the hechsher at IKEA Eshtaol

There seems to be some confusion regarding the hechser of the restaurants/cafeterias at the new IKEA Eshtaol.

Shemesh clears up the confusion with the following information:

- IKEA is officially under Rabbanut Mateh Yehuda and their teuda is from them. - The Mashgiach works under Harav Kirschenbaum, the Rav of IKEA. -All the products in the dairy and meat restaurants are are Kehillot, Harav Landaua, and Eidah Hacharedit

I am not one to complain every time a restaurant opens with [officially] a non-mehadrin hechsher and insist they don't know what they are doing as they will miss out on so much local business. I do recognize that just as there are many in the Bet Shemesh area that insist on mehadrin hechshers, there are many that do not. Each restaurant can make its own business decision as to what it deems worthwhile.

That being said, with other IKEAs in areas that have less of a Haredi and strong religious population having mehadrin hechshers in their restaurants, it does make one wonder why this branch being so close to Bet Shemesh with a sizable religious and Haredi population (plus nearby Jerusalem) would choose to not bother with it.

Just to offer you another piece of information, Kosharot lists the new IKEA Eshtaol under its list of recommended places/hechshers (regarding kashrut). The information on their website seems to not be 100% accurate as they list it under the hechser of the Rabbanut Bet Shemesh Mehadrin, which it is not - as stated above, it is under the hechsher of Rabbanut Mateh Yehuda, with the additional word of the mashgiach in charge that everything is mehadrin.

Anyone can make a mistake. They still have checked it out and list it as recommended, meaning they consider it reliable (which in no way obligates you to consider it similarly).

Perhaps the confusion would have been abated had IKEA gone with a DIY hechsher, to be in line with their style of furniture...

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