Yeshivat Makor Chaim of Kfar Etzion is suing a supplier that sold the school sugar with a forged hashgacha printed on the bags. The suit was filed with the Jerusalem District Court.
The lawsuit was filed by attorney Noam Tzuker on behalf of the yeshiva, who purchased “Primo” brand sugar from Fine Food, located in the Atarot Industrial Area in northern Jerusalem, owned by Chever Abu Maadi. The bags of sugar stated “Chief Rabbinate of Israel” without stating it is kosher. The Chief Rabbinate removed its hashgacha from the company five years ago. The sugar also exhibited the logo of Badatz Sheiris Yisrael without the word “B’hashgacha”.
When seeking to verify with the badatz, it was learned it never gave a hashgacha to this product. The lawsuit adds the packaging was strikingly similar to a main sugar producer, Sugat, alleging this was done to deceive clients.
The yeshiva is asking the court to view the lawsuit as a class action suit and to award compensation of NIS 350-500 per person, seeking damages in the amount of NIS 4 million.
Fine Food officials report they received a copy of the lawsuit and have handed it to their legal officials. Maadi also insists he still has a valid certification from the Chief Rabbinate of Israel.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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5 Responses
Am I the only one who thinks it ironic and rather funny that a lawyer named Tzuker is suing a sugar company??
Mainstream hashgachas in the U.S. say that sugar doesn’t require hashgacha. Is there a difference between how American sugar is produced and how Israeli sugar is produced? Or is the issue sheviis, terumos, and maasros?
“….owned by Chever Abu Maadi”
Sounds like the Arabs are trying to get ‘clever’ and rip us off on kashrut..
Anyone in Kashrus all tell you that granulated sugar does NOT need hashgocha.
The company’s name reads on the bag of sugar shown in the picture as Fine Pack, not Fine Food as listed in the article.