The Kosher Status of Bimbo’s Products

There has been some confusion as to what is going on with some of the more well-known kosher brands of baked goods in the United States. Given the tendency to hysteria and false information regarding kosher food, I took the time to contact the parent company, Bimbo Bakeries USA, a subsidiary of Grupo Bimbo in Mexico.

The news is mostly okay.

I spoke with Liz at Bimbo Bakeries USA. It’s true; the kosher certification is being removed from some of their products. In their words:

To enable more efficient operations, we have made the decision to remove the Kosher Certification from a selection of products. This change will not impact the quality, freshness or availability of our products.

What Liz was able to confirm is that the certification isn’t changing certification authorities, it’s being removed entirely. However, she said that the following products are going to retain their kosher status:

  • Thomas
  • Entenmann’s
  • Arnold Rye Bread
  • Levy’s Rye Bread
  • unnamed private labels

A world without kosher Arnold’s Rye Bread or Entenmann’s was too bleak to imagine, even though I haven’t had them in ages myself.

UPDATE: Here’s the transcript of the conversation:

Contact No: 001580058A

Marc 12/05/18 10:52:26 – I would like to confirm the kosher status of Arnold’s bread as well as other products currently under kosher supervision.
12/05/18 10:52:26 – ** Thank you for waiting. You are number 1 in line.
12/05/18 10:52:34 – Thank you for waiting. You are now talking with Liz.
Liz 12/05/18 10:53:26 – Hello Marc
Marc 12/05/18 10:53:28 – Hi Liz. There’s been some confusion regarding the kosher status of some of your products. Can you
Marc 12/05/18 10:53:34 – clarify?
Liz 12/05/18 10:54:22 – Thank you for your feedback. To determine if the product that you have is certified kosher, please look for the kosher symbol to the right of the net weight. To enable more efficient operations, we have made the decision to remove the Kosher Certification from a selection of products. This change will not impact the quality, freshness or availability of our products.
Marc 12/05/18 10:55:37 – Is it being removed entirely, or just changing from the Orthodox Union to Circle-K Labs?
Liz 12/05/18 10:56:39 – It is being removed completely.
Marc 12/05/18 10:57:00 – Can you supply me with a list of products that will retain their kosher ?
Marc 12/05/18 10:57:11 – *status
Liz 12/05/18 10:57:42 – We do not have a list, I do know that Thomas, Entenmann’s and private labels will keep their Kosher certification.
Liz 12/05/18 10:57:51 – Along with Arnold and Levy’s Rye breads.
Marc 12/05/18 10:58:00 – Arnold’s Bread products?
Marc 12/05/18 10:58:22 – Okay. Thanks. I’ll be happy to convey this information to my readers.
Liz 12/05/18 10:58:32 – Arnold rye will be Kosher, everything else is not going to be certified.
Liz 12/05/18 10:58:36 – Is there anything else I can help you with?
Marc 12/05/18 11:00:16 – If you have my email address on file, please send me a list as soon as one is available. That would be awesome.
Marc 12/05/18 11:00:31 – Thank you for the information.
Liz 12/05/18 11:00:40 – You are very welcome!
Liz 12/05/18 11:00:42 – Thank you. If you have further questions, please feel free to contact us again, 1-800-984-0989. They can best answer your questions.

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