Hopping mad

Customer finds live frog in bag of strictly kosher lettuce

Video of amphibian in package of greens which had seals of approval from five certification bodies elicits national amusement

A frog was found in a bag of kosher lettuce in an Israeli grocery on July 31, 2019. (Twitter screenshot)
A frog was found in a bag of kosher lettuce in an Israeli grocery on July 31, 2019. (Twitter screenshot)

It’s not easy being green…or kosher.

Customers at a branch of the Osher Ad grocery chain in central Israel were surprised to find a live frog in a package of Brachat Katif lettuce that had been certified with the highest level of kosher supervision.

A video of the errant amphibian’s salad-centric adventures was posted to Twitter on Wednesday by ultra-Orthodox journalist Yisrael Cohen, who noted that the “religious customers were amazed” to find the hoppy fellow (or gal) in a bag of produce that had apparently been given seals of approval by five separate certification bodies.

“Is it kosher,” one woman in the video can be heard asking.

“It’s kosher l’mehadrin,” a man replies facetiously, referring to a strict standard of kosher certification.

“Don’t forget that it’s checked for worms,” another man added.

Kosher certified produce is traditionally inspected for worms and other insects which are not considered kosher.

“Why isn’t anyone talking about the fact that frogs are brown and not green like Kermit? Have we lived a lie our entire lives?” asked Ma’ariv reporter Talia Levin in response to Cohen’s post.

Public figures including Tel Aviv University Art History Department chair Sefy Hendler and former Israeli Consul General in New York Alon Pinkas waded into the pond, arguing about everything from kashrut standards to the color of frogs.

In a statement, Brachat Katif said that it “manufactures and markets quality products with strict procedures and is under the regular supervision of the leading laboratories in the country” and that such incidents are rare, Channel 12 reported.

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