OK Kosher Publishes Advisory, Clarifies It’s Actions Against Misuse of the OK Symbol
by Monsey.info
The Jewish social media world went wild Wednesday with an important message advising people not to buy an item being sold at a well-frequented store. The reason, the OK symbol was illegally placed on the packaging.
The viral message spread fast, and the OK got inundated with questions if the message was, in fact true.
“OK Kosher Certification is aware that there have been several instances of companies misusing the OK Kosher certification mark in relation to ketogenic dietary claims, often with the word keto under the OK Kosher certification mark,” the OK wrote in a press release. “We would like to assure the public that our legal department and our attorneys have contested each such use of which we became aware and, to date, have been successful in defending our mark and having it removed from all instances of misuse. We have and will follow up vigorously with any company found to be using the OK Kosher certification mark illegally.”
The OK Kosher certification mark (a circle with a K) is a globally registered trademark and represents to consumers that any product bearing the OK Kosher certification mark is certified by OK Kosher. Consequently, any companies using the trademark on products that have not been certified by OK Kosher, are infringing on the trademark rights and are in effect using a counterfeit mark.
As such things are many times confusing and are easily mistaken, the OK offered a basic approach to confirming if a product is certified.
“We would like to take this important opportunity to remind consumers that, when in doubt, please refer to the OK Kosher Product Search on our website or on the OK Kosher app,” they wrote.
Members of the public finding labels with the OK symbol on a products that do not appear on the OK website or the OK Kosher Food App should bring the item to their attention via the app or by sending an email to info@ok.org.
Another high profile misuse of the Kosher certification symbol included Florigen, a common pro-biotic routinely advised by pediatricians which had a Kosher Certification symbol on it illegally.
