsher alone that appears on the import/marketing label.
3 Comments
Thank you for the update. However, Triangle K Hechser is a very questionable hechsher whether coming from modern circle and for sure a more haredi circle. Thus, I am not sure why Jerusalem Kosher News would seem to recognize such a supervision
YECHIEL: The Triangle-K is one of many many N. American-based hechsherim. JKN is not in the habit of ‘recognizing’ or not recognizing a hechsher. The hecsher exists. It is a reality. You can opt to rely on it or not, the same as any other hechsher found in the marketplace.
The point is that the appearance of the chewing gum in the Israeli marketplace demanded some explanation after the media was quick to shout “treif”.
can u please clarify, is this gum on the standards of ou? if yes, why doesnt it have an ou, rather a triangle k?
thanks for ur great work. i, and im sure many others, really appreciate it.
I am not clear — are you saying that trident uses “OU”-certified gelatin and is “Triangle K”-certified or uses
Triangle K”-certirfied gelatin?
YECHIEL: The gum found in Israel has a Triangle-K hechsher and according to Rabb Aryeh Ralbag, contains OU-certified gelatin.
I STRESS once again, NOT ALL Trident has the Triangle-K, and one must check each package and not assume all Trident gum bears a hecsher, which is simply not the case.