Rabbi Avrohom Stone of the Orthodox Union speaks about kosher supervision during the March 8 program of the Orthodox Forum of Highland Park/Edison at Congregation Ohr Torah. Also taking part is Ohr Torah’s Rabbi Yaakov Luban, left, of the OU’s kashrut division, and session chair Dr. Ira Krumholtz.
Photo by Debra Rubin
March 18, 2008
Price hikes in many basic products may encourage manufacturers to cut corners on kashrut, said a field supervisor for the Orthodox Union.
Rabbi Avrohom Stone warned an Edison audience that prices for basics — particularly flour — have “skyrocketed” in recent months because so much agriculture is being diverted into making ethanol as an alternative fuel.
“Companies are looking to cut back,” said Stone, adding that he feared they may try to circumvent expensive kashering procedures.
Speaking at Congregation Ohr Torah March 8, Stone and fellow kashrut expert Rabbi Yaakov Luban described the detective work that goes into assuring that such companies, stores, and restaurants deserve their kosher status. The event was sponsored by the Orthodox Forum of Highland Park/Edison.
Luban, executive rabbinic coordinator for the kashrut division of the OU and rabbi at Ohr Torah, has supervised local kosher eateries for the Vaad Harabonim of the Raritan Valley for more than 20 years.
Luban recalled an incident from about 23 years ago, when he used his detective skills to outsmart a former local pizzeria owner. Some unlabeled cans raised his suspicions and led him on a search for other infractions. He was about to open a bag of garbage left outside the shop when the alarmed owner snatched it from Luban’s hand and ran down the street.
“I began running after him, my tzitzit flying behind me,” recalled Luban. “I was a lot younger then.”
He saw the owner stuff the bag under a truck. When Luban retrieved it, he found empty boxes of nonkosher cheese. The owner tried to pass them off as old containers, but the truth came out — he had been filling the grated cheese containers at night with the treif cheese.
“This could have gone on for 25 years,” said Luban. “It was really just mazel that I saw those cans. I always felt God was protecting the community.”
Stone, a field supervisor who oversees more than 100 companies, said the number of products earning the respected “OU” certification has mushroomed in recent years thanks to market forces.
A growing number of companies seek a hechsher — kosher certification — because they know it will lead to desired branding among kosher consumers who have shown an unmatched loyalty to brands they know to be kosher, according to Stone.
He reeled off a handful of companies producing kosher products from salad dressing to chocolate as people murmured and nodded their heads in recognition.
“Kashrus is all about money,” said Stone, founder and director of the community kollel in his hometown of West Orange. “Nobody is out there manufacturing and producing any type of food that is kosher with a hechsher unless they can make money.”
According to the U.S. Labor Department, wholesale food prices rose last month at the fastest rate since 2003.
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