With a slogan of “Our ovens are always warm, and you are always welcome,” its no wonder that Sweet Tammy’s is known for its mouthwatering, kosher and dairy-free baked goods. They were recently recognized for their dedication to superb taste and quality with the “Best Flavors” award at the recent Kosherfest Expo at the Meadowlands.

Sweet Tammy’s natural ingredients and additive-free recipes produce cookies and breads with an authentic,homemade flavor. Each product is made from scratch, using fresh, premium ingredients. The irresistible cookies, breads and challah are certified OK kosher pareve and are available at Sweet Tammy’s Pittsburgh bakery and other fine retailers.

Visit Sweet Tammy’s for more information.

Windham, NH (PRWEB)

HomeFree, LLC recently announced that HomeFree cookies have been selected as the About.com 2012 Readers’ Choice Award winner for best allergy friendly sweets. Now in its fifth year, the About.com Readers’ Choice Awards honor the best products, features and services across more than a dozen categories, ranging from technology to hobbies to parenting and more, as selected by its readers.

“This year’s Readers’ Choice Awards program had a record number of nominations submitted across dozens of categories and featured hundreds of finalists,” said Margot Weiss, managing editor, About.com. “We are thankful to all our readers for their participation and congratulate HomeFree on their success.”

HomeFree was started by Jill Robbins, a clinical psychologist and mom to a child with food allergies. Jill wanted to make it easier for people with special dietary needs to be included in social events that involve food. Jill is delighted to receive this award, saying “I am thankful to About.com for its ongoing focus on food allergies, and of course am very pleased with the growing excitement about our products and company as reflected by the outpouring of votes we received. We have heard from people that they voted for HomeFree cookies for many different reasons. Of course the biggest was the care we use for allergy safety, but the buzz was also about how delicious and healthy the cookies are not just for those with allergies but for everyone. People especially expressed appreciation that HomeFree cookies are natural or organic, non-GMO, and whole grain, and that most are now certified gluten free as well. Some people also told us that they love not only the cookies, but also supporting a small woman owned business and a B Corporation (bcorporation.net/homefree). We are grateful to HomeFree’s many fans for voting and for helping to spread the word.”

HomeFree cookies are available in retail stores nationally in 5 ounce and 6 ounce boxes. They also are available single serve for retail and for food service in a 10-pack point of sale box and a 100-pack bulk box, and bulk wrapped for food service in a 3 pound and a 10 pound box. All HomeFree products are certified kosher pareve by OK Kosher Certification.

HomeFree Gluten Free Vanilla Mini Cookies won a Best Snack Award 2011 from Shape Magazine, were a finalist for Best New Food at Natural Products Expo East 2011, and are being awarded on May 5th a Food & Beverage Product Innovations 2012 Award presented by the National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show.

Jill Robbins can be contacted at http://www.homefreetreats.com, [email protected], http://www.facebook.com/homefreetreats, http://www.twitter.com/homefreetreats, or telephone 800-552-7172 for more information.

Savor the authentic taste of traditional cuisine. The flavor of food of days gone by. That’s the essence of Exter. The pure flavor of traditional food made from ingredients sourced from nature and the farm. Food cooked like your grandmother used to – with passion and care.

This is what Exter has done for 70 years. Exter, started as a family business, has grown into a company that exports to 42 countries around the world. The company, located in The Netherlands, just north of Amsterdam, employs 65 people.

As a niche player Exter is committed to delivering the taste you want to create. It’s no wonder that Exter works together with food manufacturers from around the world, always with a personal touch and in close cooperation. Exter creates sophisticated taste bases of cooked meat, fish or vegetables. Imagine the delicious flavor of grilled chicken with sautéed onion and tomato or clear beef bouillon with leek and fennel.

Exter’s flavors are based on vegetable protein and it is this basic raw material that allows Exter to produce most of its products kosher certified by OK Kosher Certification.

Grilling, stir-fry, steaming, boiling and roasting – in Exter’s kitchens everything is cooked in traditional style. Slow cooking, respecting time and the purity of the produce. The aim is to tempt the consumer to taste and appreciate the difference and above all to keep coming back for more.

The five basic tastes have no secrets as far as Exter’s chefs are concerned. Bitter, salt, sour, sweet or umami, the chefs know how to transform these into the flavor you need for your product. A flavor that lingers. Not only in your mouth but also in your memory. That’s how Exter and its customers work together for their success. The worldwide network of distributors is ready to help you to make your food a genuine experience. Always personal, always available. Together they give flavor to life.

Exter has worked with the OK for the last 18 years. First supervised by Rabbi Spiro, and now by his son, its liquid aroma factory has been completely kosher for many years. As a matter of fact, the cooperation has been so successful that Exter is now moving from kosher campaigns that took place 4 times per year to full-time kosher production in its powder factory as well.

Mr. Ad van Vugt of Exter BV was recently honored at the Annual International OK Mashgiach Conference for his commitment to the kosher consumer and his longstanding relationship with OK Kosher Certification.

On Monday, 2 Kislev (November 28), OK Kosher Certification held its 13th annual International Mashgiach Conference in Chovevei Torah in Brooklyn, NY. Over 150 OK personnel and rabbis were in attendance, including rabbis from Japan, India, Greece, Israel, Poland, Germany, Belgium and others from around the world.

As in past years, the OK honored two rabbis. This year’s honorees were Rabbi Shloime Bistritsky, the newly elected Chief Rabbi of Hamburg, Germany, and Rabbi Binyomin Neufeld from Israel. Both rabbis were chosen for their dedication to upholding the rigorous kosher standards set forth by the OK.

Every year the OK features a company that is making strides in increasing their kosher offerings and goes above and beyond to work with their mashgichim and rabbis. This year the OK honored two companies: Post Foods, LLC and Exter B.V. (a flavor company in Europe). For over 50 years, Post cereals have been kosher certified by the OK providing their customers with high quality kosher breakfast cereals.

Rabbi Levy, Kashrus Administrator, opened the conference with words of Torah, inspiration, and the latest happenings at the OK. Attendees were also honored to have HaRav Yosef Braun, Rabbi of Crown Heights, share a few words of Torah. Rabbi Hillel Baron, from Columbia, Maryland, spoke about outreach opportunities within certified companies; Rabbi Yitzchok Ort, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, shared insights into the changing kosher dairy industry; professional basketball player Tamir Goodman, also known as the “Jewish Jordan”, introduced his new innovation, SportStrings Tzitzis that are now certified OK; Rabbi Eli Lando gave a brief talk on customer service; Mr. Menachem Lubinsky, CEO of Lubicom Marketing, enlightened the rabbis on the growth of the kosher food industry; Rabbi Yitzchak Gornish a rabbinical coordinator at the OK shared his scientific knowledge with a presentation on the Chemistry of Kashrus; and Rabbi Yisroel Stern of Chassidus Mevueres spoke about the OK’s contribution to spreading the wellsprings of Chassidus through Heichal Menachem. Rabbi Chaim Fogelman MC’d the event with his much-loved combination of Chassidic insights and humor.

One attendee commented, “This year the conference was an incredible success. It was so well prepared, and extremely interesting. We all benefitted greatly from the event.”

The conference ended with a lavish buffet lunch catered by Bunch-O-Bagels and time for the rabbis to interact and share their experiences.

Attendees received a brand new sefer by Chassidus Mevueres printed specially for this event.

One of the greatest accomplishments of the kosher food industry was making mainstream products in the commercial cereal market kosher. When I think of breakfast cereal, the iconic Post® logo immediately comes to mind – that ubiquitous red oval logo that graces almost every American kitchen and conjures up childhood memories of countless bowls of Cocoa Pebbles and Raisin Bran. Every child that grew up in a kosher home eating Post® cereals shares in these memories.

Founded in 1895 by C.W. Post, the first products were conjured up in an old barn in Battle Creek, Michigan. Post’s first creation, “Postum” was a cereal beverage and one of the first packaged breakfast products marketed in America. By 1897, Post® Grape Nuts, one of the first ready to eat cold cereals, was available for purchase by the public. C.W. Post bought a large parcel of land in Battle Creek and built a state-of-the art production facility alongside modest homes for his employees. He created both employment opportunities for a large segment of the local population, as well as housing for their families. The company continued to grow and from 1925 to 1929, C.W. Post’s company acquired over a dozen other companies and expanded production to more than 60 products. In 1929, the parent corporation name changed to General Foods Corporation. In 1942, Post® introduced its iconic Raisin Bran cereal, which is a staple product in millions of American households. In 1971, the perennial favorites Fruity and Cocoa Pebbles debuted in supermarkets across the country and in 1992 Post® recently celebrated the 100^th anniversary of Shredded Wheat cereal.

The OK has certified Post® Cereals for over 60 years. To date, over 3,500 kashrus inspections have been logged at Post® manufacturing facilities and seven rabbis oversee the kosher supervision program. Today, the OK certifies 64 varieties of Post cereals, produced in six different facilities. Some kosher certified varieties are pareve, while some are certified dairy (not Cholov Yisroel).

Post® takes its commitment to kosher compliance very seriously. Dedicated personnel within the company work continuously with the OK to ensure that every step of the kosher protocol is followed precisely and that all products are accurately labeled. There was a time that kosher cereal contained non-kosher promotional items. This posed absolutely no kashrus issue, since the promotional item was individually wrapped and clearly marked as non-kosher. Unfortunately, however, there were still kosher consumers who were confused. OK Kosher, known for its clear mission of kashrus without compromise, worked cooperatively with Post® management to protect the kosher integrity of Post® products and Post® went out of its way to discontinue the entire campaign despite the loss involved.

JaNeen Allen, Nutrition and Regulatory Scientist at Post and the liaison between the OK and Post®, reiterated the Post® commitment to providing a wide variety of kosher products: “As one of the fastest growing food manufacturing companies in the US, Post Holdings is always striving to provide a range of products for the consumer.  Within that range, we want to ensure that if there is an opportunity for our products to be accepted as kosher, we follow that course.  For years we have worked with the OK and we are looking forward to continuing our relationship and providing as many kosher products as possible to your community.  Thank you so much for the opportunities you have imparted on our company.”

Rabbi Eli Lando, Chief Customer Relations Officer at the OK, whose team works directly with Post®, is continually impressed by Post® Foods’ respect for the kosher consumer. “It is heartwarming to see that Post® appreciates the importance of OK Kosher’s high kosher standards and the needs of the kosher consumer. This achievement is a direct result of our commitment to full cooperation with our customers and we look forward to an ongoing relationship and growth for the benefit of all kosher consumers.

The OK and Post® are proud to announce a new kosher certified variety of the famous, kid-favorite “Pebbles” cereals – Post® Chocolate Peanut Butter Pebbles Boulders.

Ms. JaNeen Allen and Mr. George Dover accepted the Featured Company Award at our recent International Mashgiach Conference on behalf of Post® Foods, LLC.

UAS Laboratories, Inc., “The Probiotic Company”, headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, is one of the latest additions to OK Kosher Certification’s legion of kosher certified companies. UAS specializes in production of probiotics and other supplements, including acidophilus, coenzyme Q-10, joint supplements, and more.

UAS is a leading probiotic company, founded by Dr. S.K. Dash in 1979. Dr. Dash served as director of the Food & Drug Administration for South Dakota in the 1970s and became interested in probiotics during his tenure there. His research showed that probiotics were effective in treating many different conditions and decided to start his own company to develop probiotics using super strain L-acidophilus DDS-1. UAS introduced quality control standards to the probiotics industry and spearheaded the National Probiotics Products committee.

To continue its history of excellence and high quality, UAS is now kosher certified by OK Kosher Certification, the leader in high kosher standards and high technology. Established in 1935, the OK certifies over 300,000 products on six continents. Its highly acclaimed DigitalKosher portal allows for digital submission and tracking of all OK-certified ingredients and products, ensuring the highest level of kosher compliance and customer ease-of-use. The OK prides itself on its commitment to upholding kosher standards without compromise, while educating and providing superior customer service to its kosher certified clients.

UAS, like the OK, is a high-tech company, combining innovation with the highest standards of quality and oversight. Kosher certification under the OK provides UAS with a great opportunity to reach an ever-growing market of kosher consumers and continue to provide high quality dietary supplements to a global market. For more information on UAS Laboratories, Inc. please visit www.uaslabs.com.

Where can you find high-end food products, combined with top-notch kosher supervision and warehouse prices? Five Costco stores in the New York area provide this unique, niche product line, serving a large community of price-conscious and kosher-conscious consumers.

For over a decade, Costco kosher bakeries in Brooklyn, NY, Lawrence, NY, Nanuet, NY, New Rochelle, NY, and Hackensack, NJ have been under the kosher supervision of OK Kosher Certification, providing their customers with fresh, quality, kosher baked goods at prices that cannot be beat.

Costco – Lawrence was the pilot store for a line OK Kosher certified Cholov Yisroel cheese, along with top-quality, OK Kosher certified, Choice grade Glatt Kosher chasidshe shchita beef produced by Colorado Kosher Beef. Costco stores in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Nanuet now carry this kosher beef as well and many Costco stores already carry the Cholov Yisroel cheese.

Recently, OK Kosher Certification held its annual rabbinical conference near its headquarters in Brooklyn, New York, with over 100 rabbis from across the globe in attendance.

This year, in recognition of the unique relationship between Costco and the OK and Costco’s efforts to bring high quality kosher products to the kosher consumer, the OK chose these New York area Costco stores as the Featured Company for the 2009 conference.

Mr. Ken Aicardi, Regional Manager, and Mr. Adam Self, Manager of Costco – Lawrence, were in attendance to accept the awards on behalf of Price-Costco headquarters and the other honored stores. Plaques were also personally presented on location to: Richard Amber, Bakery Manager – Lawrence, NY; Bruce Henry, Bakery Manager – Hackensack, NJ; Carlos Sanchez, Bakery Manager – New Rochelle, NY; Craig Ragland, Bakery Manager – Brooklyn, NY; and, Cassandra St. Fleur, Bakery Manager – Nanuet, NY.