New OU Kosher Scandal?

The Winnipeg Free Press ran an op-ed Sunday that alleges extremely serious lapses on the part of the OU, lapses that may mean you ate non-kosher food…

THROUGHOUT the 1990s, the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corp. sold as kosher fish that wasn't, well, kosher. It should have been a scandal, but it wasn't because word never got out.

Even today, if you call the president and CEO of FFMC, as I did, you will find that he knows nothing about it -- he arrived long after this took place and it seems no one with knowledge of it has seen reason to tell the new boss.

So why raise the issue today, more than seven years after it was hushed up?

Because the federal Conservative government has commissioned a comprehensive study of the Crown corporation's less-than-stellar operation, which was created in the late '60s to market all of the catch of the inland fishery. In fact, the George Morris Centre, an international research organization, has recently completed this study and hopefully it will be released soon.…

The FFMC is the largest North American supplier of fish minced to produce kosher fish called "gefilte fish." Its plant is certified by the Orthodox Union (OU), the most respected kosher certification organization in the United States.

To be OU certified, the FFMC employed a rabbi to supervise the processing and cleaning required for the kosher certification. This is very important to all who eat kosher food, whether they are Jews who observe kosher practices or consumers who simply want to be assured that their food has been prepared according to strict hygienic guidelines.  

But according to information obtained from employees at FFMC, the rabbi was often derelict in his duties and management knew it.

While he was required to observe the production line at all times, he spent a great deal of time in an office on a computer, or was simply absent.

He was obliged to make sure that only fish with fins and scales were being processed, that species like burbot and catfish were not in the mix. Allowing a catfish into the mix would be as offensive to Jews as dropping pork into ground beef would be to Muslims.  

The rabbi inspector was in the employ of the FFMC from the late 1980s until 2000. But for at least the last five of those years, he lived in Kenora and commuted to Winnipeg once every couple of weeks to pick up his Government of Canada paycheque.

In his absence, former workers say they were instructed to make OU labels to seal each box of minced fish, and processing lines were operated at maximum rates without due respect for the Jewish Sabbath and holidays.  

Companies like Manischewitz, which markets kosher foods, were paying a two-cent per pound surcharge to the FFMC for OU-sealed product in belief that it was kosher. With several million pounds of this fish being processed annually, those pennies added up to hundreds of thousands of dollars over a span of 10 years.

All of this information comes from interviews with former workers and documents filed in a lawsuit related to a different matter.…

Depending on how the plant ran, it might not be necessary for the mashgiach (rabbi) to be on the line at all times. That said, I heard of similar behavior from OU mashgichim when I worked an OU Passover run years ago. The plant's management was upset that my co-mashgiach and I insisted on being on the floor at all times supervising the product run.

Why were they upset?

Because the year before the OU mashgiach sat in a little office studying for his drivers exam. He only came out once or twice per 8 hour shift, and then for only a few moments at a time.

Our vigilance stopped non-kosher-for-Passover product from entering the marketplace. But we were never told by the OU to be as careful as we were. We did what we did out of a sense of duty.

But don't come away from this post with the mistaken idea that haredi kosher supervision is somehow better. It is not.

Much haredi supervision relies on the OU. What haredim do often is relabel OU product as their own. And, as the various Rubashkin scandals have shown, even the best haredi supervision assures little.

So was your gefilte fish treife?

Maybe it was, but most likely, it was not.

Why?

Because companies will not intentionally mislabel product. If the cases said whitefish or pike, they contained whitefish or pike.

Could there have been a stray catfish minced in?

Sure. But that stray piece of fish is battel, negated in the whole. It did not treife anything.

All this fish scandal proves is that Rabbi Ababdi is correct. You can (and probably should) rely on a product's label and ingredient panel. In the end, it will be far more reliable than any kosher supervision.

The entire op-ed can be read here.

Comments

[Ma Rabbi]

The heimishe hashgachos are far superior to the OU. Years ago I supervised potatoe chips for Madanim and Pashkes at a plant in Ma. My main job was to check the source of the vegetable oil which I did BEFORE each run. I also turned on the fires and did not leave the plant until our run was bagged and sealed. The plant was also under the OU. I never saw an OU mashgiach and I was told that he came about twice a year.

[zach]

Ma Rabbi: So what kind of problems did you find with vegetable oil?

[Michelle]

B"H

Thank you for this piece, and for mentioning Rabbi Abadi. He has been maligned by so many so-called "religious" Jews, but the guy knows what he is talking about, and he has more knowledge in one pinky than these guys will have in their lifetime.

[Yosef ben Matitya]

Ma Rabbi: the same question from me too:
So what kind of problems did you find with vegetable oil?
ybm

[Ma Rabbi]

Reply to Zach
I found that big plants use many different sources for their oil not just the one stated on their contract with the OU.

[steve]

This problem of negligent mashgichim is not exclusively on OU problem. Rabbi Binyomin Epstein wrote an article in the Jewish Press last month which I posted on UOJ and Yudel's blogs. Rabbi Epstein wrote about his firsthand experiences of him going into the kitchens of catering halls and seeing the mashgiach either reading a book or sleeping. In other instances the mashgiach told him that even the water is not okay to drink, but not to tell anybody. The OU would prefer that their mashgichim "hear no evil, see no evil" and keep quiet. Look at Le Marais, Rubashkin and the chalav stam fiasco as perfect examples. Unfortunately, this is the state of kashruth today where the owners pay for the "hashgacha" directly and are the ones calling the shots. Money talks and all else walks. The OU used to be the gold standard when it came to kashruth reliability. Today that gold standard stands for greed and corruption.

[doubtingthomas]

so how much did you get paid for vegetable oil shtick?

[David]

Your content ads are annoying and I doubt that they bring in money anyways. Turn them off please.

[yidandahalf]

"I doubt that they bring in anything" then assholes like you don't have anything to worry about, right?

[Joe Izrael]

Lazy mashgichim are no big news. Optimally, they should be rotated between plants. But that's not easy as plants tend to be often in remot places and being sole supervised.

It's true that many many more frum hashgochos used OU ingredients. And I think you made a typo. "Because companies will intentionally mislabel product. If the cases said whitefish or pike, they contained whitefish or pike." should probably read "...companies won't intentionally mislabel..." . I have no idea how truth this is, I;d say in many cases it's true but also depends on many other factors - if it'a fancy expensive label I'd say're probably more careful. Also depends on law enforcement strictness in the particular area, and how many politicians they have in their pockets.

BTW, Shmarya, how about David Brooks and the Milberg firm shakedowns? Is there an intentional coverup for your Reform/conservative idols? Check out this piece on the Four Winds Bar - you'll find it interesting.

[steve]

From UOJ:

I asked Rav Yaakov Kaminetzky ztvk"l if he relied on the OU. (In Yiddish it's funnier)

He said YES......pause....for salt!

[Archie Bunker]

Also posted on UOJ:

Most Rabbonim are Cowards said...
Stefansky's "Dagim" is also processed in the Winnepeg area. I wonder if it's in the same plant and if the "heimish" hashgocho has also been derelict. Dagim by the way was the subject of a major NY Times expose after 9/11. A Times reporter visited the facility in the Muslim part of the Philippines where the catch is brought and found that several of the employees were al Qaeda terrorists making extra money on the side. At least one rov that I know of started warning his kehillah to refrain from eating Dagim altz chamira sakanta missura.

I don't think there is any way that an OU mashgiach could live in Kenora, Ontario which is really remote. There is a Bnai Brith camp south of Kenora in Lake of the Woods, near the Minnesota border. The mashgiach was probably working at the camp for the Winnepeg Vaad.

Lakewood Talmid said...
http://www.freshwaterfish.com/FISHMARKET/SUBPAGES/OTHER/Print%20Burbot.pdf

The company is selling Burbot which it describes on this page as looking like an eel.

I believe the Maharal poskens in Tiferes Yisroel on Avoda Zara that since the only scales that are visible on Burbot are very tiny and only with the aid of a microscope (the first microscopes were actually invented in the 1400s), the fish is considered assur since we don't see kaskesses.

http://www.kashrut.com/articles/fishfaq/

In some official OU literature posted here, the OU states they do not allow Burbot because the scales are embedded under the skin.

I find this to be another unacceptable situation similar to Rubashkin where you have treif and kosher in the same facility with inadequate controls.

Brisker said...
Stefansky supplied free tuna fish galore when I was there. I'm sure AJ Soloveitchik would not accept it if he was shown the NYT article.

Kashrus Misrepresentation said...
When you follow the link to the "About" page:

http://www.freshwaterfish.com/english.htm

"The Corporation plant is kosher-certified and the largest supplier of fish to the gefilte fish market."

There's also a HUMUNGOUS sized OU logo with the motto: "We are pround to be an OU certified company"

Completely misleading as they also sell non-kosher fish. Let's see if the OU continues to let them get away with it now that everything is being swept back out into public from under the carpet.

The plant is not certified if they process treif fish. They should state that some kosher products are available.

Montreal said...
http://www.mk.ca/kosher.php

MK Kashrus does allow burbot. I wonder what shita they are somech on.

It's still a problem with catfish and other garbage though.

[David]

Shmarya, with all these non-Chabad scandals, you really need to get a more general blog name. What does the OU have to do with "failed messiah"?

[yidandahalf]

Content ads and an unsuitable blog name - do yourself a favor and keep it simple, "David".

[Isa]

Content ads??
What content ads?
I look in the sidebar (which I ignore and there are not any 'content ads'
I usually use Netscape but I looked at this blog with Internet Explorer and the blog looks the same.

[Yosef ben Matitya]

to my limited knowledge, the mashgiach doesn't have to be "affixed" to the premises (so to speak) to be effective. suffice that he be "nikhnas veyotzei" (going in and out unannounced)keeping some modicum of surprise. and i believe this is the practice in our holy city of toronto, ont.

[chnyock]

anybody can screw up, and will sometime. abadi is recomending to not even try getting it right!

[chnyock.blogspot.com]

holy city of toronto... ha ha ha
one hechsher for the whole town and nobody really knows what's up to par....

besides for haymishe bagels that's for sure treif

[David]

yidandahalf, what is your problem? Were you abused as a child or something?

Isa, they are in middle of the text, look for the words with the two blue lines beneath them.

[Yosef ben Matitya]

chnyock
good luck with your blog.
but, what's wrong with haymishe bagels?
not that i care much. they are too far from me, (that's richmond hill, isn't it?) and bread we are told is not very healthy for us these days.
as to toronto being holy, suggest u be careful. they don't stone people yet, but one never knows! in 5 seconds, we can jump into a holier plane and set up stoning courts. :-)

[Archie Bunker]

UOJ & Yudel's blogs have had some discussion about COR Toronto's mafia tactics.

[toronto yid]

haymishe bagels is a NON KOSHER bagel store smack in the middle of the HAYMISHE hood in toronto

[Yosef ben Matitya]

NON KOSHER bagel store smack in the middle of the HAYMISHE hood in toronto

oy oy oy ouch! mamesh tzeilem baheikhol, savy, reb yidden, i didn't know! -:)

[yidandahalf]

"yidandahalf what is your problem?"
No, Sir, I was not abused as a child but I was brought up in East Asia. For this reason the endless whining, nitpicking, and worshipping on the alter of the HOLY DRASH wears me down. I think it wears down alot of people but they do not come forward.
At issue to me is the fact that this blog has an platform which is often mistaken for some sort of anti-orthodoxy mandate taken on by a man many vilify. This is, to even someone with a modicum of intelligence,obviously false.
The filth and corruption within our community must be exposed. Unlike many, I do not have a problem with what others call 'backward shtetl lifestyles' I do not think taking part in a "great leap forward" has all that much to recommend it. Is it possible to clean up our act and preserve our heritage? This question frightens me above everything else. What will become of us if we allow ourselves to barrel along in such abandonment? Of course an abyss and not one set before us by goyim.

[R]

The article above says:
"Allowing a catfish into the mix would be as offensive to Jews as dropping pork into ground beef would be to Muslims."

Allowing pork into ground beef would be just as offensive to Jews. Why is this article bringing up muslims?
And
"former workers say they were instructed to make OU labels to seal each box of minced fish, and processing lines were operated at maximum rates without due respect for the Jewish Sabbath and holidays."

I don't re-call there being a need for workers in a non jewish plant to keep shabbat and yom tov.

As for the whole question on kashrus and kashrus logos that this brings up. Unless you grow it, breed it, kill it, cook it yourself. Then you are never certain about anything.
These hechshers like OU and MK and all the rest are there to let you know it is kosher as they have apparently done all the work for you. That is why you pay extra for kosher food.
However if you get a scandal like this or like Rubashkin, then one must refrain from buying those products.

[A reader]

"Allowing pork into ground beef would be just as offensive to Jews. Why is this article bringing up muslims? "

Because that is now the "in" thing to do in the religion of liberalism to celebrate Islam. Seems like now people are competing for brownie points since any negative mention will surely be met with threats, intimidation, lawsuits, and violence.

[Yochanan Lavie]

Reader: Good point about Islam, "the religion of peace." But we still have to clean up our own house when there's a problem. I wonder if the Muslims have a problem with corrupt Hallal supervision?

Yid 1/2: Good rebuttal. Personally, I want to observe mitzvot but still have a broad secular education (not just a vocational one). I don't want to join the secular humanist lifestyle- I want the sort of religious humanism that existed in the Late Middle Ages and the Renaissance. A materialistic lifestyle leads to anomie. Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt.

[Michael Croland]

Thanks for the info. I just blogged about this on heebnvegan, and here's my take on things: http://heebnvegan.blogspot.com/2008/01/gefilte-shmefilte-one-of-those.html.

Just saw that there's more breaking news re AgriProcessors that you dug up. I'll probably be blogging about that in the coming days too. Keep up the great investigative work!

[zach]

Ma Rabbi: I found that big plants use many different sources for their oil not just the one stated on their contract with the OU.

That doesn't answer the question. What problem is there with oil? Why is a different source a problem?

[yidandahalf]

Ma Rabbi, so please for the hundredth time, what the fuck was the problem with the fucking oil already? JESUS!

[undercover]

michael croland, there could be more to dig up and expose about agriprocessors but the rubashkin empire has beaucoup money and the people who want to do something do not. pray for us even though you don't know who we all are. Baruch Hashem