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Mar 6, 2016
Rabbanut deciding on Non-Kosher sausage casings
The Rabbanut council is fighting/debating over the issue of importing sausage casings that are made from non-kosher animals.
The sausage casings are to be used with kosher sausages in Israel, so the issue/debate is only with the casings itself.
According to the report on kikar, the two Chief Rabbis are arguing about the matter. Rav Lau wants the imports stopped, while Rav Amar, the former Chief Rabbi, had allowed them based on the psak of Rav Ovadia Yosef, with the current Chief Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef seemignly also allowing it.
Rav Lau had the import stopped, and the importer went to court asking for the permit to be continued based on the previous psak he had received allowing him to import it. The courts sent the issue to the council of the Rabbanut for a decision.
The issue is a halachic dispute regarding gelatin made form non-kosher animals. Many rabbonim have allowed it to be used as the bones are pulverized and destroyed and nothing of the original animal remains in the process and it has lost its status of food, and the resulting product is something new, whereas many other rabbonim have not allowed use of gelatin from non-kosher sources saying even though everything was destroyed it still comes from a non-kosher animal. As well, from what i remember, there is also a concern that perhaps not everything of the original was destroyed in the processing process.
A compromise offered by Rav Yosef was to allow the import but only for Rabbanut-kosher sausages and not for mehadrin sausages.
I am nto sure such a condition is really necessary, as mehadrin hechshers do not accept the use of the gelatins from non-kosher sources. So, condition or not, the mehadrin hechshers would not use it anyway.
Rav Lau proposed allowing the import with a statement on the label declaring the casing as being kosher but made from non-kosher sources.
Personally I think that last proposal is a bad idea. Nobody will buy it with a statement like that. They can write something blander like made from gelatin, or some other wording, but writing it comes from neveilos and treifos is like shooting the business in the head before it even starts.
Supposedly a decision will be made within the month.
I have no opinion on the matter, but watch with curiosity. In general the Rabbanut has allowed the use of "non-kosher" gelatin in its foods, so I am not sure why now this is suddenly an issue.
The sausage casings are to be used with kosher sausages in Israel, so the issue/debate is only with the casings itself.
According to the report on kikar, the two Chief Rabbis are arguing about the matter. Rav Lau wants the imports stopped, while Rav Amar, the former Chief Rabbi, had allowed them based on the psak of Rav Ovadia Yosef, with the current Chief Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef seemignly also allowing it.
Rav Lau had the import stopped, and the importer went to court asking for the permit to be continued based on the previous psak he had received allowing him to import it. The courts sent the issue to the council of the Rabbanut for a decision.
The issue is a halachic dispute regarding gelatin made form non-kosher animals. Many rabbonim have allowed it to be used as the bones are pulverized and destroyed and nothing of the original animal remains in the process and it has lost its status of food, and the resulting product is something new, whereas many other rabbonim have not allowed use of gelatin from non-kosher sources saying even though everything was destroyed it still comes from a non-kosher animal. As well, from what i remember, there is also a concern that perhaps not everything of the original was destroyed in the processing process.
A compromise offered by Rav Yosef was to allow the import but only for Rabbanut-kosher sausages and not for mehadrin sausages.
I am nto sure such a condition is really necessary, as mehadrin hechshers do not accept the use of the gelatins from non-kosher sources. So, condition or not, the mehadrin hechshers would not use it anyway.
Rav Lau proposed allowing the import with a statement on the label declaring the casing as being kosher but made from non-kosher sources.
Personally I think that last proposal is a bad idea. Nobody will buy it with a statement like that. They can write something blander like made from gelatin, or some other wording, but writing it comes from neveilos and treifos is like shooting the business in the head before it even starts.
Supposedly a decision will be made within the month.
I have no opinion on the matter, but watch with curiosity. In general the Rabbanut has allowed the use of "non-kosher" gelatin in its foods, so I am not sure why now this is suddenly an issue.
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Labels:
kosher food,
Rabbanut
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That is the stupidest thing I have heard of. Especially, coming from the Rabbinate, it makes absolutely no sense. Why would the chief rabbi of Israel allow such a thing. The first thing that comes to mind is that it sets a precedent and slowly things get watered down until there is nothing left to Jewish law. We are careful even when we take vitamins which are in capsules that they are veggie caps and not gelatin. Must totally agree here with Rabbi Lau, because cannot believe a real frum Jew would buy meat, of all things, encased in something that came from non-kosher animals. They will lose big time business from those who are very careful with kashrut.
ReplyDeleteI am not personally familiar with the history of the Rabbanut position, but it seems as if until now the Rabbanut position was that it is ok. In general they allow the use of gelatin in Rabbanut kosher, so why should this be any different?
ReplyDeletemehadrin hechsherim haven't used it and will continue not to.
the question/debate is if the rabbanut should change their policy or keep it.
I disagree with Anonymous, the job of the Rabbanut is to make it easier for consumers to keep kosher, based on the Halacha, not just to ban everything because there are opinions that forbid it.
ReplyDeleteYou don't need a rabbi to rule that everything is forbidden, the job of a Talmid Hacham is to rule based on Halacha, not just say "Don't do it in case it's not allowed"
That said, because there is a machloket in this particular case, it makes sense that the labelling should be as accurate as possible, similar to warnings about Chalav Nochri or Kitniyot on labelling. I disagree with Rafi that no one would be a product if it says "Made from non-kosher sources". The majority of non-mehadrin kosher consumers do not read the fine print, they only look to see whether it says Kosher.
Today, unless you're buying foods, whether packaged, canned or anything that is not fresh, ingredients on it should always be read. These times are not like twenty or more years ago, when one had trust in certain things. We have to always make sure the hechsher is there everytime we buy and, in general, reading ingredients that might be there now that weren't there yesterday. This thing with the encasement of sausage (that word in itself sounds treif enough, even though we know that, of course, there are kosher sausages) to be from non-kosher animals, even if by the letter of the law is halachacly kosher, has gone too far!
ReplyDeleteWe have no problem in america with requiring gelatin from kosher animal sources. It will just increase the market for kosher sources. (Note: there is an ingredient in america called 'kosher gelatin' which is not accepted for the above reasons. But it appears on the ingredient panel of some gelatin products.)
ReplyDeleteAlso, everyone (kosher and non kosher) uses an edible plastic today. And have been ever since the sixties.
Deletethen why is this an issue at all?
Delete