MANALAPAN (VINnews) — The OK Kashrus agency has pulled its certification from Manalapan Kosher Chinese, located on Route 9 in Manalapan Township, NJ.
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The saga began after the owner of the restaurant was videotaped at a store purchasing cases of non-kosher chicken and meat.
The video was sent to OK Kosher, who certified the restaurant until now, and an investigation began.
Once the allegations surfaced, Elon Kornblum from the facebook group Great Kosher Restaurant Foodies announced that the restaurant had told the OK that the non-kosher items were purchased for another store, however they have “consequently or incidentally” decided to close their store for good.
Later, the OK released a statement announcing they were officially removing their kosher certification from the restaurant, and confirmed that the restaurant is shutting down.
In addition, the OK is instructing anyone who may have purchased anything from the restaurant within the last 6 months to Kasher any personal utensils that may have come in contact with the food.
This is a pretty bad letter. Firstly, there is no signature on it. No one is taking any responsibility. Second, they are saying this for sure went back 6 months. I would guess, that it went on even longer then that. The question is how did it go on so long in noticed?? This is a major breakdown in modern day Kashrus. It can only be described as neglect. I’m not an overly frum or yeshivish person. I ate there last week and I’m sick to my stomach at the thought of eating trief. If you ask me, the OK should shut down. They obviously cannot control their establishments. It kind of makes me wonder what other issues they have in their factories.
no mashgiach tamidi to sign off on all meat coming in?
Notice that there’s no apology from the OK for the thousands of people who ate trayf because of them.
Astonishing
I went to the OK website and they don’t have a mention of the story, this letter isn’t posted there and you would think that nothing happened.
Why?
In my opinion for whatever it is worth, this letter is a bit of a cop out. There isn’t even a signature. I’m of the opinion that a more detailed description of exactly what happened, and exactly what went wrong and most importantly what will be done to make sure this’ll never ever happen again is warranted. People who were failed deserve more than just this letter. I think the OK shouldn’t be so confident that we’ll all forgive and forget this failure without them owning up to this better and explaining what went wrong and what changes will be made in the future. Treif is spiritual poison, if one person got food poisoning from a store we would never accept a letter like the letter OK sent out as enough of an explanation and just forget about it. I think this is no different.
My rebbe told me a very simple klal for eating in a restaurant: if you wouldn’t eat in the owner’s house, even if he has a hechsher, you shouldn’t eat in his restaurant.
i think the OK owes the tzibbur an explanation as to why, when warned in the past of underhanded practices, by the above establishment, they ignored it while us- the gullible public, continued eating their. never mind the gehenoim but the tumtum halev ,THATS CAUSED BY EATING TREIF which that in itself brings to other averos, that i cant or will ever forgive. Ive eaten their food on many occasions, last time was 2 weeks ago supper for the whole family. If it turns out they lowered the standard by giving the owner the keys or as they say the proverbial “fox guarding the hen house” thats 100 NEGLIGENCE ON OK’S PART!
if theyre telling people to kasher their keilim IT DOESNT GET WORSE THEN THAT !!!!
THE LETTER THEY SENT IS AT THE LEAST VERY PITIFUL. NOT EVEN AN APOLOGY??
I FOR ONE WILL BL’N NOT EAT FROM OK’S SUPERVISION AS THEY CANT BE TRUSTED
My personal policy is to be machmir (al pi halacha it is mutar) and not to eat regularly at a restaurant owned by a goy or a non-religious Jew even with the best hashgocha. Even without suspecting an outrageous breach of kashrus like sneaking in real treifus, what if a mistake is made and the mashgiah doesn’t catch it? A goy has no motivation to reveal it, but (we would hope) that a frum owner would not let Jews eat treif, even if it means a financial loss to him.
I am mekel and do eat in such a place on rare occasion, such as if someone invites me to a simcha held there.
this is disturbing on many levels.
I emailed OK and i understand they are busy but instead of answering my worrisome questions they sent me the same stupid letter. They don’t have to talk to us and explain how they are dealing with this issue not to happen again but I also don’t have to trust them ever again.
Notice that the guy bought Halal chickens and not the cheapest type made he thought its the same as kosher?
The man loading his car in the video looks Chinese. And lying comes particularly easy to those people.
There is a Chinese restaurant in Boro Park also with the OK Hechsher. Besides the place being dirty and run down the Owners are non Jews. Why would a Kashrut organization give a Hechsher especially in a frum area where there are Jewish owned restaurants. Yes it has unfortunately happened with “Frum” owners but the chances of it happening by a frum yid is way less than if a non jew owns it and there is a mashgiach there. Most of the times the Mashgiach is a person who could not get a job elsewhere not even as a Rebbe in school. And we rely on this?
You know that sesame chicken that you had that tasted so good? That was really rats and dogs.