Kosher status for lubricant pulled (out)

In what seems to be a case of premature certification, it appears the Rabbinical Council of California came too soon to a decision to give its Kosher seal of approval to a line of personal lubricants. The RCC withdrew its certification this week of Trigg Laboratories’ Wet line.

It is unclear what exactly caused the RCC to pull out.

“Certification of non-edible items is common in the kosher industry,” read the RCC’s statement, “but the intended uses of these items as now revealed, was misunderstood.” JTA speculated that the decision stems from Wet’s popularity in the gay community.

“The RCC has rescinded its certification with immediate effect, and deeply regrets the widespread consternation that this error caused,” said the RCC.

Rumors of Kosher lube aroused significant interest, with coverage in Jewish media, blogs, and mainstream publications like The Wall Street Journal and The Guardian. Conan O’Brien even did a comedy sketch on the product.

Yahoo reports that Rabbi Yosef Caplan, assistant director of Kashrus Services at the RCC, sent a letter to Trigg Laboratories informing them of the option of self-certification.

“Although we are not able to certify the product,” Caplan wrote, “it is our understanding that one may legally place a ‘K’ on their products to indicate its kosher status. When there is no outside certifying agency, this is called ‘self-certification’ and when inquired about a certifying authority you advise them that you have self-certification based on the fact that your ingredients are exclusively known to be kosher without any cross contamination on your mixing and bottling line.”

The RCC will be returning the money paid by Trigg for the certification.