Minnesota – A lawsuit filed in May alleges that Hebrew National, the famous manufacturer of hot dogs and other products throughout the United States, is not living up to its self-proclaimed standard of kosher “as defined by the most stringent Jews who follow Orthodox Jewish Law.”
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Hebrew National products are certified kosher by Triangle K, and a firm called AER provides the kosher slaughtering services at facilities in the Midwest, according to a class action complaint filed last month in the Dakota County district court of Minnesota.
The lawsuit filed against ConAgra Foods, doing business as Hebrew National, a Delaware corporation, alleges that employees of AER complained to their bosses that they witnessed procedures at slaughterhouses that “rendered the meat being processed not kosher.”
AER leased space from American Foods Group, LLC, which brought cattle to its facilities — including the Dakota Premium Foods plant in South St. Paul — “to be slaughtered, inspected and certified.”
NO ONE from the Tri-K ever claimed Hebrew National was certified as Glatt, in fact they said it wasn’t. Granted when they took over the hashgocha from R’ Stern a’h they made numerous improvements, but it still wasn’t Glatt Kosher.
I read the article further, the part that VIN didn’t post, and it seems this is all about disgruntled former employees.
Next they’ll sue Poland Spring because the water doesn’t come for Poland.
thought hebrew national was under ou
Oy-Vey, Now I know why I have a “far’shtup’ta kup” (hard head). It’s from all those unkosher Hebrew National hotdogs I fressed (gobbled) when I was young. Perhaps we can have a class action suit for that and make some gelt.
Wouldn’t it be great if Hebrew National could get certifed by an Orthodox hechsher liike OU or OK and then many many more people would be able to enjoy their products. But that would really mean following the standards and instructions of a stricter kashrus company and I don’t know if the management of Hebrew National would be willing to do that.
Hebrew National is the gold standard of Kashruth for most American Jews and meets or exceeds all the standards used even by the most machmir chassideshe hashgachot. This sounds like the same type of sour grapes by owners and workers at competing Shlachthoises that brought down AgriProcessers and SMR. Hopefully, ADM has deeper pockets and will agressively fight this defamatory legal action.
I’m not sure if the hot dog stands are operated by the parent company; but I’ve seen them on peasach selling hot dogs with chometz buns. I doubt that this would still be called kosher.
The problem is that all the kosher hotdogs including glatt certified, are full of nitrates/nitrites and separated meat product — making them one of the worst foods one can eat. Its past time for a glatt kosher hotdog that meets the requirements of today’s healthy consumer — no preservatives, real cuts of beef/chicken, the appropriate spices and herbs instead of chemical flavorings.
The proof is in the sliced bread – halacha forbids having bread that is not parve.
A quick look at the bread section of the supermarket shows that triangle k does not adhere to that. So how are they reliable?
Would have liked to have heard some details in this article as to why Hebrew National is not exactly kosher. I had I think heard before that there was some less than orthodox practice about hebrew national. If you like the product and eat it, its your own decision.
They answer to a higher authority, the almighty dollar…lol
I wouldn’t trust Hebrew National for kosher on FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES!!!!
Hot dogs are garbage to eat whether glatt or not.
Rav Stern who gave the hashgocha for Hebrew National for years was an Adom Gadol in Torah but an Adom Katon in Kashrus.
When years ago, Hebrew National was caught soaking meat in hot water, instead of saying it was a mistake, he argued that it was a hiddur.
When the Ralbag’s took it over, the reputation of Hebrew National was in the gutter. ConAgra approached the OU but discovered two things:
1. The OU would only certify Glatt.
2. There wasn’t enough Glatt in the US to cover Hebrew National’s needs. (Yes, they are that big).
So they decided to stay non-Glatt.
Is Hebrew National Kosher – yes beyond a doubt. But ever since the rise of Satmar in the United States, everyone has moved to Glatt.
In the 1950’s Reb Yoel was screaming than non-glatt was traif. But it was just the Hugarian Chassidim who held that way.
Over time, people gave in rather than fight.
I assure you, the grandparents of most of the people reading VIN did not keep Glatt. Today however, it is the standard.
There are Yidden who only eat Hebrew National today because it’s all they have. But let’s not insult them and say it’s not kosher.
I am a little confused here, Glatt only applies to beef, so Hebrew National’s chicken products are kosher for orthodox as well, no?
Which is more severe: seeing unkosher visuals on the internet or eating these hot dogs?
As an afterthought to my earlier message (it’s the age creeping up on me!) I should have mentioned that the three Bournemouth kosher butchers, in turn, bought their meat from an abattoir (‘shlecht hois’) that belonged to the Bournemouth Hebrew Congregation, and that the abattoir gave employment to two shochetim who doubled up as חזנים, בעלי קריאה ומוהלים
One of them, R’ Yisrael Cohen ז”ל, also taught in the shul cheder. He once lost his temper with one of my sons, who was misbehaving. R’ Yisrael said to my boy, “I shechted 150 chickens today. Don’t think for a single moment I will stop there if you will not behave!”
The abattoir has long gone, as have the two positions for שוחתים, which has given rise to the fact that if a Bournemouth Jew wants to eat even a simple kosher sausage he must buy it in London. As I wrote before, American yidden simply do not know how lucky they are.
My late Dad was a kosher butcher here in Montreal for close to 40 years. At the time the Vaad Hair was run by people who cared about kashrus to a point.
They also understood that people had to eat.
Most kosher meat sold at that time was non glatt but 100% kosher.
Today we have the uber orthodox or as I call them the orthoquack who are so pathetic in their outlook towards Jewish life that they will cross oceans to eat “GLATT KOSHER” but will engage in envy spite and ridicule.
Grow up and stop the nonsense. Eat, be happy and try to live an honest life.