Paraguay slaughterhouse faces kosher-fraud allegations

Rabbinate threatens to revoke factory’s seal of approval after supervisor claims workers mislabeled improperly slaughtered meat

By ToI Staff 19 January 2015, 5:31 pm

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Illustrative photo of meat (YouTube screen capture)

Israel’s Chief Rabbinate has threatened to revoke the kosher certification of a Paraguay slaughterhouse after a kashrut supervisor claimed its workers were packaging nonkosher meat as glatt kosher, the Ynet news website reported Monday.

The rabbinate was informed of the alleged fraud by a supervisor in Paraguay’s Concepcion slaughterhouse, who said he had been informed by two workers that the plant’s employees would break regulations once supervisors were gone, and would stamp meat intended for Russian markets with kosher seals.

The supervisor claims that he was fired after informing his superiors of the allegations, and has provided the rabbinate with filmed footage which he says confirms the deception. His supervisors, on the other hand, have claimed that he was fired beforehand, and has concocted the story in order to take revenge on his former employers.

The rabbinate has suspended the factory’s seal of approval while it investigates, and was to hold a hearing for the Israeli importer of the meat, who employs the supervisors.

A shipment already set for Israel now faces cancellation, and damages to the importer and the slaughterhouse could reach NIS 70 million ($18 million).