DNA - The Magic Bullet for Kosher
why don't the K agencies want to use it?
why don't the K agencies want to use it?
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Burying the Shameful Blight of Forged Kosher CertificatesIncreased consumer awareness ‘knocks on the door’ of Kashrus agencies - it would be better if we had the ability to kick the door down. DNA 'fingerprinting' 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 are probably more attractive and vulnerable since they are seen as easy targets who do not have the wherewithal to detect and fight the piracy of forgeries. And Kosher foods, particularly Kosher meat offers a very tempting easy profit. Credit cards bearing the most sophisticated holograms are forged and used to embezzle millions of dollars every year. Famous brand names battle continuously against forgeries and falsifications to preserve the integrity of their product and standards. This is a battle that they never expect to win. Kashrus Requires Higher Standards than Business This however is an intolerable situation for Kosher agencies. Kashrus is not a matter of preserving an agency’s reputation and integrity; it is a question of ensuring that our Avodas HaKodesh is not compromised in the slightest. The task is compounded since not only is it necessary to ensure the kosher integrity of ingredients and their manufacture and processing, but additional vigilance and systems are required in order to secure the logistics of transport and tracking over vast distances and across many borders and continents. 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 crewZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZs worldwide offices. In today’s technological world, the system is recognized at all levels as being ‘unforgeable’. The Kosher agencies can test this in fact whenever they wish, to satisfy themselves and those who rely upon them. This amazing system permits tracking of meat anywhere in the world, in any state, including frozen and thawed. Since the human involvement is minimal, the cost factor is sharply reduced and human error is almost non-existent. This state-of-the-art system for tracking meat and meat byproducts, is unmatched and will forever provide 100% reliability that is un-forgeable. In short, this system permits kashrus agencies to maintain a global in-house monitoring system that can track and confirm the kashrus integrity of any piece of meat wherever it is found. The greatest strength of implementing this system is that no-one will bother to even try to forge fake labels and tickets. Substitutions will finally become a thing of the past and be buried forever. This system, which is operational in Australia, must become our new standard for Kosher meat. We are all well aware through bitter experience that the current systems do not provide the security we expect and pursue in our Avodas HaShem. What Needs to be Done? Jerusalem Kosher News is dedicated to promoting meaningful Kashrus through education. Informed Kosher consumers are effective Kosher consumers, they can not be ignored when their requests and demands are cogently and coherently stated. Our efforts over past years have yielded significant results that have improved the Kosher landscape and we urge readers of this piece to fully appreciate the important contribution implementing such a system would make to Kashrus. It is a simple, foolproof and in all respects superior method for assuring Kosher integrity and stamping out once and for all the ignoble, ever-present suspicion that the meat we are eating is possibly not the meat it purports to be. Further information can be requested from Rabbi Meir Rabi, [email protected] |
