Ritz bacon-flavored crackers may taste treif, but are kosher

JTA+ – Ritz has a new bacon-flavored cracker hitting shelves – with kosher certification.

The signature O.U.–Dairy symbol appears on the box of the Nabisco nosh.

“There was much discussion over the decision about this product,” acknowledged Rabbi Moshe Elefant, COO of the Orthodox Union Kashrut Department. “The reality is, there’s nothing close to bacon in this product – artificial bacon flavorings give it the ‘bacon flavor.’

“Nobody’s going to think this is actual bacon,” he added, noting the packaging, which has the words “Artificially Flavored” in large type right below the word “Bacon.”

“These actually taste too much like bacon,” commented Rina Raphael, style editor for NBC’s “Today” show, who sampled the new Ritz flavor before they hit shelves.

“We’re not in any way saying that it tastes like the real thing,” Elefant said. “That’s not at all what our certification represents.”

Kosher imitation-bacon products may be rare, but they aren’t new.

Elefant recalled another bacon-flavored product that nearly lost its O.U. certification for not printing the words “imitation” or “artificial” prominently enough on the packaging. Ultimately, the manufacturer addressed the O.U.’s concerns.

Jeffrey Yoskowitz, who runs the website Pork Memoirs though he does not eat pork, pointed to beef fry, a postwar pork alternative, and Bac-Os Bits, certified kosher in the 1990s. He also cited the J&D product line of bacon-flavored mayonnaise and salt that bear the O.U. symbol.

Yoskowitz says he won’t be sampling the new crackers. “This is a particular type of American item I don’t want to be a part of, specifically because of the artificial flavoring,” he said. “I’d rather have beef bacon or lamb bacon on a cracker.”

He also has a specifically Jewish objection.

“To see a Jew eating kosher bacon-flavored crackers is just as confusing as a Jew walking into a non-kosher restaurant,” Yoskowitz said.

Elefant acknowledged that some Jews will feel uncomfortable with the product.

“I’m not saying I wouldn’t eat it,” he said, “but I could understand someone not eating it.”

Still, the rabbi sees no problem with issuing certification in this instance.

“Kosher law is kosher law,” he said. “If proper law, supervision and certification are followed, the law is the law; [there’s] no law that says you can’t have artificial[ly] flavored bacon.”

Adam Soclof is JTA’s Associate Director of Outreach and Partnerships, and coordinates presentations and advertising/marketing opportunities for the news agency.