After asking Rabbi Kuber what he thought about continuing to eat from our SA Beth Din I received the following answer:-
From: Mordechai Kuber <[email protected]>
Date: Sat, Mar 24, 2018 at 11:09 PM
Subject: RE: SA food
To: xxx
Dear Mrs. X
Thank you for your question.
The discovery of non-kosher chickens at a kosher-certified caterer is certainly a serious matter. One incident does not prove that a kosher certifier is not reliable. Much depends on how and why it happened. Can we deduce from the known incident that the kashrus system has serious flaws, or is there an explanation how it happened despite the excellence of the system? The latter is possible.
I understand that the Beis Din has begun a thorough investigation of the incident and its causes. As part of the investigation, the Chief Rabbi has committed to import two kashrus experts from the US to review fully the Beis Din’s kashrus system. These are positive steps, for which the Chief Rabbi and the Beis Din are to be commended. I pray that the Beis Din will grant full disclosure of the results of its investigation and the review to the community at large, or at least to its Rabbanim. If these are kept internal, they will rightfully fall short of reassuring the community.
What should you do in the meantime? At the very least, I suggest that one should not eat in or from any facility whose mashgichim do not impress as G-d-fearing and competent. There is no reason to think that somehow magically the incompetent or unqualified have become fit with the wave of a wand. Although we cannot guess what the conclusions of the investigation and review will be, my brief interlude with SA kashrus leads me to suspect that the fitness of some mashgichim for their jobs could be an issue. So if you or others are not certain about a mashgiach, by all means don’t eat there.
The Chief Rabbi and Beis Din seem committed to bringing the kashrus up to global standards, and to make any corrections necessary. It is critical to await the results of the investigation and review, and in the meantime to proceed with caution.
Best Regards and Chag Sameach,
Rabbi Kuber