Andrew Halper, who owns Zayda’s in South Orange, has noticed that it is getting harder to find kosher meat and that poultry prices are rising.
Photo by Johanna Ginsberg
November 13, 2008
Local kosher meat purveyors are feeling the squeeze after the country’s largest supplier of glatt kosher meat filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Nov. 4.
With the kosher meat producer Agriprocessors, located in Iowa, facing mounting financial and legal problems, and a fire-related shutdown at another major kosher producer, industry insiders say major supply disruptions are inevitable and kosher consumers should brace themselves for some rough times.
“There’s definitely a problem,” said Ben Paniri, owner of Fumio, the glatt kosher sushi and steak house in Livingston. Although he doesn’t buy from Agriprocessors, but rather from its competitor, Alle, he’s still feeling the squeeze.
“Certain cuts can be hard to find,” he said, and there is little consistency in what is available. “What they have today, they may not have tomorrow.” The shortage is not only affecting the menu at Fumio; Paniri said he also worries that it will affect prices.
“Our suppliers are having a problem because everyone is turning to them. Until [the industry] meets the void, there will be a shortage.”
The Crystal Plaza started stockpiling glatt kosher meat last week. “I started making calls to buy up whatever I could, and I probably got the last of the lamb,” said Allan Janoff, owner of the catering hall in Livingston. “Now, frankly, I don’t know what the sources will be. It’s a very good question who will be producing glatt kosher meat. For our glatt business, it’s very sensitive.”
(“Glatt” indicates meats processed under what is often considered the most stringent of Orthodox standards.)
Janoff estimated that his glatt kosher clientele comprises about 20 percent of the hall’s business, and for them, he worked almost exclusively with Agriprocessors. For those with affairs already planned, Janoff said, there is enough meat put away to meet requests.
“Going beyond the foreseeable future, your guess is as good as mine,” he said. “We are talking to [new] glatt customers about different kinds of menus and selections,” particularly filling the void with poultry. But, he said, he worries that poultry prices will rise with demand.
Meanwhile, meat prices are up so high at ShopRite that Paniri joked, “Our steaks look like a bargain compared to their prices.”
At least one local butcher, Maple Kosher in the Vauxhall section of Union, says it is unaffected because it neither buys from Agriprocessors nor serves the glatt kosher clientele.
Zayda’s in South Orange also does not purchase any meat from Agriprocessors nor does it serve a glatt kosher clientele. However, owner Andrew Halper has noticed that it is getting harder to find even non-glatt kosher meat, and that poultry prices are rising. The financial crisis isn’t helping matters. “People are nervous and a lot of companies are tightening their credit policies,” he said. “Companies that enjoyed a longer term are no longer able to do so.”
Agriprocessors has endured a cascade of woeful news in recent weeks. First, Iowa’s labor commissioner hit the company with nearly $10 million in fines for alleged wage violations. Then, the son of the company’s founder was arrested on charges that he helped purchase fake identification for the company’s illegal workers.
And on Oct. 31, news broke that a St. Louis bank had initiated foreclosure proceedings after Agriprocessors and its owners defaulted on a $35 million loan.
Kosher industry insiders are predicting that the company will not pull through. Company officials did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Meanwhile, production at the nation’s third-largest kosher slaughterhouse, North Star Beef in Minnesota, has ground to a halt after a fire, the Forward reported. Also according to the newspaper, a smaller Agriprocessors plant in Gordon, Neb., stopped operating in October.
JTA contributed to this report.
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