The fight for kashrut standards continues

To continue the previous posts on the issue of hechsherim, the Mishpacha newspaper this past week reported on a decision by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel..

Because of the phenomenon where restaurants acquire a Rabbanut hechsher and then get one of the cheap "mehadrin" hechshers that have no oversight and don't actually supervise anything, the Chief Rabbinate under Rabbi Metzger (who is responsible for kashrut) has come to a decision to remove the Rabbanut hechsher from any restaurant that also displays an unrecognized mehadrin hechsher. They consider it deception and illegal and thereofre will remove their (the Rabbanut) hechsher from such places engaging in such practices.

Any place they find a discrepancy between the declaration of being mehadrin and what the status of the restaurant actually is, they will remove the hechsher. Any restaurant contionuing too display the hechsher after this will be dealt with according to the law (fines and whatever other methods the law clals for).

I figure the reason for removing the hechsher is because it is illegal to display a certificate of another kashrut organization without having a rabbanut. So if they remove the Rabbanut, the restaurant can also not (legally) display the mehadin hechsher.

the fight for kashrut standards continues.