New York – Editorial: Kashrut Mashgichim Under Fire

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    File photo of mashgiach [PHOTO BY JOSH LIPOWSKY for the Jewish Standard www.jstandard.com]New York – Last summer a kosher supervisor at a New York restaurant confided in me that he was quite appalled by the filth in the kitchen he was paid to supervise. He said that the owner who “only showed up from time to time” seemed to make light of the situation when he complained and that he was seriously contemplating quitting. I was reminded of my conversation with the mashgiach when I read about Robert Frank, an OU mashgiach at Montefiore Medical Center, who was fired for revealing the filthy state of the kitchen, evidenced by roaches, and the appearance of non-kosher foods and other taboo practices in the kitchen at the Weiler Division.

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    I have frequently showered accolades at mashgichim who are involved in the thankless job of assuring that a kosher certified facility is indeed kosher. But mashgichim like Frank and the supervisor I met function in a busy and active kitchen. Anyone who has ever been inside a busy kitchen at a restaurant, hospital, or hotel knows that the pace of activity is dizzying. Mashgichim literally have to have 1000 eyes, which is why Frank was part of a team of three mashgichim and a support staff back at the headquarters of the OU. While I don’t know the details of Mr. Frank’s charges, it is clear that mashgichim cannot ignore blatantly unsafe or unhealthy conditions despite the argument that their role is restricted to kashrus. They certainly should not fare any worse than any other worker who is entitled to a safe and healthy work environment.

    Mashgichim are notorious for a “hear nothing, see nothing” approach so long as the kashrus is assured. The hospital, of course, denies the charges, but if Mr. Frank is correct, Montifiore is guilty of both being unclean and unkosher, which no kashrus agency can accept.

    Menachem Lubinsky is the founder and co-producer of Kosherfest, the annual trade event for the kosher food & beverage industry and is the editor-in-chief of KosherToday.


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    24 Comments
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    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    “I have frequently showered accolades at mashgichim who are involved in the thankless job of assuring that a kosher certified facility is indeed kosher.”

    Paid employment can never be “thankless”.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    When is the ou going to release a statement

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    The cockroaches in one of Montefiore Medical Center’s cafeterias were definitely not kosher.

    But the Bronx hospital denies the charges of a food supervisor who has raised holy hell about the creepy crawlers, plus alleged nonkosher foods and other taboo practices in the kitchen at the Weiler Division.

    The hospital fired Robert Frank, a mashgiach, or kosher-food supervisor, this month for badmouthing and “spreading false and/or misleading information” about the cafeteria.

    Frank, one of three mashgiachs at the Eastchester Road center, claims he was booted for doing his $18.55-an-hour job.

    “Nonkosher food comes in all the time and is prepared by the cooks and served to unsuspecting patients and patrons,” Frank wrote Nov. 29 to Rabbi Yaakov Luban, his liaison at the Orthodox Union — a Jewish group hired by the hospital to certify the kitchen as kosher.

    Kashrut Shmashrut
    Kashrut Shmashrut
    14 years ago

    Kashrut is a money making business and is a big joke, much the same as the religion & ‘jewish rabbis’ are, in general. This religion has become just another ‘ism! Shame on those ‘jews’. Do not support these ‘kashrut’ organizations!

    Eater outer
    Eater outer
    14 years ago

    The food and restairant editor of a major USA daily newspaper wrote that he always begins his evaluation of any restaurant by visiting the rest rooms. If the rest rooms are properly maintained and cleaned he will begin his review of the food. If not, he walks out. If they can’t keep the rest rooms clean, can you imagine what the kitchen must be like. Kosher or not-there is no excuse for filth in dealing with food.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    What does a mashgiach have to do with cleanlliness? His job is kashrus, period. Let the chefs and kitchen staff worry about hygiene. BTW, since when are kosher establishments clean?? Ever been to a heimishe take-out store?

    A Jew Who Learns All Seforim
    A Jew Who Learns All Seforim
    14 years ago

    Dear Kashrut Shmashrut:

    You are correct in what you say about the kashrus business.

    But Torah tells us specifically that this will be so just prior to our Redemption.

    Even though we are faced with these situations today, nevertheless, Torah tells us to persevere, to continue learning and doing the mitzvos with a simple sincerity to fulfill G-d’s wishes.

    Many, many, many Jews today — particularly young Jews who have not learned Sefer HaZohar and p’nimius Hatorah and rabbinical literature (primarily Chassidic) dealing with this (as well as not having much life experience and the maturity that living life brings) — react emotionally to the deceit going on around them and just stop learning and doing Yiddishkeit as they otherwise could. (“I’m not religious anymore because ____________ [fill in the blank].”)

    Everything’s unfolding on schedule, exactly as it is supposed to. Our job is to keep on keeping on.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    Maybe the mashgichim should make a union (and not the “Orthodox Union”). Too bad there was little choice for the mashgiach to be independent of a salary from the hospital he was supervising.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    “it is clear that mashgichim cannot ignore blatantly unsafe or unhealthy conditions despite the argument that their role is restricted to kashrus. … Mashgichim are notorious for a ‘hear nothing, see nothing’ approach so long as the kashrus is assured. “

    Menachem Lubinsky doesn’t seem to think this holds true for other problems such as child labor and immigration or bank fraud.

    ShatzMatz
    ShatzMatz
    14 years ago

    When “worms” were found in NYC tap water, all hell broke loose. The scandal rocked the jewish world and kashrus agencies were in overdrive trying to find solutions to the problem.. then there was the scandal with the strawberries. The claim was, that after cleaning, there was still a chance of a teeny tiny bug sometimes remaining on the strawberry. In both these cases there is room to be lenient due to the extrememly small size if the insect and the fact that they never crawled on the ground.

    Let me tell you something. If a kitchen in not kept clean, and if proper food handling is not practiced, the chance of the food being infested with a nice big juicy roach is practically 100%. If a restaurant does not have a screen door on its kitchen entrance, or if the exterminator doesnt do a good job, the place will be crawling with bugs. The chances of a bug or fly not falling into a pot of soup, or crawling into a plate of salad is nil.

    Talk about hypocricy.

    Kosher Marketing manager
    Kosher Marketing manager
    14 years ago

    The comments on this story are most irrelevant. Of course a mashgiach has to be concerned with cleanliness! Not only are bugs and unidentifiable ingredients treif, customers expect a place under hashgacha to be cleaner and better – BECAUSE the4re is a mashgiach not despite there being one. If you look around the kosher eateries you will find plenty of gentiles, because they trust us to be cleaner and healthier. If you go to the grocery stores in mixed neighborhoods, you will see plenty of gentiles buying kosher, even meat!
    So use your brains kosher should mean better and cleaner.

    formally
    formally
    14 years ago

    funny if I remember this is the exact opposite what he said when ask about problem with rubashkin

    akdoc
    akdoc
    14 years ago

    The kashrus business is a mafia. I dont know the particulars about this one, but in general, I have become very skeptical about these situations.

    A maven's Analysis
    A maven's Analysis
    14 years ago

    Even though the best way to pay a Mashgiach is through the Hechsher, this is not always possible or easily achieved. In any case, the contract that the OU makes with any place that they give supervision to, should clearly say that even though the Mashgiach is paid by the hospital, restaurant , caterer etc, the facility can’t under any circumstances fire him without the consent of the supervision (the OU) or something similar. If the OU made them sign something like that and they didn’t comply, the OU must say something and bring these people to court for the breach of contract to reestablish the necessary mirsas (afraid of doing something wrong) effect in all their supervised eateries. If the facility consulted with them (with the OU) and they agreed to fire the Mashgiach and that is the reason they are not saying anything, we have indeed a bigger problem, because the OU is telling the mashgichim that if they want to keep their jobs, they should keep quiet and their mouths shut. This problem is valid even if the OU after firing the Mashgiach to placate the owners of the facility and keep the supervision Dollars coming in would rectify the problem and send a different Mashgiach.

    5T Resident
    5T Resident
    14 years ago

    I hate to generalize, but it seems that a lot of glatt kosher places are just not clean. When I worked in lower Manhattan, I used to eat at Essex Downtown at least once per week. The food was good and the price reasonable, but the place was just filthy – grimy drinking glasses, dirty windows and just a general feeling of dirt. It was eventually closed by the NYC Board of Health for several violations that were not cured (including bugs and rodents in the kitchen). And lets not even talk about the pizza shops on 13th Avenue in BP! It seems that the only kosher places that are really clean are those owned by Gentiles, like Va Bene in upper Manhattan.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    I was a mashgiach for a ‘top’ standard authority who’s kashrus just went to pieces.
    When I found problems, real problems, like pork in the burgers, unsealed products being sent on trucks and accepted at the destination as kosher, without any reference to being kosher on the products, using semi retired businessmen with no knowledge of yore deah, as ‘top mashgichim’, I complained in writing a few times and…….

    I lost my job !! For doing what I was paid to do!!

    Not one piece of my correspondence was answered, not one phone call returned, and the members of the ‘bais din’ responsible, who I worked with for twenty five years, never even called to ask what was up.

    If a product needs a hechsher – don’t eat it!

    Ich shaym zich oych nisht
    Ich shaym zich oych nisht
    14 years ago

    I once asked my relatives for an address for a famous “glatt Kusher restaurant” . He replied ” 845 West End Ave Apt 5H- I replied “that is my house address”! He said “that is where and only where u should eat if u care about Glatt Kusher”

    yudel
    yudel
    14 years ago

    In the field of kashrus, wether a certifier or otherwise….the most important thing to be “nizhar” in, is “netilas-yu’daim”, where one-hand-washes-the-other-hand.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    14 years ago

    What needs to be done is to train ourselves to eat healthier food prepared by ourselves and by ourselves formed into small eating coops where everyone will buy, prepare, and examine our food ourselves.

    Forget restaurants, professionally catered affairs, and the rabbinical organizations . . . live modestly, carefully, healthily, Yidden.

    (This means running away from the large, “convenient” communities where everyone is told that all the services will take care of you.)