Court orders end to direct employment of kosher inspectors by eateries

The High Court of Justice on Wednesday instructed the Chief Rabbinate to revamp its kosher certification system, and end the practice wherein businesses pay for inspections by supervisors to approve their products.

Kosher certifications for businesses in Israel are granted by local state rabbinic bodies, known as kashrut committees, that are under the auspices of the national Chief Rabbinate. Kashrut inspectors visit applicants and supervise their kitchens during food preparation to ensure their methods meet the strict standards of Orthodox ritual law. Restaurants and food service businesses must also pay rabbinate supervisors to make regular inspection visits.

The court instructed the rabbinate to prepare an alternative system by June next year, and that it be ready no later than the beginning of September, Israeli Radio reported.

Judge Elyakim Rubinstein wrote in his decision that there is no question that ties between the supervisor and the place of business must be severed because they generate a conflict of interests for inspectors.

During a Knesset Economy Committee session in January the rabbinate admitted that reforms to the kosher supervision industry were necessary and told lawmakers it was working on revamping the system.

In June 2016 the High Court of Justice ruled that businesses can only present themselves as meeting Jewish religious dietary requirements (known in Hebrew as kashrut), if they have a certificate from the Chief Rabbinate. But the court ruling noted the widespread criticism of the current system and gave the rabbinate two years to make improvements.

A Finance Ministry draft report, leaked over a year ago, maintained that the kashrut industry in Israel overall drains the economy of NIS 2.8 billion ($731 million) per year. The rabbinate’s expenses came to NIS 600 million, causing a hike in food prices, according to the report.