With the Governor and the legislature of the State of New York eyeing cutting costs of every item on its budget, division of Kosher Law Enforcement is facing cuts of more than 95% of its current budget. That cuts 95% of its staff and literally eliminates all kosher food inspections. Plainly, that is unacceptable New York States kosher consumers.
The observant community herewith speaks up and proclaims that the Kosher Law Enforcement division must be maintained retained at its full force. The Rabbinical Alliance of America, representing more than 850 Member Rabbis across the United States with a great concentration in the State of New York, together with the National Council of Young Israel, representing more than 200 synagogues, issues this call. The name New York is virtually synonymous with the word kosher. In 1879, seeking to serve its then already robust and growing Jewish population, the State of New York formulated the very first kosher food law in all of the United States.
In addition to Jewish consumers, non-Jews that are vegetarian, lactose intolerant, Halal, quality oriented, etc., are satisfied when they find kosher certification on a food product. Their confidence in the kosher certification is bolstered by the effectiveness of the Kosher Law Enforcement Division of New York States Department of Agriculture. The threatened budget cuts will render the enforcement division toothless and destroy its earned universal confidence. Kosher Inspectors would be eliminated and no longer would they carry out inspections to enforce the Kosher Laws.
The very integrity of New York’s huge kosher food industry is at stake. Maintaining New York State’s Kosher Law Enforcement’s vigilance preserves the kosher integrity of the State as well as of its food manufacturers. We declare to our state political representatives the great importance of this issue to the Jewish and non-Jewish consumers, as well as to the welfare of the State. The number of inspectors and inspections is the backbone of kosher integrity. Eliminating kosher food inspectors translate directly to decreased sales, decrease revenues, and decreased employment, all that must be avoided in this time of economic recession.
New York’s immense share of the kosher industry is bolstered by its effective and respected Kosher Law Enforcement Department. That divisions strength must be maintained so that New York continues give confidence to kosher food consumers, both Jewish and non-Jewish, to maintain New York’s percentage of the nation’s kosher food business. This critical message is for the Governor, State Senate and Assembly leaders, as well as for every member of New York’s legislature.
(Rabbi Gershon Tennenbaum – YWN)
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Malcolm Smith President pro tem NYS State Senate
Email address: [email protected]
NYS Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/?ad=064&sh=contact
Majority Whip NYS Assembly Assemblman Dov Hikind [email protected]
I don’t get it, we don’t rely on this kosher enforcement anyways, as evident by the miriad of kashrus agencies. Exactly how does this division help up other than keep a bucnh of frum people employed?
I recently was in a large grocery store, called Wegmans, in Syracuse, N.Y. and saw a kosher meat counter. There were large signs that said “kosher” and a huge Magen David. When I asked the worker which rabbinical supervising agency it was under, he replied that they were self-regulatory (meaning the store supervised itself). He then procured for me a certificate from the Kashrut Enforcement Department of the State of New York which attested that the store was kosher under its own say-so (self-supervising). This store would never have put up false “Kosher” signs had the government not gotten involved in the Kashrus business. Is it a benefit to have the government whose standards are not that of orthodox Jews, do the supervising? Obviously not. In this matter, separation of “shul” and state should be our motto! All I can say is E caveat emptor (buyer beware)!
This division is a waste of tax dollars. Why is there a kosher law and not a halal law?
The basic of the law is that if someone claims ‘kosher’ he needs to have a form that states who says its ‘kosher’. There is no standards other than disclosure. If an owner wants to sell kosher pork and self certifies, there is nothing they can do.
As frum yidden we rely on hashgacha. This kosher food law and enforcement divison don’t doesn’t serve aby purpose
This is really simple. 1: Outside of Boro Park-Flatbush-Monsey, most kosher consumers don’t wear black hats or wigs. They are halal, lactose intolerant, Budhists, vegeterians, and quality concious consumers. They rely on kosher certifications for health, religious, and quality reasons; 2: New York is the single largest kosher food producing state, second only to the State of Israel. The name New York is synonimous with kosher. If you’d see a product called New York Bagels or New York Meat, you’d automatically assume it is kosher; 3: ONLY the office of NYS Kosher Law Enforcement has the authoity of seize misrepesented non-kosher food, i.e. the Monsey scandal was undone ONLY by the office of NYS Kosher Law Enforcement having been able to seize and impound the chickens which they tested and proved to be un-kosher. Deliberate misrepresentation of food products being kosher can only be stopped in its tracks and thrown into jail by NYS Kosher Law Enforcement, not by the OU, OK, KofK, StarK, or the Badatz; 4: NYS Kosher Law Enforcement, alone, has the power to seize mis-labled and mis-represented non-Kosher foods being imported into New York (through which most of such foods come). These, and a whole lot more, are reasons for the office to be continued its full funding. Thank you Senator Golden !!!!