Israeli rabbi promotes `virtual’ kosher certification

JERUSALEM (RNS) An Israeli rabbi is encouraging the owners of kosher restaurants, event halls and institutions to install video cameras as a way to cut down on the number of on-site supervisors needed to oversee strict Jewish dietary laws. Rabbi Yehuda Deri, the spiritual leader of Beersheva, the largest city in southern Israel, conceived the […]

JERUSALEM (RNS) An Israeli rabbi is encouraging the owners of kosher restaurants, event halls and institutions to install video cameras as a way to cut down on the number of on-site supervisors needed to oversee strict Jewish dietary laws.

Rabbi Yehuda Deri, the spiritual leader of Beersheva, the largest city in southern Israel, conceived the idea after local business owners complained that the cost of employing kashrut supervisors after regular business hours — when much of their business takes place — was becoming prohibitive.

Although Deri’s suggestion was directed toward local business people, it has piqued the interest of kosher-food professionals outside Israel, where the cost of kosher food is particularly expensive.


While the camera idea has been dubbed “virtual (kosher) supervision” by some Israelis, Deri told the newspaper Ha’aretz that the cameras “will not replace” on-site supervisors.

Kosher supervisors must be on-site in order to examine rice, fruits and vegetables, lest they be infested with bugs, rendering the food unkosher. They often “kasher” (to make kosher) meat, receive shipments and answer patrons’ questions, “things the cameras cannot do,” Deri said.

“But cameras can save business owners from paying supervisors for two to three hours of work a day,” the rabbi added.

Deri estimated that the cameras, which his office would install, will cost about $33 per month, considerably less than the cost of paying an inspector overtime pay.

Rabbi Menachem Genack, the CEO of OU Kosher, a division of the New York-based Orthodox Union, said through a spokesman that video supervision systems can work under certain circumstances.

“A lot depends on how secure the video system is; such a system is in place for supervising” kosher milk at dairy plants, Genack said. “The devil is in the details, but I find it intriguing.”


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