OU WILL CERTIFY PESACH PRODUCTS WITH KITNIYOT

FROM KOSHER TODAY (FEB.10, 2014)

The OU will, for the first time, issue a Kosher for Passover certification for “kitniyot” foods. Kitniyot is a category of foods that were forbidden by Ashkenazic custom during Passover because they might be confused with forbidden grains. Included in this group are: beans, buckwheat/kasha, caraway, cardamom, chickpeas, corn, fennel, fenugreek, grains-of-paradise, lentils, millet, mustard, peas, poppy seeds, rapeseed/canola, rice, sesame seeds, snow peas, sorghum, sugar-snap peas, soybeans, sunflower seeds and — according to some — include even cottonseed.

The products will carry the traditional OU-P but will also include the word kitniyot. This is welcome news for Sephardic Jews who according to tradition consume kitniyot during Passover. It is unlikely that there will be any other major breaking news such as items that have already surfaced for Passover such as pizza, bagels, breadcrumbs, croutons, and cereals.