Chief Rabbinate of Israel spokesman Ziv Maor released a message to the media that the Chief Rabbinate of Israel is working to lower the cost of kosher certified food products.

The Chief Rabbinate plans to approve more “veteran larger hechsherim” based in the Diaspora to permit more kosher imports in the hope this will lower prices. In addition, a committee has been working to find ways to use technology to lower the costs of supervision of milk from abroad towards increasing competition in the local marketplace and cutting costs to consumers.

Attending a meeting were Chief Rabbi David Lau Shlita, the director-general of the Ministry of Religious Services, the director-general of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, as well as representatives of the treasury, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Religious Services and employees of the Chief Rabbinate’s Kashrus Division.

A team of Chief Rabbinate and treasury representatives has been working together in recent months with the goal of cutting the cost of food items in Israel in mind. The committee has learned there is a significant difference in the price of dairy products in Israel and abroad, prompting the rabbonim to look into the use of more cameras and other technological advances to provide kosher supervision from a distance towards cutting the costs involved in giving hashgacha.

The Chief Rabbinate of Israel is now formulating criteria towards determining which hashgachos from abroad will be accepted in Israel, hoping to add to the existing list. The Chief Rabbinate feels that additional imports with reliable hashgachos will increase competition in the marketplace and this will result in lowering of prices of local goods.

The statement read the Chief Rabbinate of Israel remains committed to cutting prices without compromising kashrus to compel the marketplace to lower prices to consumers.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)