I saw an interesting tidbit in the news this morning. It actually was not all that interesting on its own, but it struck me as something interesting based on the kashrut ramifications.
The news item was about delays in processing in the Ashdod Port have caused a shortage of Cola Zero in the stores. Shelves have been mostly empty of this product around the country in the past couple of days, but they expect the issue to be resolved and stock to be renewed shortly.source: Yediot (paywall), Behadrei
Really not all that interesting. I dont even drink Coke Zero so it didnt even interest me form the perspective of a frustrated customer.
What I did find interesting though is the concept that Coca Cola made in Israel is still produced by syrup imported from global production and not made here in Israel.
Why is that interesting?
We all know that Rabbi Tobias Geffen in Atlanta Georgia was the first rabbi, and only rabbi for a very long time, to know the secret formula of Coca Cola back in the 1930s. He was entrusted with the formula for the purpose of declaring Coca Cola as kosher.
Here in Israel many kosher consumers think that Rabbi Landau (and now his son since he died a couple of years ago) was the only person in the world outside of the Coca Cola leadership to know the formula and he was the only one to be able to certify it as kosher. That is beside the point, just a funny anecdote (yes, I have corrected a few mashgichim and even a kashrut educational organization about this in the past), but I am getting to the point.
There have been lots of debates if Coca Cola carbonated drink products are kosher around the world, even if they do not have a hechsher. Some say yes, some say no. There have been questions raised about Coca Cola from specific countries even with hechshers questioning if they are good enough as those rabbis definitely dont know the secret formula so they do not have the ability to certify it as kosher.
Many people are under the impression, myself included, that in some countries, such as in Israel, they produce everything locally, according to the specific guidelines and ingredients of Coca Cola, while in other countries without that capability they import the syrups and just bottle it after mixing the water/sugar, etc.
It turns out, according to the news item above, even in a country like Israel with a major Coca Cola manufacturing plant the syrups are imported.
Kashrut is not an issue and I even now have some doubts any local rabbis really know the actual ingredients (though maybe they do but it isnt so important).
I checked in a kashrut group I am a member of and was told there that all around the world the syrups are imported already certified kosher and are only bottled in the local locations after adding the water and sugar.
That can easily have significant ramifications to kashrut and deciding whether or nor to drink Coca Cola around the world. The syrup is certified kosher no matter where you are. You just have to trust the kashrut of the local water and sugar.
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