Below is an email exchange between an interested kosher consumer and a Kosher Food Website.
I quote your article: An example is an Israeli halvah sold in the Passover section of the supermarket. It states in large letters "Kosher for Passover". It contains corn syrup and therefore is kosher for Passover only for Sephardim. I was under the impression that foods containing Kitniyos that are not discernible and also not a majority, may be eaten by Ashkenasim. Am I mistaken or have I misunderstood your article? Chocolate with Lecithin is a good example. Even if one considers lecithin as Kitniyos, it is still a minor part of the food that is not discernible and has not been added in defiance of the accepted custom. There is no reason that Ashkenasim should not be able to enjoy such chocolate on Pesach, after all there is nothing in it that could conceivably be a problem; is there?
The response: no
I wonder if I only received a part of your message or if my original message was somehow distorted or perhaps you mean I neither misunderstood your article nor am I mistaken about the Halacha.
May I resend;
I quote your article: An example is an Israeli halvah sold in the Passover section of the supermarket. It states in large letters "Kosher for Passover". It contains corn syrup and therefore is kosher for Passover only for Sephardim I was under the impression that if the kitnyos are not discernible and not a majority then Ashkenasim may eat. Am I mistaken or have I misunderstood your article.
Thank you for your response. If I understand correctly, you are in agreement with my understanding of the Halacha re mixtures of kitniyos and in fact halva is problematic only because of the sesame seeds that are a majority and considered kitniyos by those you refer me to.
This does not seem to be the understanding projected by the article we are discussing and I think that many who read the article might come to misunderstand the halacha. Would it not be wise to amend the article to better reflect the Halacha?
The response: I never said anything of the sort
Apparently I did misunderstand you. Where did I make my error? 1. In your article you did not mention that sesame seeds are kitniyos, 2. nor that they are an ingredient in halva. 3. You did mention that halva contains corn syrup and is therefore not acceptable for Ashkenasim. Again I quote your article: It states in large letters "Kosher for Passover". It contains corn syrup and therefore is kosher for Passover only for Sephardim 4. You explained to me that halva contains kitniyos in both corn syrup and sesame seeds. 5. You did not say that corn syrup is a major component of halva, just that corn syrup makes the Halva Kosher only for Sefaradim. This creates the impression that even a minority of Kitniyot makes the food unacceptable for Ashkenasim. 6. You later amended yourself to be referring to the sesame seeds, i.e. that the majority of Halva is Kitniyos and that is what makes it unacceptable to Ashkenasim. This leads one to understand that you agree that the Halacha is as I suggested earlier; i.e. foods that contain a minority of non-discernible Kitniyos may be eaten on Pesach by Ashkenasim. I have discussed your article with others who all seem to draw the same conclusions as I.
The response: I wrote the article in 1992. ……….. I will consider a re-write for next year.
The major American kashrus agencies do not accept any kitniot in their Passover products and additionally some do not accept kitniot shenishtanu such as aspartame.
The article, as of September 2007, remains posted on a prominent Kosher website without change.
