Back for a Second Year: OU’S WWW.OUPASSOVER.ORG WEBSITE OFFERS EXPERT KNOWLEDGE AND ANSWERS PASSOVER QUERIES
To answer questions that frequently arise during the Passover season, when the dietary laws are different and even more stringent from the ones that govern the rest of the year, the Orthodox Union Kosher Department for the second year has made available www.oupassover.org.
The website is a one-stop-shop for all Passover related-queries, ranging from recipe substitutes, to cleaning tips, to making a house kosher for Passover, to the proper amount of specific food and beverages to be consumed at the seder, and an explanation of which foods are considered chametz (leaven).
Added benefits for consumers are listings of Kosher for Passover restaurants, supermarkets and food items newly certified by the OU as Kosher for Passover. In addition a team of OU Kosher experts, the “Webbe Rebbe” staff, offers solutions to Passover concerns.
A featured topic is Non-Food Items, which according to a consensus of the OU’s poskim (experts on Jewish law) may be used on Passover without certification; these include baby ointments, bags, detergents, soaps, among others. For a complete list please refer to the website.
Another featured topic is Medicine Guidelines which discussed creams, pills, injections, and liquid medicines that can be used on Passover, and what to do when a substitution is not possible. The website emphasizes that people should exercise extreme caution and consult with one’s doctor and rabbi before making a decision to not take a medicine.
A wide variety of information includes, among other topics, dried fruits;
frozen fish; meat and poultry; nuts; spices; coffee; soy milk, gluten allergies; kitniot (a group of foods traditionally not eaten by Ashkenazim during Passover); alcoholic beverages; baby formula; baby rice cereals; milk; and vitamins.
The website also contains the Jewish Action Guide to Kosher for PassoverFoods as a pdf. download. The Guide lists products which the OU has certified as Kosher for Passover or which in certain cases do not have to be certified if they bear the regular OU certification.
For more information visit www.oupassover.org.