Halachot and Customs
Is it permissible to drink Coca-Cola cans sold in Arab villages?
Question
Hello and blessings,
I wanted to ask whether it is permissible to drink Coca-Cola cans sold in Arab villages. Is Coca-Cola’s certification worldwide? I would like to know whether there is any problem with the certification, so that it may be made public, since many households of yeshiva men buy in the village near Beitar, thank you.
Answer
In honor of the festivals,
To the best of my knowledge, it should not be drunk, because although it is customary in many places abroad that there is no problem with Coca-Cola, such as in North America and the countries of the European Union, there are places where the food coloring for the beverage is produced from grape varieties originating in non-Jewish wine production. This concern exists in Central America and Eastern Europe. The same applies to Coca-Cola that comes from the Palestinian Authority.
Sources: See HaKashrut LaMaaseh (page 598).
With blessings,
Hillel Meirs
