Do you use spices with a hechsher?

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Forum -> Household Management -> Kosher Kitchen

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amother

Sun, Jun 30 2024, 6:40 pm

I was told that flour doesnt need a hechsher.
are spices any different?

dena613

Sun, Jun 30 2024, 6:56 pm

Star k (and I think crc and ou too) have lists of items that do not require hashgacha.
Spices are not on the list.
https://www.star-k.org/article.....ired/

cbsp

Sun, Jun 30 2024, 7:04 pm

amother OP wrote:

I was told that flour doesnt need a hechsher.
are spices any different?

I asked DH who is a kashrus pro. Here's his response:

That is correct that your typical flour does not need hashgocha. A major reason is because having gone through many flour mills in the last 40 years, there's nothing that happens flour other than milling wheat. The enrichments which are added, mandatory by government by the way, are added in the parts per million. They also happen to be kosher certified. I've never been to a mill where I've seen non kosher enrichments added.

Spices on the other hand is a different story. A whole spice might be acceptable however ground spices can run into equipment issues with other ingredients. Keep in mind the general spice and seasoning company does not just make or package regular spices. They run other items on those lines as well.

Generally speaking the concern is when you're doing with a blend. Usually there is little to no concern when dealing with a straight spice or herb.

And as an addendum he highly highly highly recommended

https://askcrc.org/

for such questions

(no affiliation, just a fan)

amother

Sun, Jun 30 2024, 7:06 pm

cbsp wrote:

thanks so much for taking the time to verify and answer,
would the same be for herbs, like burdock root, milk thistle seed, maca root etc?
ground, not whole.

cbsp

Sun, Jun 30 2024, 7:16 pm

amother OP wrote:

thanks so much for taking the time to verify and answer,
would the same be for herbs, like burdock root, milk thistle seed, maca root etc?
ground, not whole.

I forwarded this to DH but I'd be curious if you checked
https://askcrc.org/

for these items.

amother

Sun, Jun 30 2024, 7:19 pm

cbsp wrote:

I forwarded this to DH but I'd be curious if you checked
https://askcrc.org/

for these items.

you are so sweet.

these items dont come up at all.

cbsp

Sun, Jun 30 2024, 7:27 pm

amother OP wrote:

you are so sweet.

these items dont come up at all.

DH found this

https://askcrc.org/item/Food/8786
Maca root powder, raw
Status: Acceptable Without Certification

And here's what he wrote as a global overview regarding your other question about herbs (not specifically your products):

Anything that comes from the ground is hard to say doesn't have bugs unless it's clearly checked for that. When it comes to flour, I don't know if anyone is saying outright that it doesn't have to be checked unless it's specifically says on the package that it doesn't have to be checked. The reason why one does not have to check flour presumably is because it is sifted one way or another at least pertain times from the time it's a wheatberry until it's in the bag. Every method of production and packaging is far better now than it was let's say 40 or 50 years ago. Plants are fumigating. The fumigation is taking place in the silos. There are special sifters that in essence break up eggs. This is why, unless the storage wasn't proper, there's really a case of infestation in flour.

Many times we hear about yoshon flour having bug issues. The primary reason for that is storage. The same goes when it is barley or something like that.

cbsp

Sun, Jun 30 2024, 7:29 pm

amother OP wrote:

thanks so much for taking the time to verify and answer,
would the same be for herbs, like burdock root, milk thistle seed, maca root etc?
ground, not whole.

Here's DH specific answer:

The items that she mentioned are not called spices or herbs. *They are called botanicals.* Botanicals many times require reliable certification or further verification due to growing and drying.

amother

Sun, Jun 30 2024, 7:30 pm

cbsp wrote:

wow! thanks a ton.

amother

Sage

Sun, Jun 30 2024, 7:44 pm

My relative who is in kashrus for over three decades has schooled us that spices , vitamins , herbs require hechsher .

amother

Mon, Jul 01 2024, 3:58 am

https://www.star-k.org/article.....ched/

Ruchel

Mon, Jul 01 2024, 4:55 am

[quote="amother Sage"]My relative who is in kashrus for over three decades has schooled us that spices , vitamins , herbs require hechsher .[/quote

I've had different answer

cbsp

Mon, Jul 01 2024, 7:41 am

amother OP wrote:

https://www.star-k.org/articles/kashrus-kurrents/1145/the-kashrus-of-tea-with-no-strings-attached/

Thank you, this was interesting to read

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