Can shredded wheat cereal be eaten on Passover?

Answer 1

Whether you can eat shredded wheat cereal on Passover would depend on your degree of compliance with Hebrew law.

While technically, shredded wheat has no leavening (something to make bread rise), more strict interpretations say that nothing should be consumed that contains grain or grain products, since we cannot know if a small amount of yeast may have accidentally been introduced into the grain.

Answer

The simple answer is, no. As Shredded Wheat is made from wheat, it is chametz and therefore cannot be eaten during Passover.

Chametz refers to flour made from any of the 5 forbidden grains - wheat, barley, spelt, rye, and oats. In order to be kosher for passover, the grains have to be supervised from harvest to confirm they do not come into contact with water at any point. Then, once the grains are ground into flour and water is added, the product must be thoroughly cooked within 18 minutes. This has nothing whatsoever to do with the presence of yeast.

There is no issue eating foods made from the 5 forbidden grains so long as the food is prepared following the laws of Passover kashrut. To make sure that we only eat foods suitable for Passover, all commercially processed foods must have a kosher for Passover certification.