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Pesach Products

Here are the links to two fine publications which are both updated every year.

Please do avail yourself of these Pesach products lists. The most valuable pages are those which list products that can be used WITHOUT any specific Pesach certification. See below for Q & A on specific products, which we will update yearly.

Updated March 2025

On this page:

Halacha Q & A on Pesach Products

Halacha Q & A: Pesach Products

Pesach Products Q & A: Meat/Fish/Dairy

Q: I bought a brisket at a kosher market about a month ago and put it straight into the freezer. Can I use it for Pesach - in other words - is it safe to assume that meat is Kosher for Pesach if it’s prepared at a kosher butcher? Or do we have to be concerned about them having chametz around or using knives for other things? Published April 2016

A: (RATN) Raw, unprocessed meat and poultry are Kosher Le'Pesach. There is an extra chumra to rinse them off as well.

 

Q: Bought smoked salmon from Trader Joe's. Regular hechsher not with specific for Pesach. Is it ok for Pesach or do I need with specific Pesach hechsher. Did not find answer in either Pesach guides I looked at today. Published April 2017

A: (RYK) Only raw fish can be acceptable without Pesach hashgacha (if rinsed off before Pesach, and meeting the criteria for kosher fish generally). Smoked salmon should have kosher for Pesach hashgacha.

 

Milk and Eggs: A custom developed long ago to purchase these before Pesach. As milk and eggs came from the farm where chickens, cows and chametz interacted freely. A minute amount of chametz that had found its way into an egg (not sure how) or into milk BEFORE Pesach is halachikly null and void, but not so if it found its way in ON Pesach. Thus, the custom. Rabbi Eidlitz adds that Vitamin D additives in milk can also create a chametz issue. If you run out of milk on Pesach, you should buy at the kosher stores, who will have Pesach-certified milk available.

Q: Are there other foods that fit in same category as milk & eggs (i.e. can only be bought without a KLP hechsher before the holiday starts)? What about other foods that don't require a Pesach hechsher such as black tea, coffee, salt, or sugar? Can these all be bought on the holiday without a Pesach hechsher? Published April 2018

A: (RYK) The custom pertains exclusively to milk and eggs, due to their proximity to grains that might be ubiquitous on farms. All other foods that can be purchased without special Pesach certification may equally be purchased before and during Pesach.

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Pesach Products Q & A: Spices/Oil

Q: Can I use a new package of 'kosher' tumeric (not kosher for Pesach)? Published April 2016

A: (RATN) No. All ground spices require Pesach certification. It is possible that they were processed on equipment that had chametz on it or that either kitniyot or chametz was added to the spices. Whole, unground spices do not require special Pesach supervision and should ideally be purchased before Pesach.

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Pesach Products Q & A: Juices/Coffee/Tea

Q: May I have freshly squeezed orange juice bought before Pesach without a Kosher Le'Pesach certification? Published April 2016

A: (RATN) Fresh orange juice requires Kosher Le'Pesach certification. My understanding is that the issue with juices on Pesach is that enzymes derived from chametz are used to increase the juice yield or remove pectin or other unwanted things from the juice. Orange juice is not generally processed with enzymes, but it may have been on equipment that had chametz on it since it can be bottled along with other chametz-containing liquids. OU-supervised unsweetened orange juice concentrate may be used without Pesach certification. Simply Orange Juice High Pulp and Simple Orange Juice Pulp Free are supervised for Pesach by the OU.

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Pesach Products Q & A: Produce/Nuts

Q: If I have fruits, vegetables and eggs that have been in my fridge with my chametz items from pre-Pesach, can I use them for Pesach or toss? Published March 2018

A: (RYK) Eggs, fruits, and vegetables purchased before Pesach may be used. 

 

Q: Is packaged peeled garlic OK? Published April 2016

A: (RATN) Packaged peeled garlic requires reliable Kosher Le’Pesach certification. This is because many companies that use vacuum packed bags put citric acid in the wash water in order to prevent browning.

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Pesach Products Q & A: Egg Matza

Q: Is there a problem with egg matzah? Updated March 2025

A: (RYK) See info here inside the instructions for when Erev Pesach falls on Shabbat.

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Inedible Products

Cosmetic Items etc.: Though these may contain chametz, because they are inedible, they MAY be used on Pesach. Medicines taken in pill form may be used on Pesach without need for an ingredient check. Medicines taken in chewable or liquid form need to be chametz-free for Pesach (with obvious exceptions that can be made for medicines taken for serious medical conditions). Rabbi Eidlitz has good lists of non-chametz medications. 

 

Pesach Products Q & A: Inedible Products

Q: Can we use compostable products which may be made with soy/corn ingredients? What if it were made with wheat ingredients? Published March 2025

A: (RYK) While the Star-K tends to be concerned about the issue of the composition of / ingredients within plates, the OU and the cRc are clearly not. This for example, from the OU, and from the cRc.

Further, to cite my friend Rabbi Barry Dollinger, “Biodegradable Plates – Many have raised concerns, as they often use corn in the production of biodegradable and compostable plates; these concerns have no basis in Jewish law. Corn is kitniyot, and therefore only prohibited as a food, but not for other benefit. Moreover, there is no discernable flavor of corn that enters from the plate. When using disposable plates, it is absolutely preferable to use more environmentally sustainable options, in the spirit of learning to be free and responsible human beings. (From this email sent to his congregation).

 

Q: A student with very bad eczema that has only responded to Aveeno with oatmeal has asked if she can use it over Pesach. (she is a teenager who is self-conscious about the eczema). Thoughts? Thank you! Published April 2016

A: (RATN) If it is an Aveeno lotion or treatment that is inedible, or nifsal meachilat kelev, it does not fall under the prohibition of chametz. She may use and store the Aveeno lotion treatment on Pesach. But if it is an oatmeal bath Aveeno treatment, it is considered edible and therefore in the category of the prohibition of chametz and must be sold or disposed of before Pesach.

 

Q: I eat a gluten-free diet, so aside from a little oatmeal, I really don't have any chametz in my kitchen, year round. Every year I simply eat or give away whatever is left of oat products before Pesach. However, it never occurred to me that I may still be in possession of chapsticks, hand sanitizers, and maybe even vitamins that could have chametz ingredients. Do those things need to be sold? Published April 2016

A: (RYK) All of the items you've enumerated here are considered non-edible, and it is therefore permissible to own and use them on Pesach even if they do contain chametz ingredients. It is customary to use a new chapstick for Pesach (same with lipsticks), simply because this product had come into such close proximity to our mouths. 

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Pets

Pet Food: The prohibition of chametz includes a prohibition on feeding chametz to our animals (though we can feed them kitniyot - as long as they weren’t born in Eastern Europe). Rabbi Eidlitz lists non-chametz pet foods.

Because chametz is assur b'hana'ah (we are prohibited to derive benefit from it-- in addition to being forbidden to eat it). 

So what do pet enthusiasts do?

There are several options:

  1. If you are willing to board your pet over Pesach, you can sell it to a non-Jewish boarder, who can continue feeding your pet it regular pet food. The halachic preference here is that you do not sell or give the food to the boarder, rather that the boarder purchase the food from the store independently. (This prevents the appearance that you've simply made the boarder your agent to serve your chametz to your pet.)
  2. If your pet will be with you at home, then you should make a serious effort to find a chametz-free food alternative. This can mean finding packaged pet food that is only kitniyot. You can also cook kitniyot food from scratch for your pet (like plain rice with boiled chicken). Regardless, you will have to wean your pet off of his/her regular food slowly before Pesach to avoid dietary issues and then reintroduce the chametz food slowly after Pesach. (The chametz food should be sold along with the rest of your chametz.)
  3. Finally, there is another interesting halachic possibility suggested by Rabbi Chaim Jachter. He points out that it would be permissible to feed your pet food that:

a. was purchased before Pesach,

b. is less than 50% chametz, AND 

c. would be deemed unfit for human consumption.

The third of these requirements is the tricky one, as it is halachikly debated whether dog and cat food (though not fish food) actually meets the criterion of "unfit for human consumption". Therefore, Rabbi Jachter hinges this leniency on the severity of dietary discomfort and illness that a change in food would have on a particular pet.

If this seems like the only viable option for you, I invite you to read the two articles below from Rabbi Jachter, which discuss this option:

Finally, as we work to rid the house of chametz before Pesach, what should we do with our pets' food bowls/containers? Their food receptacles do not need to be kashered, but it is good practice to clean them out of any chametz residue.

 

Pesach Products Q & A: Pets

Q: What are we supposed to do if our pets are on prescription food that is not kosher for Pesach? Published April 2016

A: (RYK) Good question. I wish your pet good health.

In the context of farm animals, the Halacha discusses cases in which animals simply need to eat chametz. The ultimate resolution is to sell the animal to a non-Jewish person, in the same manner that we sell chametz (i.e. a fully binding sale). It is preferable to not sell the food together with the animal (as it appears that you are in essence hiring him to feed the animal chametz on your behalf), but this does ultimately not invalidate the sale.

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In Depth on Kitniyot

Q: (RYK) The questions that came in this week were all about kitniyot. I’ll begin by answering the practical ones, and then move to the larger question (or bewilderment) around the entire Ashkenazic custom of not eating kitniyot (beans, seeds, legumes, rice) on Pesach. Published April 2025

A: (RYK)

  1. The custom to refrain from kitniyot applies only to eating kitniyot. It does not apply to owning kitniyot or benefitting from them in other ways. We continue using kitniyot baby formula, for example, and simply maintain a separate brush or sponge with which to wash the bottles. We can also feed kitniyot to our pets.  
  2. In terms of Asheknazi-Sepharadi marriages: The general rule typically followed, despite its patriarchal assumptions, is that a wife “relocates” into her husband’s home, and as such adopts her husband’s customs, whether for leniency or for stringency. However, Rav Henkin questioned the Halachik basis for this assumption and maintained that at the time of her marriage a woman can choose to retain her ancestral custom if this is what she prefers (as long as this does not create an untenable living situation within the married domicile.) Here is a really good, short essay about this issue. 
  3. One of the very confusing things about kitniyot is how and why certain items get added to the list over time (e.g. peanuts), and others do not (e.g. potatoes) even though one could apply the rationales of the custom almost infinitely if one wanted to be a true kitniyot-zealot. I wrote about this when quinoa became popular and almost became kitnoyot… and then didn’t. Please take a look here!
  4. OK, so on to the bigger question as to whether there’s any prospect of a halachic off-ramp for kitniyot. The question is understandable. As the practicalities of Pesach observance are already challenging, and as the distinctions between Ashkenazim and Sephardim (actually, everyone else :) blur and blend with migration and marriage, it feels like history is calling for kitniyot’s retirement. I unfortunately don’t have the time this week to write at length, but here are several points that I hope you will find meaningful:

a. The first mention we have of a custom to refrain from kitniyot on Pesach is in the 13th century writing of R. Yitzchak of Corbel, who was one of the Toasafists of Ashkenaz. He refers to it as a custom of the “early sages” who refrained from eating beans and the suchlike which were customarily ground into flour and used for baking, lest this flour or these baked goods become confused with chametz flour or products. (In subsequent centuries an additional rationale, namely that grains of wheat could be mixed in with various forms of kitniyot, was also advanced.) He also mentions numerous contemporary rabbis who did NOT observe this custom, including R. Yeruham who referred to it as a “stupid custom.”  The custom was rejected by R. Yaakov Turim in his code, and the Bet Yosef (R. Yosef Karo) says that no one accepts it “except for the Ashkenazim.” 
b. At the same time, the Rama confirms that the custom has become binding upon Ashkenazim, and no subsequent authority has challenged this basic reality / halachik fact.
c. There are many details about how the custom is enacted that have been challenged over the past many centuries, and especially in the context of the demographic blending in the modern State of Israel, these details are being reviewed and sometimes questioned. These details include whether or not oils derived from kitniyot should or should not be included (Rav Kook famously argued that sesame and other oils, which never come into contact with water while being produced, should certainly be exempted). Of greatest practical significance  is the position - which is exceedingly well-argued from a Halachik point of view - that when a product (a) contains no discernable kitniyot, and (b) the kitniyot content of the food is less than 50% of its total volume, and (c) the food was produced before Pesach began, that this food simply does not fall within the parameters of the kitniyot custom at all. And if (d) the food was produced for a marketplace of Jews the majority of whom DO eat kitniyot, it should be all the more so that Ashkenazim should be able to eat it. Last year, when our (Israeli) son asked whether he should bring chocolate from Israel that contains corn syrup, I enthusiastically said “yes”, and although chocolate usually falls outside my dietary restrictions, I ate some! I think this argument will, in the short-to-intermediate term, effect a big change in kitniyot practice. Please see here for an excellent discussion of all this. The author provides his own practical conclusions on page 6.

In broader terms, it’s important that we do respect our inherited customs and communal norms, as these are part of the scaffolding of our Jewish living. The kitniyot custom embodies a certain kind of seriousness with which our ancestors approached Pesach, and this is an important ethic that they programmed into our DNA. 

Everything in its time.

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Thu, May 1 2025 3 Iyyar 5785