New York – It is packed with protein and fiber and is both cholesterol and gluten free. Yet whether or not quinoa is considered kitniyos has been a subject of debate for well over a decade and while one major kashrus organization has given the Kosher L’Pesach stamp to this member of the goosefoot family, others continue to withhold their approval.
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First brought to the United States from Chile nearly two decades ago, quinoa was first grown outside of South America just fifteen years ago. In the same family as sugar beets, beet root and spinach, quinoa is not related to millet, rice or any of the five types of grains that can become chometz and when tested by the Star-K to see if it would rise, quinoa decayed instead of rising.
But while the Star-K may have deemed quinoa Kosher L’Pesach, not all kashrus agencies are comfortable certifying the product.
“The first issue with quinoa is that it is typically processed on the same equipment as grain, which is a real issue,” Rabbi Moshe Elefant, chief operating officer of the kashrus division at the Orthodox Union told VIN News. “Even if you were to decide that quinoa wasn’t kitniyos, it wouldn’t really make much of a difference because of the processing issues.”
This year marks the first year that the Star-K, under the auspices of Rabbi Moshe Heinemann of Baltimore, has sent mashgichim to South America in order to supervise a special Kosher L’Pesach run of quinoa, making sure that the quinoa being harvested was not growing near fields of other grains which would be considered problematic for Pesach as well as ensuring that the quinoa would be packed in new bags that had never been used for transporting other types of grain.
“Many tons of quinoa were produced,” said Star-K Kashrus Administrator Rabbi Zvi Goldberg.
The Star-K quinoa is being packed in twelve ounce boxes under the brand names Quinoa Corp. – Ancient Harvest Brand and Setton Farms and in sixteen ounce boxes under the Natural Earth Products label. It is also available wholesale under the brand names Andean Natural and Quinoa Corp. – Ancient Harvest Brand. All of the above is only acceptable when bearing the Star-K symbol and bearing the words “Kosher for Passover.”
The special Pesach runs of quinoa will be available in Baltimore at Seven Mile Market and at select grocery stores around the United States.
But packaging is just one of the concerns that some halachic authorities have with quinoa and the Orthodox Unions two poskim, Rav Hershel Schachter and Rav Yisroel Belsky have different thoughts on the quinoa’s status.
“R’ Schachter says that there is no reason to expand the minhag of kitniyos beyond what was included in the original minhag and therefore if you could get around the packaging issue, quinoa would, in theory, not be a problem,” explained Rabbi Elefant. “But R’ Belsky disagrees, saying that our minhag of kitniyos includes anything that can be easily prepared into breads, crackers and porridges and are similar to grains that are mamash chometz. Quinoa can be turned into these products and, therefore, just like corn, soy and legumes, should not be used on Pesach, according to R’ Belsky.”
As of this year, the Orthodox Union does not certify any quinoa for Pesach and Rabbi Elefant cautioned that anyone who wants to know the Pesach status of quinoa should check with their own rabbi.
Assuring something is always the path of least resistance. Finally, someone discovered a nutritious grain product that we can eat on Pesach that will allow us to keep the holiday without making our diets less healthy than they already are (and let’s not even discuss the unhealthy diets we have year ’round on kosher food). So folks want to make sure we can’t eat it. Big surprise. People need to find something in Yiddishkeit more meaningful than chumras and restrictions.
Its more important for yidden with heart disease, diabetes and other diet-related chronic disease to eat healthy on pesach than to obcess about the arcane technicalities of whether or not quinoa is a “grain” and how it fits within the kashruth spectrum for kosher for pesach foods. Its more important to eat healthy and follow the injunctions about taking care of our bodies and health than to get caught up in the chumrah of the month.
the issur is chometz, rising of the 5 grains wheat, barley, oat, spelt, and rye. kitniyos is eaten by many Sephardim enough is enough leave it alone geeze if the Ashkenazim knew what potatoes were at the time we’d have nothing to eat
…”But R’ Belsky disagrees, saying that our minhag of kitniyos includes anything that can be easily prepared into breads, crackers and porridges and are similar to grains that are mamash chometz”
This is nonsense. Based on R’ Belsky’s boich sefarah, potatoes should be kitnios also. What would we all do then? The truth is that the Sfardim are right. The entire concept of kitnios is a mistake.
I can’t help but side with R’ Schachter–and it looks like the Star-K is getting around the packaging issue. (assuming there IS a packaging issue of course; a mixture produced prior to Pesach is botul beshishim according to my Rav).
What you keep as kitniyos is a matter of minhag. If YOUR minhag is “anything that could be confused with chametz is kitniyos,” then you’ll avoid quinoa. And if your minhag is “x, y, and z are kitniyos,” then you won’t. The kashrus agencies shouldn’t be trying to tell you what your minhag is.
there was an attempt to include potatoes too until people realized that we’d be left with nothing to eat
Yes, let’s expand kitniyos because the rules make so much sense already. Let’s prohibit yet another food that was unknown outside South America until recently and that can never become chamets. Instead, we can spend Pesach eating matzo meal pancakes, pizzas, bagels, cakes, and rolls, because there is nothing at all bread-like about using a flour-like product made from a grain that can become chametz and making a bread-like food out of it.
you are right personal chumras are comendable. to force the public much less so. HOWEVER when it comes to pesach, the stringencies, the amount of work that goes into these 8 days to say nothing of the tremendous issur of chometz ….wherever..whatever . however i think we can all live without it. for a week, just like artificial shrimp.
For those that cant do without to the point that doing so will becomes life threatening im sure your rov will be very lenient
chag kosher visamayach to everyone ….now go help your wife
Just eat vegetables – Potatoes (or are they banned too because it’s a starch?!)
“anything that can be easily prepared into breads, crackers and porridges”
I’m not of stature to argue with Rav Belsky, but by that standard potatoes would be prohibited.
אגרות משה או”ח חלק ג’ ס’ ס”ג להתיר ה”פּינאט” משום שלא נאסר קטניות מקיבוץ חכמים אלא ע”י מנהג ולא רצו להנהיג עוד איסורים כמו שלא חששו לאכול תפוחי אדמה אף שאפשר לעשות מהם קמח ועוד שאפילו רבים מגדולי אשכנז לא חששו לאכילת קטניות אפילו במקום שנהגו לאסור לכן אין להוסיף על המנהג אלא מה שכבר הונהג מקדם
This position of allowing Quinoa is neither Rav Schachter’s or STAR-K’s Rav Heinemann’s Chiddush. It is the position of Rav Moshe Feinstein ZT”L and many others not to add new Kitnoyos. While some have been added despite the Poskim’s best efforts (corn and peanuts are two good examples), adding new ones is not their preference. this means Quinoa is fine.
The Igros Moshe in OC 3:63 quoted verbatim above states, “peanuts are permitted since Kitniyos was not forbidden with a organized group of Chachamim rather by custom and the Chachamim did not want to add any more prohibitions as such we have not forbidden potatoes. despite the fact that flour can be made from them as well. Furthermore there were even many Gedolei Ashkenaz who were unconcerned with eating Kitniyos even where the custom forbade it, and therfore this custom should not be added to except what has already been established.”
TUNE in to OU Kosher webcast with Rav Belsky and Rav Schachter next tuesday, March 12 – 2:30 PM to learn more about quinoa and MUCH more… there is more to Pesach than quinoa!
Who said Pesach food has to be unhealthy? I use plenty of vegetables, fish and lean chicken and meats and nuts and fruits for snacks. I’m sure all the junk you critics eat all year far outweighs the “unhealthy” food on Pesach.
without looking to much at the actual issue of quinoa it seems that a lot of you just hate Rabonim and anything to do with Halachah.
The differentiation needs to be made clear by all rabbonim about what is halach and what is minhag. People are confusing the two. They are looking at others with different minhagim and thinking that they are eating chometz on Pesach when that is not the case.
The interesting thing is that if there is an inclination to add new foods to the list potatoes should be first – BUT NOT merely because it can be made into bread. Because it has ALREADY become a very very popular bread in our times. In recent years, with the growing number of gluten free diet adherents, potato flour/starch, pasta, cookies, and every other imaginable chametz-like food item is readily available year-round in any supermarket. There are even markets that specialize in gluten free “chametz-like” items.These items are actually a staple for a growing number of people who NEVER eat chametz at all during the year. Other than theoretically, has anyone ever made quinoa into bread? When the Rabbis don’t follow R’ Moshe Feinstein and add new items, they end up cauisng people like those posters on this board to ask many questions that bring into question the whole kitniyos “list” in the first place. If we left the list alone and didnt talk about adding new items none of this would be happenng.
If big rabbonim like Rav Elifant, Rav Gitzorstzky etc. have studied the issue and decided that quinoa cannot be defined as kitniyos under any reasonable nexus with halacha, than unless you want to assur potatoes as well, the whole argument against quinoa falls apart. Personally, most yidden would be much better off if the rabbonim were to assur potatoes and mutar quinoa. Simply because our grandparents ate lots of potatoes in the alte heim, where quinoa was sometiomes difficult to obtain, doesn ‘t mean we should have to follow their minhag forever now that the OU has provided a 100 percent guarantee of its kashruth for pesach.
So why are potatoes not kitnyos? What about apricot pits? All can be used to make very confusing cakes and cookies.
The R”So is looking down and holding his head saying “Oy, this is not what I meant when I said to eat matza for seven days .”
Those of us who are celiac or gluten-intolerant have very few choices when keeping strictly kosher, especially kosher l’pesach. Shmurah oat matzah is extremely expensive, just for a enough to say the brochos for the mitzvah of matzah, let alone a week’s worth, and for those of us who can’t afford meat all week, it is essential to have other healthy, protein rich foods. Quinoa is one of those foods. As Ashkenazim, we will be eating quinoa from the Star K-P and following Igrot Moshe with regard to kitnyos.