Reaching 5,500 Food Executives & Over 6000 A publication for certified companies Plants Worldwide Novoenzymes fall 2005 U behind the behind the same time saving water,same timesaving energy, materials raw andwaste. industrial performance andquality,our biological solutionsimprove while at the eat.clothes tothefoodyou industries than40different Inmore and130 countries, thetextilesinyour life–from everyday useinyour you thousands ofproducts percent, $100million. andsalesofapproximately 2004, N nion Novozymes’ of factor intheproduction akey are than 600products more No symbol symbol v ozymes hadamark solutions to improve industrial performance everywhere.solutions toimprove In No and micr leaderinenzymes based world OVOZYMES v ozymes we continuously expand the frontiers ofbiological expand thefrontiers continuously ozymes we Biological Solutions (OU Kosher) of Natur Unlocking theMagic Biological Solutions (OU Kosher) of Natur Unlocking theMagic oorganisms. technologies, own Usingnature’s at et share in industrial enzymes of approximately 44 inindustrialet share enzymesofapproximately is thebiotech- e Thr e Thr ough ough continued onpage 6 From the Editor behindnion the “You shall live by them, but you U symbol shall not die because of them.” fall 2005 Basing themselves on the verse in Leviticus, “You shall live by them” (i.e., the KASHRUT DIVISION laws of the Torah), the Rabbis concluded that the Torah’s laws are intended to RABBI MENACHEM GENACK Rabbinic Administrator / CEO enhance life, never to cause death.Thus, whenever observance of the law endan- gers life, the requirement to observe is suspended, unless one is confronted with RABBI MOSHE ELEFANT Executive Rabbinic Coordinator / COO committing the three cardinal sins of murder, idolatry and adultery.Judaism teach- Director, New Company Department es that the value of human life is supreme and takes precedence over vir- tually all other considerations. Human life is not a good to be preserved as a RABBI YAAKOV LUBAN Executive Rabbinic Coordinator condition of other values, but as an absolute, basic, and precious good in its own right.The obligation to preserve life is commensurately all-encompassing. RABBI DR. ELIYAHU SAFRAN Senior Rabbinic Coordinator With that in mind, all Jewish sources have ruled that saving human life takes Director, Review and Update Department precedence over all other observances. Indeed, Maimonides rules that in those RABBI YERACHMIEL MORRISON instances when the Sabbath must be violated, it is preferable to have an adult and RABBI ABRAHAM JURAVEL scholarly Jew do so, “to teach that the purpose of the laws of the Torah… is to Ingredient Approval Registry bring mercy, loving kindness and peace upon the world.” RABBI HOWARD KATZENSTEIN It is this basic premise that is the guiding principle in allowing the ingestion Director, Business Management of any medicine for any illness that is even remotely life-threatening, without any concern as to its kosher status. One need not be concerned as to whether the u prescription drug, tablet or pill prescribed by the physician is kosher. Jewish law STEPHEN J. SAVITSKY requires that it be taken so that health is quickly restored. Chairman, Joint Kashrut Commission Many over-the-counter consumer health products, such as cough syrups, how- RABBI EMANUEL HOLZER ever, are another story. Overwhelmingly, they are taken in non-life threatening sit- Chairman, Rabbinic Kashrut Commission uations, and whenever possible ought to be kosher certified, as many contain ingre- dients and flavors that may not be kosher. Moreover, the product could be a liquid u that is ingested, much like food, and should be treated as food. Flavorings actually ORTHODOX UNION give the product a pleasant taste, making it even more like a food. It is therefore of tremendous significance that Novartis Consumer Health, STEPHEN J. SAVITSKY President Inc., a leader in pharmaceutical consumer health, has joined with the Orthodox RABBI DR. TZVI HERSH WEINREB Union, the world’s leading kosher certifier, in launching a new era of kosher cer- Executive Vice President tification of major OTC medications, beginning with the announce- DAVID OLIVESTONE ment last year of OU certification of their Triaminic products. Indeed, Director, Communicatons and Marketing no kosher story in recent memory has received the media attention that OU certified Triaminic did, starting with a feature story in The u New York Times’ science section and followed by a major AP story cov- BEHIND THE UNION SYMBOL ered in nearly 100 papers nation-wide. RABBI DR. ELIYAHU SAFRAN Now, Novartis’ Maalox products, the popular heartburn remedy, Editor–in–Chief join all eight varieties of the Triaminic liquid for children in bearing STEPHEN STEINER the OU trademark. All Maalox chewable and most liquid formula- Editor tions are now certified by the OU. The Orthodox Union salutes PAMELA WEIMAN Graphic Designer Novartis Consumer Health, Inc. yet again for its historic undertaking, continued commitment and accomplishments, as we commend and applaud the skilled, car- WE WELCOME ing and professional follow-through of its Maalox and Triaminic teams and per- YOUR COMMENTS sonnel of its Lincoln, NE plant, whose meticulousness matches the OU’s com- & CONTRIBUTIONS mitment to excellence. fax 212.613.0775 Best regards, e–mail [email protected] Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu Safran Experiencing a Maalox Moment: Following Triaminic, the OU Certifies Novartis Consumer Health’s Famed Heartburn Remedy OVARTIS CONSUMER HEALTH, INC. and the ications–such as Maalox® and Triaminic®–which are not used in Orthodox Union have jointly announced life-threatening situations or in cases of serious illness. the first kosher certification of a mainstream The Orthodox Union is the world’s largest kosher certifica- adult over-the-counter (OTC) medication, tion agency, certifying over 400,000 products produced in near- Maalox®, the popular heartburn remedy. ly 5,000 plants located in 77 countries around the world, includ- NToday’s announcement is the second time Novartis has received ing the Novartis Consumer Health plant in Lincoln, Nebraska, a kosher certification on one of its OTC products. where all Maalox® and Triaminic® products are manufactured. With last year’s announcement of the kosher-certification The newly certified products include Maalox® Regular of Triaminic®, a children’s cough, cold and allergy product, Suspension cherry and mint; Maalox® Max Suspension cherry, Novartis became the first major OTC company to receive OU mint, wild berry, lemon and vanilla crème; Maalox® Regular certification. Chewable wild berry and lemon; Maalox® Max Chewable Maalox® will begin carrying the kosher certification sym- assorted fruit, wild berry and lemon and Maalox® Antacid bol in early October. However, formulations of Maalox® that Barrier Chewable cherry and mint. are currently on the shelves already are kosher compliant.This Rabbi Dr. Eliyahu Safran, Senior Rabbinic Coordinator of includes all chewable and most of the liquid formulations.The OU Kosher, supervised the certification process of Maalox® and only product that is not kosher-certified is Maalox® Total Triaminic®, and noted that the taste of the medication remains Stomach Relief. the same. Now Maalox® will be available to the kosher consumer “OU certification came about after a comprehensive as well as to those who may not keep kosher but who look for review by the OU and cooperation by Novartis,” said Rabbi the OU symbol as a sign of quality.Those OU products which Safran, who noted that in the case of Maalox®, as with do not contain meat or dairy are also popular among vegetari- Triaminic®, Novartis’ experience in dealing with the rigors of ans and those who are lactose intolerant. the FDA regulatory process made it particularly easy to work “The kosher certification of Maalox® is another effort by with the company on meeting the OU’s strict requirements. He Novartis Consumer Health, Inc. to fulfill the needs of our diverse lauded Novartis’“full compliance to assure that Maalox®’ ingre- consumer base,” said Brian McNamara, Senior Vice President dients met OU standards.” U and General Manager of Novartis OTC North America. “We were the first to offer a kosher certified medicine with last year’s release of Triaminic®, a children’s medication. The certification of Maalox makes us a trail- With Triaminic®, a blazer in the adult medicine category.” “The certification of Triaminic formerly untouched paved the way for the certification of frontier in kosher Maalox®,” explained Rabbi Menachem certification was Genack, Chief Executive Officer of OU Kosher. “With Triaminic®, a formerly reached when the untouched frontier in kosher certifica- over-the-counter tion was reached when the over-the- counter pharmaceutical received the pharmaceutical received OU symbol. Now we extend that fron- the OU symbol. Now we tier with the certification of Maalox®.” extend that frontier with Kosher certification is not required for prescription medications, but it is a the certification of requirement for over-the-counter med- Maalox®. FALL 2005 3 Colleagues sometimes ask me if it isn’t Chemical frustrating working with something as “non-scientific” as kosher. I then tell Engineer them that on the contrary, I find it very challenging to make old religious Kosher rules and modern biotechnology meet & Coordinator and go hand in hand. understand OU’s decisions and to find applicable solutions in discussions with Rabbi Adler and Dr. Meyer. However, from my desk in Novozymes’ headquarters I can- not ensure