KOSHER FRAUD IN ISRAEL- A SHANDAH!

Kosher Today this week reports a growing scandal involving trefe food labeled as kosher being sold in Israel. This is a most serious problem that must be addressed immediately.

Large Scale Kosher Fraud Plagues Israel

(Jerusalem) The Chief Rabbinate?s Kosher Fraud Division reports an alarming increase of 30% in the number of non-kosher products found in the marketplace with kosher certification labels. The kosher market throughout the world has long been plagued by the unauthorized use of kosher labels. In the US, there are some 1,000 incidents each year, although most turn out to be honest mistakes. Rabbi Rafi Yochai, who heads the kosher fraud division, reports no less than 3,000 such products were discovered in the Israeli marketplace during the first half of 2005. Rabbi Yochai explains that a French wine for example was marketed here with a kosher sticker. When company officials were questioned, they insisted they ordered a ?not-kosher? sticker affixed but apparently, the word ?not? was inadvertently left out during printing for some unknown reason. In one case, dog food was relabeled as a spread, of course carrying a kosher label. Rabbinical sources in Israel and the US urged consumers to be extremely vigilant by reading notices and checking kashrus web sites regularly.