Passover Shopping Guide: What You Can Buy Without Special Certification—and What Really Needs It

These days, plenty of foods that look natural and innocent actually go through industrial processing. That means Passover kosher status can get tricky. As a rule, make sure anything you buy is certified kosher for Passover, and treat any product without that certification as possibly containing chametz.

Here are three examples to illustrate:

A. A natural apple—an apple picked from the backyard lasts at most a week, while a market apple lasts several weeks. How is that possible? In the plant, the apple is washed to remove its natural wax and then coated in a synthetic wax. After that, it goes into an oven at 35 degrees, which extends its shelf life. (Note: there is no chametz concern in this wax; this example is for illustration only.)

B. When we make strawberry jam at home, the color isn’t uniform and the texture and sweetness vary from batch to batch. Store-bought jams that contain fruit, however, look and taste the same every time. Why? Because they use flavor concentrates, food colorings, and stabilizers.

C. Same idea with homemade pickles or other ferments: sometimes they come out paler, sometimes more sour. But a canned pickle will always look and taste identical, because manufacturers add flavor concentrates and food coloring during production.

Every flavor concentrate can be made of more than 30 different ingredients that may contain chametz or kitniyot, and food colorings can also include components that raise chametz concerns. Stabilizers may contain starches that can be derived from wheat (starch can come from wheat, corn, or potatoes, and when a chemist checks a finished product, there’s no way to tell whether the starch came from wheat or potatoes—so treat starch as possibly chametz). For example:

A. Chicken soup powder (and other instant soups) contains about 80% starch.

B. Chocolate spread and various spreads such as hummus can contain more than 20% starch.

C. There’s a sweetener called "glucose" that’s derived from kitniyot, which is an issue for those who avoid kitniyot.

D. There’s a component called "dextrose," which is produced from starch.

Therefore, when shopping for Passover, be careful to check for a kosher-for-Passover certification stamp on products.

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Products that require Passover certification

Plus a quick look at how some items are made—and which products don’t need special Passover certification.

Meat and Fish

Fresh meat or fish do not need Passover certification (because there’s no industrial processing). Frozen meat or frozen fish—require Passover certification.

The reason: today, frozen meat can contain about 10% added water. How do the water molecules get absorbed into the meat? Producers inject a component called "phosphates" that help the water bind to the meat. Sometimes so much water is injected that the meat’s nutritional value drops below the standard. By law, meat must contain a certain level of protein, so manufacturers add soy protein or starch—which may come from chametz. The same is true for ground meat, processed meats, hot dogs, and canned fish.

Cheese

Cheeses require Passover certification. Today, cheese is produced using starter cultures, and to multiply the bacteria various fully chametz-based components may be added.

Sauces, Spreads, and Spices

All kinds of sauces—ketchup, date spread, chocolate spread, jams, and the like—often contain starches. Spices, too, sometimes have flour or starch added. All of these require Passover certification.

Soy and Canola Oil

Soy and canola oil require special Passover certification because during oil production, wheat grains may be involved.

Paper Cups, Baking Cups, Paper Towels, Parchment, Paper Napkins

All paper products may include starch blends, so anything that comes into contact with food should have Passover certification.

Paper cups, baking cups, parchment, paper towels, napkins, etc.—require Passover certification (printing paper that doesn’t come into contact with food does not need certification).

Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef on kashering utensils for Passover:

Household Cleaners

Our Sages taught that anything inedible even to a dog is not considered food and does not require certification. Therefore, cleaning products do not need Passover certification.

Pet Food for Dogs, Cats, Parrots, and Fish

If the food is repulsive to people and there’s no concern that someone would mix it into their own food—like fish food, which people wouldn’t eat—it does not require Passover certification. The same goes for parrot food.

Dog food is considered edible for humans and therefore requires Passover certification.

Toothpaste

Ideally, buy toothpaste that is certified for Passover.

If necessary, you may use the toothpaste you use during the year. Therefore, if you need a medicinal dental paste or denture adhesive, you may use it on Passover.

Makeup, Lipstick, and Lip Balm

Makeup — does not require Passover certification.

Creams — do not require Passover certification (for Ashkenazim, it is preferable to be stringent).

Lipstick and lip balm — if unflavored, do not require Passover certification. If they are flavored, they require special Passover certification.

Dental Floss and Toothpicks

Dental floss and toothpicks—if unflavored, do not require Passover certification. If they are flavored, they require special Passover certification.

Dried Fruit

Most dried fruits go through various production and enhancement processes, so it’s best to buy all dried fruit with Passover certification. Here are a few examples from production to help you understand:

Prunes: They are dried abroad, and when they reach the local plant they’re placed in a bath of mineral oil, which restores their moisture and flavor (sometimes the bath is mixed with citric acid, which can be derived from chametz).

Cranberries: Regular cranberries have only a sunflower oil sheen and are acceptable for those who eat kitniyot.
Cranberries labeled "no sugar added" require Passover certification (they’re sweetened with apple concentrate that contains flavorings, so certification is necessary).

Figs: Permitted without Passover certification, since they’re coated only with sugar (note that figs often have a significant insect issue, so the recommendation is to avoid eating them).

Omri variety dates: Coated with glucose that may be derived from kitniyot, potatoes, or corn. Therefore, for those who avoid kitniyot, do not eat without special Passover certification.

Apricots: Only sulfuric acid is used, which is a pure chemical. If it gets mixed into a cooked dish on Passover, there is room to consult a rabbi.

Regular raisins: No oil coating at all—if they get mixed into a cooked dish on Passover, there is room to consult a rabbi.

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Sugar, Stevia, Sucralose, Sukrazit, Powdered Sugar, Salt, and Tea

Sugar — Some packing facilities bag sugar in the same place as flour and other grains, which can lead to cross-contamination. Other companies package separately, such as Sugat (you may buy Sugat sugar without Passover certification).

Note that you should not use sugar that was used around chametz; include any open package of sugar in the sale of chametz, and open a new package for Passover.

Stevia — Liquid stevia requires Passover certification. Stevia leaves do not require certification.

Sucralose — Kosher for Passover (sucralose is regular sugar whose DNA has been split in two, so it doesn’t harm people with diabetes).

Sukrazit — Requires Passover certification.

Powdered sugar — Requires Passover certification (it contains starch).

Salt — Ideally, buy with Passover certification. Some factories grind salt in mills that also grind flour, and since salt is considered "sharp," some are concerned about chametz absorbed into the salt. Therefore, it’s preferable to buy Passover-certified salt.

Tea — Requires Passover certification, since it can contain flavorings and starch.

Olive Oil

Olive oil for eating — It’s best to buy with Passover certification, even though most olive oil in the country comes from Spain, where labeling laws prohibit adding anything when a product is marked 100%. However, oils produced locally may be blended with canola or soy (these can be mixed into olive oil because they contain lecithin, which emulsifies oils), which is a problem for those who avoid kitniyot. Therefore, it’s recommended to buy olive oil certified for Passover.

Olive oil for lighting— does not require Passover certification.

Instant Coffee

Regular instant coffee does not require Passover certification, but flavored instant coffee—vanilla, mocha, and other flavors—does require certification.

Nuts and Seeds

All nuts and seeds that are not roasted are permitted on Passover, except peeled walnuts, which are coated with an "antioxidant" to prevent odor and browning. In any case, buy nuts and seeds in sealed packaging with Passover certification.

Carbonated Drinks

All sodas require Passover certification. Coca-Cola by the Coca-Cola Company is kosher for Passover all year. Diet sodas require Passover certification.

Items that do not require Passover certification at all

Rice (for those who eat kitniyot) — The custom is to check it three times before use on Passover, and some take care to rinse and rub it well by hand.

All types of dried legumes (for those who eat kitniyot) — They do not undergo processing. You may use all types of dried legumes.

Note: Do not use wheat, bulgur, pearl barley, and the like, which become full-fledged chametz when cooked.

Frozen vegetables — All frozen vegetables, such as peas and carrots, okra, corn, and the like—pose no concern and may be used on Passover, except frozen artichoke—which is coated with an anti-browning agent that contains citric acid derived from chametz.

Black coffee — Does not require Passover certification (it is only roasted and ground, with no chametz concern).

Disposable plastic and styrofoam — All plastic disposables—cups, plates, cutlery, plastic tablecloths, and the like—do not require certification (because they have no coating), and the same applies to styrofoam items: trays, cups, etc.

Medications and Syrups

Chronic patients who must take medications regularly, and for whom any change could be harmful, are permitted to take their medications even if they contain chametz, because the prohibition of chametz is waived for a person with a life-threatening condition.

For someone with a minor illness—if there is no Passover-certified alternative, a tasteless swallow tablet is permitted.

Syrup — Requires Passover certification (because it has flavor). However, for a person with a dangerous condition (life-threatening), it is permitted to take the syrup even without Passover certification.

General medications: inhalers, eye and ear drops, suppositories, injections, and external medical creams for the skin—are permitted to use.

Wishing a kosher and joyful Passover to the entire House of Israel

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