By Rabbi Yair Hoffman
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This is the first of a series of two articles on Kashrus.
Most people are aware of the recent discovery that Restaurant Depot seems to be the main supplier of meat for a “Kosher” Chinese restaurant in Route 9 in Manalapan, New Jersey called Kosher Chinese Express. Many people are aware that the owners had a “history” of non-compliance with rules as well. And some people are aware that the owner of that restaurant, allegedly, had his own keys to the place.
In light of all of this, we need to ask ourselves the following question: If a hashgacha is being paid by the food establishment itself, does this not create an incentive for the Kashrus agency to look the other way, and or obscure critical information?
FATALLY FLAWED
Our system of Kashrus seems to be fatally flawed the way it is currently structured. Especially during Elul, we need to figure out how to fix it. Things just keep happening again, and again, and again.
In 2009, researchers Bernard Lo and Marilyn Field published a book called, “Conflict of Interest in Medical Research, Education, and Practice.” In the book, authors Lo and Field defined a conflict of interest as follows: “A conflict of interest is a set of circumstances that creates a risk that professional judgement or actions regarding a primary interest will be unduly influenced by a secondary interest.”
It is a little strange that the Kashrus system we have in place in this country is rather counter-intuitive in terms of its structure. The incentives or negiyos – are in the wrong places. If a hashgacha is being paid by the food establishment itself, does this not create an incentive for the Kashrus agency to look the other way?
SIMILAR PROBLEM IN ACCOUNTING
In the 1980’s and 1990’s, the entire field of accounting had a similar problem. The way the system worked was such that false information in terms of the financial health of a company was put out there and investors were being ripped off. Incomes, for example, were being misstated. Financial audit statements made companies look rosier than they actually were. Supposedly “independent CPAs” merely took the information from the self-generated company reports and spit it out as fact. They did this even though there were blaring red flags.
In response to this comical situation, the government passed the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002. It is a United States federal law that set new and expanded requirements for all U.S. public company boards, management, and public accounting firms. It included criminal penalties for those who violated it. The reason for the problems was the counter-intuitive structure.
The problems in accounting still exist. Indeed, the SEC regularly comes out with new regulations on this account. The solution for the accounting problem is that there should be more watchdogs for the auditors: Hechsherim for the Hechsherim, so to speak.
When the inspector is paid by the people that he supervises there is a risk that his judgement and actions will be unduly influenced. The same is true, to an extent, for the supervisory agency. The health safety of the restaurant consumers has been placed at risk. Indeed, the general public has also been placed in danger.
An auditor friend of this author told me, “I once heard a mashgiach refer to his “boss” as the store owner and not the kashrus agency he was working for. As an auditor, I was horrified.”
SAME FOR KASHRUS
The same should be true in the field of Kashrus. The mashgiach is there to protect the public from eating non-kosher or questionable items just as the health inspector is there to protect the public from anything that can compromise their health and safety.
RAV MOSHE FEINSTEIN ZT”L
Indeed, the Gadol haDor of the previous generation, Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l in his Igros Moshe (YD Vol. IV #1:8) writes this very idea. Rav Feinstein states that the Mashgiach should not be paid by the facility that is receiving the hashgacha, but rather should only be paid by the Vaad HaKashrus itself. Indeed, he should have no direct monetary business dealings with the company.
Let’s imagine the following scenario involving a Health Department:
It was an innovative way of saving money. The municipality worked it out that they would outsource the financial cost of the Department of Health inspectors. From now on, it would be the restaurants themselves that would hire the health inspectors. The restaurants would pay them, they would take out the FICA taxes, the worker’s comp – the restaurant would handle it all.
The move “worked wonders” for the state of health in the restaurants. Eateries that were previously designated with a C minus rating – were now rated A plus plus. There were far fewer health-violation-write ups too.
The astute reader will detect an obvious problem here. This is what is called a classic conflict of interest. The upgraded rating and lowered violations are probably due to the unique financial arrangement.
The above story of the health inspectors that were paid by the restaurants was fictitious, of course. Unfortunately, the analogy to Kashrus is anything but fictitious. It is reality.
Kashrus agency after Kashrus agencies coordinate the supervision in a manner that is in direct violation of this Igros Moshe and of common sense.
A HISTORY OF FOUL UPS
It is not just Kosher Chinese Express. In recent years, there have been numerous instances of kashrus foul-ups. Indeed, the situation is somewhat akin to the wild west. Most people remember the treif chickens in Shevach Meats in Monsey, New York. There was Jin Glatt Chinese Kosher in Passaic New Jersey whose hechsher was removed suddenly. There was also Stan and Pete’s – the main caterer in Johannesburg, South Africa. It was found to be serving treif as well. There was Doheny Glatt in Los Angeles, California. These incidences are happening again and again and again with no respite in sight.
FOUL UPS WE DO NOT EVEN KNOW ABOUT
There are also Kashrus foul-ups that we do not even know about. Serious local ones, serious national ones, and serious international ones.
WILL IT HAPPEN AGAIN?
The question arises as to whether or not it will happen again or did these incidences teach us all a lesson? An expert in the Kashrus industry who is both well-known and well-respected remarked, “It is not a question as to whether or not it will happen again. It is rather a matter of when will happen again.”
The community at large needs to speak up to prevent this from happening. Feeding Tarfus to Klal Yisroel is not something that we should sit by and accept.
MAY BE A VIOLATION OF DVARIM
The situation needs to be rectified. It could very well be that allowing a conflict of interest to continue may be a violation of the Torah prohibition of “v’asisa hayashar v’hatov – You shall do the just and the good” (Dvarim 6:18).
The Ramban explains that the Torah gave this general Mitzvah because it cannot relate to all cases and eventualities that might arise. Therefore, the Torah covers all situations with a general instruction of acting in fairness and justness. In all his ways, the individual is bound to the “just and the good.” Many Poskim point to this pasuk as being the source of the obligation of acting lifnim mishuras HaDin – above and beyond what strict halacha dictates. How can there be an obligation of going above and beyond the law? Would that not, by definition, be a non-obligation?
In explanation as to why the situation in kashrus remains in a state of built-in conflict of interest, we turn to a position paper presented by an Executive Rabbinic Coordinator, at the ASK -RCA Yom Iyun held at OU Headquarters, in New York City on May 1st, 2007.
The position paper stated as follows:
“It is self-evident that it is preferable that a Mashgiach be paid by the Kashrus organization and not by the supervised facility.
Unfortunately, this is generally not a viable option for semi or full-time Mashgiachim of establishments because of insurance considerations.”
It is unclear what is meant by insurance considerations. This author knows of at least a dozen insurance brokers that would gladly offer any hechsher insurance for a full staff of mashgichim. What is probably being referred to is that the kashrus agencies cannot underwrite the payroll and its insurance if the restaurants are late in paying. But this can be rectified if the restaurant is made to pay these fees in advance.
If Kashrus is something that we truly care about – then we really need to re-structure things from the ground up. Also, when an error or problem is found, we should all use our collective heads to figure out how to resolve the problem. This cannot happen with the prevailing lack of transparency that exists in our Kashrus system. What happens now is not ideal nor acceptable.
Let’s say, for example, that an unkosher product is found in a restaurant. The mashgiach reports it to his supervisor at the hechsher (and even that is a maybe). The hechsher decides to fine the restaurant, sometimes to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars. We, the public end up hearing nothing about it. And neither do the other organizations – and an opportunity to improve is lost.
THREE SUGGESTIONS
The first suggestion is that the kashrus agencies should place a five percent surcharge on all of their hechsher income to go to an independent agency that supervises all of the hechsherim. The stress is on independence. Unfortunately, there are stories and problems with almost every single agency.
The second suggestion is that we should raise funding to employ roving kashrus inspectors to supervise if the salads we are eating are even being checked for bugs and if they are to see if they are being checked adequately. They should be paid separately, somehow. Perhaps a group of wealthy individuals could fund it.
THE PEO OPTION
The third suggestion can address the Rav Feinstein zt”l issue. In the United States and elsewhere, there are companies called PEOs – professional employer organization. A PEO is a firm that provides a service under which an employer can outsource employee management tasks. These include employee benefits, payroll and workers’ compensation, recruiting, risk/safety management, and training and development. A PEO could be hired to take over all of a hechsher’s mashgichim. We also need to significantly raise their income level to ensure that our standards of kashrus be improved and not lessened.
Regardless, the issue should be addressed by the Kashrus associations.
The author can be reached at [email protected]
I admit that I didn’t learn the sugya, but it seems a dovor poshut that yotzei venichnas should only be relied upon when there is a really significant penalty if caught. Something like a large sum in escrow that would be forfeited if there was a violation of procedures as specified in the contract between a restaurant and a hechsher, since loosing a chechsher might not be enough of a deterrent if the restaurant is already not doing so well or if its business doesn’t rely exclusively on frum people. One would be less inclined to save a $100 on a case of sneaked-in treife chickens if he is risking to forfeit the $100,000 escrow.
Some other good eitzas: a professionally set-up electronic surveillance system, recording everything from multiple angles and constantly feeding everything to the hechsher. Also, a running reconciliation of the supply purchase receipts (which are to be regularly confirmed by the supplier) with portions sold and ending inventory in the refrigerator. Obviously, a mashgiach should only be employed by the hechsher, and not by anyone else.
Years ago I purchased a food establishment in Boro Park. When the “Rav Hamachshir” heard that the place was sold, he raised his price by almost 50%. When I called to discuss this, I wouldn’t up speak to his “Rebbitzen” who was running the business. Next thing I know I get a visitor, the “Rav Hamachshir’s” son shows up like a gangster and tells me that I am disrespectful and if I don’t pay the amount he demands, he will publish that we lost out “Hechsher”…
Black mail at the highest level. When I see this “Rabbi’s” stamp on 9 x 13 aluminum pans, I don’t buy them.
I don’t trust this “Hechsher”, its a blackmailing “company”.
I worked for a major Hashgacha for caterers, food service, hotels, hospitals & nursing homes. I didn’t have any of these issues. I was never afraid to call my boss (the Rav in charge of this department) with any questions or concerns. Mashgichim know that reporting an issue will result in an issue for the owner and not the Mashgiach.
I think a big part of the problem is the approach taken by some Mashgiach. They see it as a conflict between the owner & the Mashgiach. This sometimes leads to Mashgichim who think they need to be rude or difficult to deal with or they have just never been “Socialized” to properly interact with the outside world. My (& other Mashgichim) approach has always been to see it as a partnership. The owner & myself are both in the business of providing Kosher food. When you speak & act properly, be proactive (double check the ingredients BEFORE they start cooking, go over the menu with the chef BEFORE they start cooking) it goes a long way. They don’t want extra work so when you make sure everything’s Kosher before there’s a problem & they need to start over they appreciate it. Remember they also just want to do their job and go home. Making their job easier goes a long way in earning you their respect & when they respect you 95% of the issues disappear.
I was always one of the first Mashgichim called for jobs, especially with very professional Non-Jewish caterers (I.e. Hotels) for 2 reasons. 1. When the Rav came by he was happy with my work 2. The Chefs & event managers actually enjoyed working with me.
The Mashgiach in this particular case was working in the front as a cashier. Leaving all of the staff in the back unsupervised.
Had a very funny feeling when I saw that.
This is 100% correct, I had a close call family member work for a large supervising agency who would often whisper to us not to eat at certain establishments he supervised because of major violations – but that he would be fired by the kashrus agency if he publicized it. This agency puts ridiculous unnecessary chumras in place, not allowing restaurants to serve kosher foods if for instance they resemble a non-kosher food (like soy bacon, caviar etc.). However they are willing to hide major violations in order to keep their business with restaurants. The focus being put on external appearance and not on the food itself is a major problem. It was ethically challenging enough that this family member eventually quit and changed careers, and no longer eats in most restaurants.
I once overheard 2 rabbi’s from a major kashrus organization fighting about whether or not they should take on supervising a large place. One was pointing out how lucrative it was for the organization, and the other was saying that he wanted to be able to continue to buy food under the supervision and know it’s kosher.
Thank you Rabbi Hoffman for publicly calling out that something needs to be done about this. Restaurants are literally going bankrupt over the cost of supervision – And still we cannot be confident that the food is actually kosher all the time. Costs of supervision need to be lowered so that more restaurants can afford to be kosher and stay open – and then perhaps there would be less motivation to rely on devious, treif means to keep their businesses going. The overhead and layers of people profiting off of each restaurant supervised is making it unbearable and unethical for all of us.
Also when a facility changes supervision because they can no longer afford the one that has been in power, the supervising agency should not be allowed to make large public statements that imply that the place is no longer kosher. This continues to hurt businesses and harm the ability to provide affordable, actually kosher food.
The ethics of the kashrus industry are so scary so thank you for your efforts.
Nothing will change. Believe me
Rabbi Hoffman, while the premise of your article is true, there is a very simple solution to this universal problem.
If a restaurant is deemed to be in violation of its hashgocha’s standards, a fine should be levied against the kashrus organization, payable to a designated, unaffiliated mosad in that community. And until the fine is paid, a cherem is placed on ALL of the agency’s products and venues.
Mashgichim, as well as independent whistle-blowers should be encouraged to and protected when informing the community (as another commenter pointed out, the kashrus organizations typically have deep pockets, and if retaliation is taken against informant mashgichim, the local beis din should award damages).
The most shocking part of the current scandal is that the letter issued by the agency accepted no responsibility and offered no apology to the community. It THEIR achrayus and only their achrayus to ensure that the establishment with their hechsher is 100% in compliance with halacha and their rules.
20+ years ago, I was a mashgiach in my youth at my university’s kosher kitchen. The standards were lax and the chef was able to access the kosher meat locker. I once started a shift and the chef had started cooking some sort of roast but no one saw whether he obtained it from the trayf meat locker or the kosher meat locker. When i tried to remove it, he tried to physically confront me. Being only 21 and not knowing much of anything, I backed down but this goes to tell how non-jewish or non-kosher staff or owners can bully mashgichim.
The Chinese restaurant that I frequent, non of the staff speak any English — so we have to cirlce the items we want on the menu. The mashgiach is busy manning the phones for phone orders.
Excess salaries and profits must not be available to the Hecsherim; take a look at the profits of the OU, Vaad Harabanim, etc. These funds belong to the Kehilla and should be channeled to the Yeshiva scholarship committees and such. Then you can review the corrupting interest of Batei Din and Borerim.
I worked in a restaurant where they did bishul akum.
After calling the hashgacha, the vaad of riverdale, multiple times, they finally came down. They actually originally said that they did not believe me.
I also begged them not to say that I said anything, so I would not get fired, and only an idiot would ignore that simple request. They came into the restaurant saying that an employee complained, and I was the only frum employee there, so the process of elimination was simple.
They just let the restaurant continue on. They did not make them kasher their keilim. They just made them get electric burners, which were turned on by the goy anyways.
The place eventually shut down.
I am sure you must have heard of dougies. Wasn’t dougies, but another doug owned restaurant.
Let’s get over ourselves. The foundational principle at work is “money talks and all else walks”
Create a new kosher agency or 1 that supervises the other agencies.
Install cameras in a restaurant and each delivery will be inspected which truck it came from and how the boxes looked.
Use crowdfunding to support this organization (just like hatzolah, shomrim…etc).
The main problem is that kashrus authorities are businesses and therefore their main concern is not kashrus but profits
Somebody is lying or making misleading statements. The OK has gone on record stating that all meat restaurants under the OK do not allow the owners to have keys, regardless of who owns it.
Having been in the KOSHER business for over 15 years ( The only Est. licensed by USDA & Rabbinate & Govt of Israel ) to export meats with hecsher to Israel. I got out when the kashrus business turned into the shakedown business. Read about the issues between Rav Pincus Teitz zt”l & Satmar. Rav Yoel Teitelbaum personally resolved the issue which became a non issue.
Old news. Those who know, know and don’t eat out. We want to believe everything is fine and an am Haaretz mashgiach with no yiras shamayim who wears a kippah calms our fears.
Bottom line, only et where there is a Jewish Shomer Torah owner, where there are recording cameras that can be accessible by the mashgichim offsite, and where there is at least 1 shomer Torah on premises at all times who can leave his post periodically. Chinese , because it is special cooking, doesn’t lend itself to Jewish cook, only Chinese cook , and where the owner is also Chinese, it is not good.
At a company I’m familiar with we’re stuck with a hechsher that threatened if we change to a different organization he will publicize his hechsher was removed in a negative sense.
Very inflammatory and misleading. Under the heading “A history of foul ups” the author lists four – albeit horrible – snafus that occurred over the last 10 years. Consider that it’s four out of hundreds and hundreds of thousands of businesses that were under kosher supervision at the time! The author goes on to conclude “These incidences are happening again and again and again with no respite in sight.” How do you arrive at that conclusion mathematically when you brought FOUR examples?
The concept of objective overseers being paid directly by the company exists in accounting as well in the form of internal auditors. They also have standards that they are required to follow set by the Institute of Internal Auditors and the goal of those standards is that they provide effective oversight if controls and management activities despite being paid by the company.
Best article by Rabbi Hoffman yet.
If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.
Well said
Thank you
Much simpler system: The community pays the entire cost of Kashrut supervision for any restaurant willing to follow the rules. There are at least two cities in the US where this is done. More kosher restaurants and no more conflicts of interest.
So, I’m curious. Rabbi Hoffman, are you knocking the all Kashrus agencies, if yes, is it just for restaurants or for raw products such as spices, pasta, frozen items, etc. or not l agencies are a problem and in part two you plan on publishing which agencies are acceptable and which are not.
The title seems to be moitzi shem on all Kashrus agencies. Are you saying that every single Rov is corrupt?
Rabbi Hoffman l’toeles HaRabim, please clarify what you mean?
It is not a question of when and where it willl happen again. It’s a question who will be busted again. Unlimited liver, tongue, you name it….. We’re all eating treif, unles you’re lucky enough to grab the kosher ones. Wake up and the smell the coffee. No wonder Lev Tahor doesn’t trust an ounce of the Kashrus system in the Orthodox world.