Tobias Geffen

Tobias Geffen (; August 1, 1870 – February 10, 1970) was an American Orthodox rabbi. He served as the leader of Congregation Shearith Israel in Atlanta, Georgia, from 1910 to 1970. Geffen is widely known for his 1935 decision that certified Coca-Cola as kosher.

Biography Geffen was born on August 1, 1870, in the Lithuanian city of Kaunas (called Kovno at the time, part of the Russian Empire). He was ordained by Rabbis Tzvi Rabinowitz of Kovno and Moshe Danishevsky of the Slobodka Yeshivah. Because of the cramped tenement conditions, he moved to Canton, Ohio, in 1907 to become the rabbi of a small synagogue. He also initiated a daily community class in Talmud. Geffen also standardized regulation of kosher supervision in the Atlanta area under his central authority.

Kosher certification of Coca-Cola Since he lived in Atlanta near The Coca-Cola Company's headquarters, Geffen received many inquiries from rabbis across the United States inquiring whether Coca-Cola was kosher and whether it was kosher for Passover. He asked the company for a list of the beverage's ingredients. Geffen was provided with the Coca-Cola formula, a closely guarded trade secret, on the condition that he not disclose the formula. He convinced the company to substitute a vegetable-based glycerin. One of the sweeteners used in Coca-Cola included traces of alcohol produced from grain, rendering the drink impermissible during Passover.