Articles

A Brief History of COR: 60 Years Serving the CommunityThis year, 2012/5772, COR – Kashruth Council of Canada is celebrating a milestone -- 60 years serving as Toronto’s community kosher certifier and Canada’s largest kosher agency. Birthdays are often a time to...
Hamizrach Restaurant: The Food Tells a StoryAs Jewish people we know that food does more than just sustain us. It is integral to how we celebrate our holidays and come together with our families. Food tells a story,...
COR Answers Over 1500 Passover Related Consumer QuestionsLeading up to Passover the COR Passover hotline was so hot it was burning up. For the weeks preceding Passover and during the holiday itself the staff at COR – Kashruth Council...
COR Pre Passover Lecture InspiresBy Judy Pister On March 26, 2012 COR hosted a Pre Pesach Community lecture in Toronto. Featured guest speakers were Rabbi Moshe Elefant, Chief Operating Officer of OU Kosher and Rabbi Moshe Tuvia...
Say Kosher CheeseBy: Judy Pister There is a distinct prohibition on eating cheese made by a non Jewish person, termed gevinat akum, even if the ingredients and equipment are in fact kosher. This strictly adhered...
COR Supervision ModelBy: Rabbi Tsvi Heber, Director of Community Kosher In recent years, the Greater Toronto Area’s kosher community has experienced unprecedented growth so it is not surprising that COR now provides kosher supervision for more than 160...
The Pesach TravellerBy Rabbi Chaim D. Kulik Going away for Pesach? You’re in good company!  For hundreds of years almost all Jews ‘went away’ for Pesach.  During the times of the Bais Hamikdash every Jew had...
The Ten Commandments for a Healthier PassoverBy Miriam Leibowitz, MHSc, RD As Passover approaches, I’m sure you are all busy cleaning your homes and stocking your kitchen with Passover foods and snacks. Unfortunately, it is more than likely that the foods...
Is Quinoa QuitniyosIs Quinoa Quitniyos? By: Rabbi Tsvi Heber, Director of Community Kosher, COR Although quinoa is relatively new to the North American market, it has been considered a staple or "the mother grain" to the...
Purim Recipes by Norene GilletzPAREVE PURIM TREATS By Norene Gilletz Looking for some pareve Purim treats for your Purim baskets for mishloach manot or to serve for your Purim seudah? Try these new angles on traditional treats. Enjoy! POPPY...
Video Instructional: Tithing Produce from the Land of IsraelTithing Produce from the Land of Israel from COR Kosher on Vimeo. Rabbi Heber’s article, Produce of Israel: A Primer, that explains the tithing procedure in more details can be found on the COR...
Kosher Issues Involved with NanniesBy: Rabbi Tsvi Heber, Director of Community Kosher Almost 53 years ago, Rav Moshe Feinstein zt"l[i] was asked a shaila by a Rov who had become aware that a couple in his community left...
COR Promotes Continuing Education Amongst Rabbinic InspectorsTechnology is advancing rapidly and food manufacturing facilities are no exception. As a result, COR – Kashruth Council of Canada, Canada’s largest kosher certifier, has instituted an aggressive continuing education regimen for its...
Spudniks Snack Foods: The Right Snack at the Right TimeSometimes in life you just have to be in the right place at the right time and opportunities present themselves. For Michele Revivo of Spudniks Snack Foods, that is exactly what happened....
Bakers Journal Magazine Profiles COR Presentation at Guelph Food Technology Centre SeminarFebruary 1, 2012, Brampton, ON - Kosher is capturing a growing share of the food market as consumers of all faiths put their trust in food products prepared according to...
A Baker's Tale: COR's Bulik Bakery Featured in Mishpacha MagazineA fascinating feature article in Mishpacha magazine about COR certified Bulik Bakery. Attached below....
Video: Behind the COR with Rabbi Tuvia BasserBehind the COR with Rabbi Tuvia Basser from COR Kosher on Vimeo....
Video: Behind the COR with Rabbi Yacov FelderBehind the COR with Rabbi Yacov Felder from COR Kosher on Vimeo....
Video: Behind the COR with Rabbi Sholom H. AdlerBehind the COR with Rabbi Sholom H. Adler from COR Kosher on Vimeo....
Video: Behind the COR with Rabbi Tsvi HeberBehind the COR with Rabbi Tsvi Heber from COR Kosher on Vimeo....
Video: Behind the COR with Rabbi J. NormanBehind the COR with Rabbi J. Norman from COR Kosher on Vimeo....
Video: COR Kosher CertificatesCOR Kosher Certificates from COR Kosher on Vimeo....
Jelly Donuts in HalachaJelly Donuts in Halacha[1] By: Rabbi Tsvi Heber, Director of Community Kosher Operations   On Chanuka, there is a prevalent custom to eat foods that are fried in oil, such as latkes and sufganiyot (jelly donuts)....
GFTC Conference on Kosher to Feature CORThe Guelph Food Technology Centre (GFTC) is pleased to announce their first "Innovation Breakfast" for 2012, on Wednesday January 25th and the Person Convention Centre in Brampton, Ontario. The subject will be three emerging...
COR Kosher Consumer SurveyHave a product that you want to see become kosher? Fill out the survey below and tell us all about it!Click here...
Top Ten “CORporate Kosher” TipsStaying on top of the data management of your kosher program is an art. Thankfully, COR’s computer database program -- CORporate Kosher -- makes keeping your company kosher straightforward. Below are the top...
PregVit® and PregVit folic 5® Prenatal Multivitamins: Fully Compliant with Passover RequirementsDuchesnay, the first Canadian company to have been granted Kosher certification from the Kashruth Council of Canada (COR) for its prenatal multivitamins PregVit® and PregVit folic 5®, has just received confirmation that the two products...
The Technology Behind a COR Potato ChipAs described by Rabbi Sholom H. Adler, Director of Industrial Kosher Operations   If you are like me, you may occasionally enjoy “noshing” on a bag of potato chips, and as a consumer, satisfying this...
Who's Who at the COR: Joseph Sheinis, Software DeveloperJoseph Sheinis was born in Korosten, Ukraine before moving with his family to St. Petersburg when he was five years old. After graduating high school he went to St. Petersburg Technical ...
The World Wide Web of Kosher CertifiersBy Rabbi Tsvi Heber, Director of Community Kosher Operations September 2011 marks the onset of my seventh year working for the community at COR. One of the most remarkable aspects of working for a...
New COR Restaurant: Dr. LaffaIf you are ever in the mood for some authentic Iraqi-Israeli cooking, you no longer have to go to make the transatlantic flight to Israel and visit Jerusalem. Instead, the food has...
Produce of Israel: A PrimerAugust, 2011 By: Rabbi Tsvi Heber, Director of Community Kosher Operations   The Land of Eretz Yisroel is imbued with special holiness. The Torah emphasizes the holiness of the land through a number of mitzvos...
Can a Can of Tuna Have Kosher Considerations?By: Rabbi Tsvi Heber, Director of Community Kosher Operations Canned tuna has been a household staple since the advent of its canning process in the early part of the twentieth century. Mixed with mayonnaise...
Canadian Business Journal Profiles CORPromoting koshers products in Canada Kashruth specifically refers to the Jewish dietary laws. Conforming...
Howie T’s: A Burger Bar BlessingAround two years ago, Howie Rosenberg was working for a company that was making cutbacks, and he was laid off. Down on his luck, and not knowing where to turn, Rosenberg asked himself...
COR Certifies Metropolitan Ice Cream and Helps Keep Summers Cool By JENNIFER M. MACLEOD What would we do all summer without a steady supply of kosher ice cream? If you’ve ever made it at home, you probably used milk or cream, sugar,...
COR Arranges Tour for Jewish Camp at COR Certified Candy ManufacturerIn a real life adventure straight out of Willy Wonka, COR recently facilitated a visit to Karma Candy Inc., located in Hamilton for a group of Yeshiva Mishkan Hatorah students and their teachers....
New Kosher Restaurant Opens in Toronto: Mi KamochaIf you lived in Panama City -- where temperatures remain a constant 27 degrees Celsius throughout the year -- would you move to Toronto which averages around four and a half feet...
PregVit and PregVit Folic 5: COR Kosher and ProudAs the saying goes, “Necessity is the mother of invention,” and the aphorism couldn’t be more well suited to describe the history of Duchesnay and its well-known products PregVit and PregVit Folic...
What Does Dairy Equipment (DE) Mean?COR certified kosher products receive a certain designation and fit into five general categories: D – For dairy M – For meat Pareve – For “neutral,” i.e. food that is neither meat nor dairy P...
Does It Really Need to be Kosher Certified?By: Rabbi Tsvi Heber, Director of Community Kosher Operations, COR Keeping kosher has never been easier for kosher shoppers. Statistics show that kosher certified products now represent a whopping 1/3rd of all products for sale at...
COR Posts its Fruit and Vegetable Inspection ManualBy popular demand, COR has posted its fruit and vegetable checking manual for mashgichim as a resource for kosher consumers. It can be downloaded by clicking the following link:...
Kashering LiverBy: Rabbi Tsvi Heber, Director of Community Kosher Operations   “But Rabbi,” cried Mrs. Eisikovich on the other end of the phone, “the label says that it is kosher and under the COR!” “How can...
iCOR: COR Rabbinic Inspectors Go DigitalThe kosher dietary laws are thousands of years old. But that doesn’t mean COR (the Kashruth Council of Canada) is behind the times because COR’s industrial Rabbinic Inspectors have recently gone digital....
Bug Off: COR in the Community Presents at Eitz Chaim in TorontoHow could something so small be that bad for you? That was one of the questions addressed at COR’s recent bug checking seminar given to the Eitz Chaim girl’s school in Toronto....
COR a Featured Presenter at SIAL -- Canada’s Largest Food ShowFor COR, the Kashruth Council of Canada, kosher isn’t only about food. It’s also about education. And nowhere was this more apparent than at the recent SIAL Canada food show. SIAL Canada...
Perspectives on StarbucksBy: Rabbi Tsvi Heber, Director of Community Kosher   The recent brouhaha surrounding the kosher status of some Starbucks products[1] has brought a fundamental issue into the spotlight. The kosher certification industry has jumped leaps...
Are Slurpees Kosher?Kosher consumers seeking relief from the heat migrate to their local 7-Elevens, gas stations and other variety stores for ice-cold and refreshing Slurpees. With a Slurpee in one hand and a cell phone...
COR and GFTC Form Exclusive PartnershipTwo leading Canadian organizations in the food and beverage industry have formed an alliance to better service food manufacturers and end consumers. COR (Kashruth Council of Canada) – Canada’s largest kosher certification agency,...
Perspectives Interview with COR's CEO Rabbi Tuvia BasserPerspectives: Rabbi Basser. You have been acting as the CEO of the COR for a few months now. How has it been going? What have been some of your biggest challenges thus...
COR Holds "Mashgiach Appreciation Night"People who keep kosher spend a considerable amount of time ensuring that the food they consume is kosher. But we do not spend much time thinking about how something became kosher, or...
What to do About Prohibited Chometz after PassoverBy: Rabbi Tsvi Heber, Director of Community Kosher   The prohibition of eating chometz, leavened products, on Passover is unique in its transitory status. For 346 days of the Hebrew calendar, we are permitted...
Cooking on Yom Tov: A Halachic AnalysisBy: Rabbi Tsvi Heber, Director of Community Kosher   The Yom Tov of Shavuos is fast approaching and Balabustas around the world are planning their meals. Yom Tov allows us the opportunity to prepare...
A Guided Tour of the New COR WebsiteWelcome to the new COR website. We hope you find it a useful resource. Since many of our users have not yet seen the new COR website we thought a “guided tour”...
Infestation In Sardines: A Case StudyAs we at COR have written here, there have been several reports recently of consumers finding worm infestation in their sardines. Sardines from Morocco, Philippines and Thailand and all skinless and boneless sardines are...
Rabbi Tuvia Basser Appointed CEOCOR -- the Kashruth Council of Canada, Canada’s largest kosher certification agency, is pleased to announce the appointment of Rabbi Tuvia Basser as its new Chief Executive Officer. Rabbi Basser has had...
The Working MashgiachBy: Rabbi Tsvi Heber, Director of Community Kosher Monitoring the kosher program in a catering or restaurant environment is...
Is Sushi Kosher?By COR Rabbinic StaffWhat would Bubby say to a new type of gefilte fish? L’kovod shabbos, of course! This one will have a dark green wrapper filled with rice and your choice...
The Kosher ProfessionalBy: Rabbi Tsvi Heber, Director of Community Kosher Keeping kosher has never been as easy as it is today. Just take a stroll down the “kosher aisles” of the local COR certified supermarkets...
Bagels for PesachBy: Rabbi Tsvi Heber, Director of Community Kosher Walking through the kosher l’Pesach aisles of COR certified supermarkets before Pesach, with their array of available products, is a dizzying...
Meat & Milk Questions for ShavuotBy: Rabbi Tsvi Heber, Director of Community Kosher Cheesecakes, blintzes and cheese lasagnas, with their irresistibly delicious taste, are some...
Herbal RemediesBy: Rabbi Tsvi Heber, Director of Community Kosher OperationsOne might assume that naturally unadulterated produce such as fresh herbs would inherently pose no kashrus concern.  Unfortunately, this is not the case. Fresh...
Kosher Dining in Toronto