No Pesach Coca Cola in California This Year Due to Quirk in Law

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coca-colaKosher consumers here that were expecting to find Coca Cola for Pesach on supermarket shelves were disappointed to learn that the coveted beverage would not be available this year in the State of California due to a quirk in the law that would make the ingredients unacceptable.

In a statement, Coca Cola said: “We will not be able to offer Kosher for Passover products in California this year. We expect to offer Kosher for Passover products in 2013.”

Coca Cola explained that “the new alternative process caramel required to meet the State of California’s guidelines related to Proposition 65 does not meet the Kosher for Passover requirements. We believe it will in 2013.”

Meanwhile in Chicago, products produced by Pepsi Cola had two different kosher certifications, the Kof-K and US Kosher, based in California. The latter was distributed by independent wholesalers while the company itself distributed the Kof-K products.

But even in states where Coca Cola is available with an OU-P for Pesach, it will only be available in Regular and Diet flavors (not even a Caffeine-Free version).

Aside from the New York metropolitan area, Coke will be available in Boston, Baltimore-Washington, Miami, Atlanta, Houston, and Philadelphia.

This year, in New York, Coca Cola items will be made with an OU-P in 2 liter bottles.

Several retailers reached by KosherToday said that customers were growing increasingly frustrated at the slim pickings offered by Coke. Pepsi on the other hand was offering Kof-K kosher Passover beverages that included a Caffeine-Free version of regular and diet Pepsi. In addition Pepsi was also producing Passover versions of Seven-Up, Sierra Mist, Canada Dry Ginger Ale, Lemon-Lime Seltzer, Mandarin Orange Seltzer and regular seltzer. It was also offering a variety of Dr. Brown’s flavors.

{Menachem Lubinsky-Kosher Today/Matzav.com Newscenter}


31 COMMENTS

  1. “customers were growing increasingly frustrated at the slim pickings offered by Coke”. Nebach. Poor customers. Could you imagine, they might have to just get regular Coke. Or worse, switch to some Pepsi beverage.

  2. Why so much fuss over Coca Cola? Or Pepsi for that matter? Both are extremely unhealthy. (I was once told that you can use Coke to clean your car battery terminals.) Doesn’t drinking this stuff violate v’nishmartem m’od es nafshoseichem?

    Personally I prefer H2O. Fruit juices are an acceptable alternative as well. With everything that there is to concern ourselves with about Pesach, why are we worrying about this?

  3. In Los Angeles, Hancock Park area, both local kosher groceries have it: Western Kosher and La Brea Kosher. Maybe it is produced out of state and shipped in (like almost everything else).

  4. heres how to cope : buy really beautiful pitchers and glasses, and serve WATER. its:
    CHEAPER
    MORE KOSHER
    MUCH HEALTHIER
    AND
    its fine, really.
    al tidagi
    and if you save SOOO much money, then give some of your savings to your favorite tzedaka, for real.

  5. I just heard that there’ll be a Kinus Hisorerus held tonight to try and offset this terrible besurah. May we all be zocheh to come together and reflect upon what could have brought us such a tragedy and how we can perfect ourselves. If we demonstrate that this is a priority by making time to attend and donate, we will succeed in averting this terrible tragedy.
    The Kinus is endorsed by prominent mechanchim and mechanchos and will be broadcast live on all the usual outlets.

  6. I hate cocacola and pepsi. Can’t stand them. This is no excuse for insulting those who do like cocacola and canada dry and seven-up and pepsi and all the other soft drinks mentioned in the article, and who would like to add to the enjoyment of the chagim. To them I say: if you live in California, try to get it from out of state, and ignore the nasty people, they are not worth our time.

  7. to coment 11
    How is water MORE kosher- kosher is kosher.
    PULEEESE
    If you want to save alot of money to give to tzedakah – buy machine shmurah matzoh for the sedarim and eat 18 min the rest of yom tov – this will really save you money – not a few bottles of coke

  8. I remember as a kid in Krole (hungary)our entire family went by Pessach without coke pepsi shmespi and we were all healthy and happy, please ZICH MIR ANDERE DANGUES

  9. (continuation of my previous comment)

    Many, many times, I have posted here on Matzav two very sharp examples of how terrible Coke Cola is.

    1.) Understandably, my childhood school years had countless memoriable incidents. One of them happened soon after I had started a class of the fifth grade in the elementary school I was attending. One afternoon, the discussion of the class somehow touched on the subject of Coke Cola. I well remember the scene: was sitting in my seat, which was on the left side of the classroom near the wall that was formed mostly of a row of modern windows; the teacher was standing near the right side of the classroom, near the solid wall that separated the room from the hallway. I well remember how the teacher bluntly related:

    “There are only TWO people in the entire world who know what is in Coke Cola,

    AND THEY DO NOT LET THEIR CHILDREN HAVE IT!!”

  10. (continuation of my previous comment)

    2.) To understand the next example, B’Ezras HaShem, we need to be aware of the following point.

    In the Halachos of Kashrus – the Torah laws of our food – for there to be an issue of whether a particular item is permitted or not permitted for us to eat, that item has to be a piece of FOOD. How can we determine if something is or is not a piece of food? The minimal standard is that the item has to be edible at least for a dog. If the item is something that a dog could eat it, then it is termed a “food,” and then we need to examine whether or not its ingredients are permitted for us to eat. If though, it is so terrible that even a dog could not eat it, then it cannot be called a “food,” and no matter what non-Kosher ingredients it has, there is no prohibition on eating it.

    So again, for an item to be called a “food,” it must be fit for a dog to be able to eat it. In Lashon HaKodesh this is expressed: “Roi L’Achilas Kelev” – “Fit for the eating of a dog.”

    One of the major Torah communal leaders of the mid-1900’s was Rav Eliezer Silver, ZT’L. One time, he was designated to investigate if Coke Cola could be given a Hechsher – a certification of being Kosher. So he approached the directors of the Coke corporation with the proposed project. He explained to them that what he wanted certainly had nothing to do with, Chas V’Shalom – G-D Forbid – trying to steal a company’s business secrets; rather, issue was that for him to be able to determine if their soft drink was Kosher, he would have to know what are ALL of its ingredients — including all of its “secret” ingredients. So they told him. At that, in his humorous funny style, he exclaimed:

    “THIS DOES NOT NEED A HECHSHER! IT IS NOT ROI L’ACHILAS KELEV!!”

  11. (continuation of my previous comment)

    As mentioned, the above two examples are about Coke, and specifically about its famous “secret ingredient(s)” that its people proudly bragg about. While Pepsi may not be quite as terrible, that does not mean that it is any kind of a “healthy” beverage, and its producers are also certainly not Tzaddikim. See http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/pro-life-groups-call-for-pepsi-boycott-over-aborted-fetal-cell-lines

  12. (Important note on my previous comment)

    One of the points discussed in some of the above listed articles is the very well known harmful effects of refined sugar. It is important to note that as bad as refined sugar is, the the diet sodas with their artificial sweeteners are INFINITELY much, much worse extremely severe outright poisons!

    There are tremendous amounts of extensive medical and scientific material on the subject.

    B’Ezras Hashem, as just a beginning, I will quote two very brief pieces and then list four web pages with more information.

    “Aspartame is extremely dangerous. It is the slow accumulation of these chemical toxins in the body that has serious and detrimental effects on your health. Aspartame was first approved for widespread use in the U.S. in July of 1983. Within six months, brain tumor rates were reported to have climbed 10%; diabetes reportedly increased by 30% and brain lymphoma tumors increased by a whopping 60%. Learn how the FDA scandalously approved this toxic chemical, which is now one of the most widespread food additives in the U.S. We highly recommend you watch the documentary, Sweet Misery: A Poisoned World.avi. This film clearly shows how dangerous the artificial sweetener Aspartame really is.” (At http://www.naturalcures.com/Members/Aspartame.aspx)

    “Dear Consumer, This is Dr. Janet Starr Hull and I have information that exposes the potential health dangers of Splenda® . . . Within my book, I reveal the scientific evidence strongly suggesting the chemical sweetener sucralose (Splenda) may harm your body . . . I disclose the research documenting the negative effects on the liver, spleen and kidneys of laboratory animals. In addition, I reveal research results of infertility in male rats and gastrointestinal problems in pregnant rats fed Splenda . . . Consumers are not being told the entire truth about the long-term dangers of using artificial chemical sweeteners.” (At http://www.issplendasafe.com/)

  13. to # 17

    I totally agree with you , as children we didn”t have all this, and B”H we grew healthy and happy……………………

  14. I’m surprized that somthing so irrelevant to the HOLY SEDER NACHT should bother anybody with a little YIDDICHE HART, I must say that I totally agree with #3 #4 #6 #8 #9 #11 #12 #15 #16 #17 #18 and on

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