Anita’s Ice Cream: Is It Kosher?

Hi There’s an ice cream store called Anita’s that opened in aventura Florida and they have a kosher certification we have not seen before. We emailed the rabbi listed on the certification and asked him about the kashrut status of the ice cream. This is what he answered.. I am the Rav Hamachshir for Kosher Culture. All the dairy used, milk, cream and yogurts, and Chalva Yisrael. Toppings are not Chalva Yisrael, but are Chalva stam or Pareve, as.listed on the certificate. We are an independent kosher certification agency. Regarding Shabbat , the store is sold by heiter mechira to a non-Jew, based on the CRC guidelines. The question is.. is there another question we need to ask to this rabbi to determine if eating at this store is acceptable? They don’t have the normal kosher Miami certification which is strange, but maybe a new kosher kashrut agency shouldn’t be disregarded because it’s not the usual? We are confused in whether eating here is halachically corrext or not. Thank you

Shalom!

Thank you for your question.

It is not possible for us to comment on Kosher certifying agencies around the world.

However, it  certainly seems that the hechsher on the ice cream store, as you have described it, is not a mainstream, normative hechsher.

Maybe you should ask your Orthodox rabbi if it is right for you.