It seems like the main culprit in "Bug-Gate" is the esteemed Rabbi Moshe Heineman of the Star-K. He has been so kind as to announce that the salads that were deemed Verboten bore his supervision until now. There was also a relative newcomer to the supervision business, Rabbi YM Moshkovitsh, of "Shatz-Drohvitch", who had his name affixed as another Rabbinic supervisor, seemingly for the more savvy consumer who will accept only the best and most religious supervision. (If you'd see him you'd know what I mean) I would assume that Rabbi Moshkovitsh relied on the knowledge and reputation of the Star-K, just as the other "holy hechsherim" rely on the O-U and O-K for their needs.
So the question is: What was the good Rabbi Heineman thinking when he put his name on the bags? Was he relying, as do most others, on leniencies that would allow it to be certified as Kosher, or was it a good old fashioned pull-the-wool-over-the-eyes of the consumer who thinks he may be overpaying but at least he's getting Super-Kosher? I won't venture to guess, but something's very wrong either way.
Why was the Bug-Rabbi from Israel even allowed to open this - no pun intended - bag of worms anyway? Do American Rabbonim go and check the Kashrus of Israeli products?And if needed to be done why do it in the way it was done, i.e. publicly proclaiming them to be insect-riddled, they could've just removed it from the shelves without the public-announcements that hurt reputations and lead to incessant finger-pointing?!
More importantly: will BODEK ever be scrutinized as was Fresh Express, or will the findings there take down too many "more important" people and break the public's trust completely?
Stay tuned boys and girls....
21 comments:
It seems to me that the STAR K has been involved in many Kashrus controversies in the last several years. The Baltimore cruise ship fiasco, the Zalman's meat takeover that drove Chaimowitch Glatt packing out of business and I think a few others.
What gives here ?
In many ways the Rav there establishes strict standards in some areas and piggy backs on those standarsd to be maikil in other areas.
Perhaps Hashem is telling us something about bugs in Veggies , lets do what our bobbes and zeides did .Lo nitna Hatore leMalacha hashares.
Ahhhhhhh.........
A total change of face today, huh?
I yelled at you guys yesterday that you have NOOOOOO clue what you were talking about..
nu, nu.
There's more to come.
Stay tuned.
(Oscar, call me please).
Oy Jews, Just buy fresh andy boy romaine hearts, rinse them in the sink, and you will have bug free, fresh, cheap, good lettuce.
grrrrrrrrrrrr!
are the last 2 the same guy/gal?
Can't you just choose a name? Is it that difficult?
Who says "Andy Boy" is any better?
What about other veggies?
Who says rinsing is enough?
The andy boy was me.
I have been using andy boy lettuce for months, just chop off the bottoms and rinse them well.
You also need to look at what you are doing, but you will see that by maybe one out of a hundred a big will wind up in the sink. They are clean and crisp.
I have yet to read his sefer but from what I hear he prohibits just about all veggies (OK, that's somewhat of an exaggeration)
is he very stringent?
flatbushyid
I did not mean to degrade Rabbi ויא in any way.
When I worked in hashgocha we were told to check 3/4 heads in a case - if they were clean than we could assume they all were clean...
But almost everyone I knew would additionally throw out the outermost leaves, pull the heads apart, and soak the heads in water with salt & vinigar. We would then rinse, soak again and rinse.
When I worked in hashgocha we were told to check 3/4 heads in a case - if they were clean than we could assume they all were clean...
But almost everyone I knew would additionally throw out the outermost leaves, pull the heads apart, and soak the heads in water with salt & vinigar. We would then rinse, soak again and rinse.
zezmir, sounds like the cabbage you guys were packing comes already dressed in the packet!
flatbushyid,
Are you saying that Rabbi Blumenkrantz, who writes again and again in the Torah Times and in his Pesach book not to use any romain besides Landaus Supermarket is just not right?! How do you know this? Why would Rabbi Blumenkrantz push a product in less he knows that they are doing it right.
The posters are more general now, without singling out any one brand. However, some brands are still being sold in stores, and many customers have no knowledge of the whole incident....
Imagine if you're a frum vegetarian, what's left for you to eat?
Flatbushyid
You're making some very serious accusations here, and about a Rov who's known to be a serious guy. What then are we supposed to say about RAB's Pesach industry, does he really have his finger on the whole Kashrus situation? Is he as lenient on Pesach too? What about the whole Shaitel scare recently, he was supposedly "THE" expert on that too?
G-d help us....
Stores in BP are still selling Fresh Express as of 7pm tonight! I couldn't believe my eyes, what are these guys thinking, or are selling it to Goyim only? (yeah, right)
Hey Flatbushyid,
I was just in a kosher supermarket and they are selling plenty of romaine lettuce (3 kinds) from Reddy Pac with 2 hechsherim one from the OV and one from the Vaad Hoeir of St. Louis. Loads of fruma people were loading up on this new vegies and these were people who would not buy the other companies that were included in the isur from the Rabonim. So BH the problem is solved.
why would Reddy Pac be any better than Fresh or Dole?
I don't Know but since this new company came out after the isur came out from so many Rabonim, this must be REALLY bug free. Besides, the Rabonim on this new company gave a hechshur after the tumel with the isur it must be because they know that they have a good system.
flatbushyid, I'm afraid that you don't have your information corect. That Brown guy owns Fresh Express. If you would look on the bag of Ready Pac you will see that it is distributed by Kosher Produce.
flatbushyid,
I must hand it to you you. You seem to know what you are talking about. I went into stores myself and asked the owners who is this new company and YOU ARE 100% RIGHT. Ready Pac is the same as Fresh Express. Not only that, but they told me that this Mr. Brown gives the stores the veggies without them paying for the product-as long as they stock his vegies. When I asked them why they are selling romain if the rabonim asured it, they told me that Brown told them that this is a new item with a new hechshur and is totaly clean. I know I am sounding like you but we MUST put this low life out of business.
fltbshyid
So even Fresh Express Iceberg Salads would be OK then? because they're still being sold in the stores
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