kashrut is another victim of Corona

Sadly we have seen cases in the news of restaurants giving up kashrut certification because of how badly their businesses were hit by the Corona situation over the past several months.

The Rabbanut posted online yesterday that half of the [food] businesses in Jerusalem have not renewed their kashrut certificates this quarter. The Rabbanut posts this to remind the public that without a valid kashrut certificate, for whatever reason, you, the kosher consumer, should not eat.

They explained in the comments that many do not want, or maybe are unable, to pay the annual fee for kashrut supervision, and many do not want to pay the mashgiach or are only willing to pay such a small amount that it is a joke. Whatever the reason, they point out, without supervision, the consumer has no way to know what is happening in the kitchen.

half the food businesses in Jerusalem! half! that is an awful lot of restaurants.

Without looking for blame, that is a bad situation. A sad situation. Corona hurt their businesses so badly that they can't afford to pay for kashrut supervision. Or they don't see it as so vital to the business that they consider it a necessary expense and are willing to quickly cut it.

Further, "Half the restaurants in Jerusalem" is not one or two restaurants. That is a big trend. I would hope the Rabbanut is working on a plan to try to figure out a solution or a way to help these restaurants. It isn't going to get better on its own, even if Corona will just magically disappear, after seeing they can survive without kashrut supervision, they won't necessarily come running back to the Rabbanut.

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