December 2, 2009 | 6:45 pm

Tootsie Rolls Go Kosher

Posted by Julie Gruenbaum Fax

The Orthodox Union announced today that Tootsie Rolls will now be certified kosher, with packages of Tootsie Rolls, Tootsie Fruit Rolls, Frooties and DOTS bearing the “OU” arriving on shelves within weeks.

It’s the kind of news that rocks the kosher world, as did Oreo’s entry into the kosher marketplace in 1997 or Entenmann’s in 1989.

There is no shortage of kosher candy – nearly all Hershey’s, Nestle, Mars and Ferrara Pan’s products are kosher, and Jewish brands like Paskesz and Bloom’s do a pretty good job of reproducing kosher versions of all the sweet, chewy, sticky stuff that kids (of all ages) crave.

But even with Jelly Belly’s recent entry into the kosher marketplace, nobody comes close to imitating the chocolaty, toothy satisfaction of biting into a Tootsie Roll.

Consumers who adhere strictly to kosher laws require that each ingredient be kosher and each stage of production be monitored by a certified mashgiach, kashrut supervisor.
The Orthodox Union, the largest kashrut supervisor in the world, certifies more than 400,000 products in 80 countries.

  “We are very pleased to have Tootsie Roll join with other leading confectionery producers who have attained OU certification in recent years. It was also gratifying for OU to guide Tootsie Roll through the certification process and bring these famous candies to the growing kosher market place,” said Rabbi Eliyahu Safran, OU Kosher’s Vice President of Communications and Marketing.

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