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Ending the Shameful Blight of Forged Kosher Certificates Increased consumer awareness ‘knocks on the door’ of Kosher agencies - but since politely knocking produces no substantial results, it would be far better if we took to kicking their door down. DNA 'fingerprinting' for Kosher meat, is the only method that can provide the guarantees that Kosher requires and that consumers deserve. Introduction Two products that are indistinguishable but significantly differ in price will certainly attract criminals and will very likely even tempt honest people. Piracy in Kashrus Kashrut agencies are no less a target of pirates who loot their brand names and reputations, than the big multinational corporations. In fact they attract piracy because they are easy and vulnerable. Kosher foods, particularly Kosher meat offers a very tempting easy profit. Credit cards are protected with expensive cutting edge technologies and are nevertheless forged and lose millions every year. Famous brand names battle continuously against forgeries to preserve the integrity of their product and standards. This is a battle that they never expect to fully win. Kashrus Requires Higher Standards than Business However, the Kosher industry relies on easily forged labels which are not audited nor accounted for. There is no office or team whose responsibility it is to ensure that labels do not disappear - because what's the point if they can anyway be so easily forged. Refuah Before the Injury Forging fake Kosher labels for meat is easy. The risk of apprehension is minuscule. To date even though this crime has been suspected and identified, never has it been successfully prosecuted. It is alarming that while so much thought, effort and funding are infused into Hiddurim and stringencies for producing Glatt Kosher meat, so little is done to ensure the consumers get what they are so dearly paying for. Technology – Key to Improved Kashrus DNA 'fingerprinting' is a fully functioning, tried and tested system that can be implemented within days to guarantee that the Kosher meat we buy is indeed the Kosher meat it purports to be. It does not require advanced or specialised training, chemicals or tools, but simply, collecting a tiny sample of each approved Kosher beast. The entire beast can be identified via this sample even if the meat was frozen, cooked, baked, grilled or pickled. These samples permit testing meat collected from any factory, shop, wedding hall or private home. Any anomaly can be traced to identify precisely where the substitution occured It takes approximately two seconds to gather a sample, and this highly portable system goes wherever Shochtim go, and no less importantly, it does not increase the burden on the Shechita crew. DNA is recognised as being ‘unforgeable’. Furthermore, it permits tracking of meat anywhere in the world, in any state, including frozen and thawed. Its cost is far less and human error is almost non-existent. The greatest strength of implementing this system is that it 'puts the fear of god' into those considering using fake labels. |
