Styrofoam, Tallow, & Your Hot Cup of Joe

Is My Cup Treif?!

March, 2019

Several weeks ago I dedicated this space to discussing the kashrus world in general and the life of Rav Blech in particular. He was the kashrus expert’s kashrus export, and was niftar suddenly at a relatively young age.

I concluded the column with one of the last discussions I had with him, where we tried to come up with a list of some of the more startling facts about the food industry that would shock the kosher consumer.

We arrived at the following list:

A) Confectionary Sugar Glaze (e.g. shine on chocolate covered almonds) coming from the lac bug

 B) Beaver glands used in artificial vanilla and maple flavor 

C) Zinc Stearate used as a release agent in the tiny beads that make up Styrofoam cups, which comes from animals (stearate)

 D) The consistent color of white in granulated sugar is created by passing them over charcoaled animal bones

E) Black ink may have squid ink in it

The goal here was not to bring the reader alarm, rather to open his eyes to all that goes in to all that he consumes.

Nevertheless, I received a steady stream of feedback after its publication regarding but one item on that list: C) Styrofoam Cups.

I believe most kosher consumers were aware, albeit vaguely, that there is some issue or-another with these cups, and for some my quick reference only awakened their already sleeping curiosity.

One reader wrote to me how a famous posek (whose name I will not mention due to my inability to check the veracity of this story) refused a cup of hot tea from his son on his death bed when it was served in a Styrofoam cup!

I promised those that contacted me that I will revisit the issue in a column in the near future.

In order to understand the potential kashrus concerns, a quick review of what ‘Styrofoam’ is would be apt.

‘Styrofoam’ is actually a trademarked name, like ‘Kleenex’ for tissues, or Coca-Cola for cola.

In fact, ‘Styrofoam’ itself was never used for beverages or food. According to the Washington Post (December 18, 2003), Dow Chemical-who owns the name ‘Styrofoam’-is not pleased at this confusion.

“We’re doing everything we can to make sure that it’s used properly,” says Tim Lacey, Dow’s business director for building solutions in the Americas. “We don’t really know why everyone wants to land on the name Styrofoam, and why it serves as something people want to misuse.”

The more accurate name for the foamed cups we use is polystyrene, or EXP cups.

 These names stem from both the makeup and process behind these cups.

The actual ‘stuff’ out of which these cups are made are created from a synthetic polymer made from styrene, hence the portmanteau ‘polystyrene’.

As for the term EXP, it refers to either extruded or expanded polystyrene.

Now that we understand its name we can better follow its fascinating production.

The polystyrene comes to the factory in tiny granules-maybe the size of course salt.

In the late 1940’s companies learnt that if one applies steam to these tiny pellets they will expand to over forty times their size. In addition, they become somewhat fused in their growth to each other.

There are a host of services this discovery could-and does! -provide. From insulation to packing material that protects the product during shipment.

EXP cups are produced with the same method, however, before these beads are fully formed they are placed in a cup molder where they are steamed some more.

This forces them to form and shape into the hardened cup we all know so well.

In fact, if you look closely enough at your Styrofoam cup – I mean EXP cup! – you may notice that it is made up by beads.

Among its most beneficial features is that an EXP cup does not get hot to the touch from the outside, allowing one to serve piping hot coffee with a risk of lawsuits.

So far this process seems innocuous enough. However, when it comes to production of any kind we have to factor in other issues.

Once completed in the mold, these EXP cups need a way to be removed, simply and without breakage.

In order to facilitate this, a release agent is added to the beads to aid its release from the mold upon completion.

This release agent that is used is known as ‘zinc soap’, or Zinc Stearate.

It is made up by Zinc Oxide and Stearic Acid.

Stearic acid is often, and cheaply, derived from beef tallow which is made up of fourteen percent stearic acid.

So now we understand the halachic concern. Although it can’t be seen, or tasted, and although it serves no further purpose, there is no doubt that a hot beverage served in such a cup or bowl will have some tarfus in it!

And even if one wishes to point out that whatever one places in the cup will overwhelm the treif thereby being mevatel it (nullifying it), we have a rule that one can not nullify on purpose!

Many have written on this topic (see Rav Gavriel Tzinner, Ohr Yisroel, Teves, 5765, pages 119-129), and almost all major poskim rule that these cups are still fine for use.

Each of the many reasons behind its lichatchila allowance are complex, but we will touch on some of them briefly and with extreme brevity:

• The Zinc Stearate is not nikkar (visible)
• The above is especially true when no one is now desirous of this tasteless –and by now pointless-treif additive.
• This treif ingredient itself is a davar pagum (putrid thing)

For these, and other reasons not mentioned, one is at worst allowed to nullify this ingredient on purpose and at best the ingredient itself is not a concern to begin with.

Of course, and as we also stress, each reader should speak to their own posek. But the rule of puk chazi mah d’ama devar (see what the nation does) would indicate a general acceptance of these cups’ allowance.

I hope, as with the initial column that started this discussion, this brings the reader renewed recognition to all the great mashgichim and poskim behind all that we eat…and what we eat it with!