Our Sages, in their wisdom, created a series of decrees, engineered to protect the Jewish community and its integrity. Their wisdom and foresight can be appreciated today by the inexplicable, miraculous perseverance of and continued tenacious grip on our religious and cultural identity; history's vicissitudes and the many evil, vicious attacks upon us notwithstanding.
Many of these decrees ban the use of various foods produced by Gentiles and to varying specifications. For example -
Bishul Yisrael, cooked foods - requires at least symbolic Kosher participation; limited to foods that must be cooked to be edible and are also prestigious,
Pas Yisrael, breads - the preferred option is Pas Yisrael which has at least some symbolic Kosher participation; Kosher ingredients baked for commerce are Kosher known as Pas Palter, they are Kosher but not preferred
Gevinas Yisrael, cheese - Gevinas Yisrael requires either Kosher supervision [Rama and Taz] or Kosher participation [Shach]
Gevinas Yisrael means cheese of a Jew, and Chalav Yisrael means milk of a Jew. Milk by Rabbinic decree must have a Jew monitoring its production. Cheese, by Rabbinic decree requires - according to the Shach, that a Jew participate at least symbolically in its production.
We, at It's Kosher Authority, insist on the more stringent approach of the Shach. The cheese that we certify as Gevinas Yisrael is truly so to the very highest standards and meaning of the injunction of Gevinas Yisrael.
Our procedures for producing Chalav Yisrael follow the guidelines of Harav Wosner and Harav Elyashiv, who both permitted the use of remote electronic surveillance, and as Rav Vitman, Rav of Tnuva explains, such monitoring is far superior in nearly all respects to direct human supervision.
We use cameras that are are always active and have software that provides alerts by identifying motion and other cutting edge software. The remote surveillance is monitored by experts who who are best described as possessing the qualities of being A] patient B] diligent and C] Gd fearing.
As far as the farmers are concerned - they are under surveillance 24/7. This is the key to Chalav Yisrael, the Mashgiach need not observe the entire milking but must be able to appear in an instant, the Halacha describes it as "he is able to view the milking if he just stands up" YD 115:1.
So if the Mashgiach is invisible, he is effectively observing at all times.
The costs are borne by generous patrons assisting us take this bold step. There is no product cost escalation due to our certification. We have cultivated a professional relationship with our clients over the years which has allowed us to broach this rather anachronistic custom with them and implement it.
As with the human direct supervision for Chalav Yisrael, where the tankers are sealed and the seals are checked upon arrival before being unloaded, to validate the contents of the tankers, our clients have comprehensive foolproof system of seals, that ensure there is no possibility of substitution, confusion or deception and guarantees that nothing other than Chalav Yisrael is in the supply and packaging chain. We employ these systems. We are empowered to substantiate and verify all these steps as our very own Chalav Yisrael seals.
Today, efficient and economical milk production {in which Israel is a world leader} requires that the cows are relaxed and comfortable. These cows produce more and superior milk. These farms do not use cattle prods, not even dogs are permitted near them. These techniques have been honed in Israel and some of the farmers have even visited Israel to see and learn first-hand.
