STAR-K CERTIFICATION Announces Newly Formed Alliance with Mexico’s KMD Kosher Agency by Margie Pensak

The present-day Mexican Jewish community boasts a population of over 40,000. In Mexico City, alone, where the majority of Mexican Jews live, there are 23 synagogues and more than a dozen Jewish schools, where over 90% of its Jewish youth receive their education. To serve this rapidly growing Torah community, there are 19 kosher restaurants, 19 kosher butcher shops, 15 kosher bakeries, and 13 kosher grocery stores.

Jews are no strangers to Mexico. Although the Jewish presence in Mexico dates back to the Spanish Conquest, it was not until the final years of the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century that a mass immigration of Jews from Syria, Greece, Turkey, the Balkans, and Eastern Europe, fleeing from persecution and poverty, gave way to the initial stages of a modern Jewish Mexican community.

Today, the Maguen David Community, formed by descendents of the Jewish immigrants from Aleppo, Syria, provides welfare, religious and educational services to its associates. Among its institutions, KMD is responsible for providing kashrus services.

To facilitate the ever-growing kashrus demands in Mexico, a newly formed alliance between STAR-K CERTIFICATION and the KMD was recently announced by STAR-K President, Dr. Avrom Pollak. “STAR-K has a history of sharing its expertise in kashrus with other communities,” explains Dr. Pollak.

“We look forward to this new partnership which promises to have a positive affect on the volume of kosher meat and other food products not only in both the United States and Mexico, but throughout the world. It will be mutually beneficial for both organizations and communities, as well as the greater kosher community, especially during these challenging economic times.”

“KMD is honored to announce this alliance, since it serves as an important launching pad for Mexican kashrus”, said Salomon Dichi, treasurer of the Maguen David in Mexico “It means being able to provide foreign markets with Mexican-made products, showing both KMD and Star-K certifications. I would like to stress that these two companies have very similar certification standards. We hope that this alliance will be a big success in Mexico and the United States”.

STAR-K Certification Announces New Joint Kosher and Organic Auditing Program with QAI

New Program Expedites Kosher/Organic Certification

BALTIMORE, Md. and SAN DIEGO, Calif. ---STAR-K Certification, Inc., today announced a new joint kosher and organic auditing program with Quality Assurance International (QAI), effective January 1, 2009.

The joint auditing program offers several advantages to the growing numbers of companies worldwide that opt for both organic and kosher certification. These include: streamlining the auditing process and reducing overall certification costs. To accomplish these goals, a number of STAR-K kosher inspectors are now trained organic inspectors, allowing us to complete both audits concurrently.

“The new alliance between STAR-K and QAI highlights our shared commitment to help companies provide high-quality kosher certified organic products, in a more efficient and cost-effective manner,” said STAR-K President Dr. Avrom Pollak. “Like STAR-K, QAI is dedicated to helping consumers know that they are getting real value from certified products. Having realized that many companies have both certifications, we feel that the bundling of our certification efforts will add further efficiency and value on behalf of consumers throughout the world.”

The rapidly, rising global demand for products bearing a trusted, recognizable kosher logo has been similar to the growth in demand for products labeled certified organic. These two intersecting trends have given rise to a flourishing new specialty food category—kosher organic. These products meet both the strict requirements of Jewish dietary laws and the USDA National Organic Program specifications.

Kosher organic product sales have been growing annually; increasing numbers of kosher consumers are requesting organic foods, and more kosher manufacturers are producing organic foods. There has been a major impact on sales of these doubly certified products, and Mintel research organization’s data indicates that, in 2008, both “kosher” and “organic” were amongst the top ten claims for new products. [Mintel Global New Products Database (GNPD), Mintel International, 2008.]

“We are thrilled to announce this new alliance with STAR-K,” said Kristen Holt, QAI President. “By combining our respective expertise, together QAI and STAR-K will offer two certifications with one audit, providing clients both cost and time savings, while continuing to provide the highest levels of service our clients have come to expect.”

For more information on Star-K Kosher Certification and QAI Organic Certification, or to learn more about a combined organic and kosher audit, please contact Steve Sichel at or 410-484-4110, ext. 224.

STAR-K Kosher Certification, a not-for-profit agency, is one of the most trusted kosher certification organizations in the world. With offices throughout the U.S., China, Australia, and Israel, STAR-K certifies food products and establishments, as well as industrial food chemicals, in well over 1,500 locations worldwide. The agency is internationally renowned for its extensive research on the complexities of food science and modern technology, as they apply to the laws of kosher, putting it on the cutting edge of the ever-growing multi-billion dollar kosher food industry. It is one of the foremost experts in the field of kosher pharmaceuticals, nutritional supplements, and medications. For more information about STAR-K, call (410) 484-4110, or visit www.star-k.org.

Quality Assurance International (QAI, Inc.), founded in 1989, is the organic industry leader in certification services with operations in the U.S., Canada, Japan and the European Union. Clients include agricultural producers, food processing facilities, integrated manufacturing operations, contract packing operations, traders, distributors, and retailers. QAI’s programs verify organic compliance at every link of the product handling chain, thus assuring consumers that product integrity is preserved in the marketplace. QAI is a pioneer in the organic industry and remains dedicated to fostering sustainable agriculture and promoting a healthy planet. For more information, visit www.qai-inc.com.

STAR-K TAKES KASHRUS ON THE ROAD
by Margie Pensak

In Rabbi Mayer Kurcfeld’s twenty-three years as a Kashrus Administrator for Star-K Certification, he has traveled the globe extensively. More recently, it has been in the capacity of teaching the nuts and bolts of kashrus in localities such as: Hollywood, Florida; Boston, Massachusetts; Norfolk, Virginia; Lancaster, Pennsylvania; Elizabeth, New Jersey; Olney, Maryland; and Calgary, Alberta, Canada. His weekday, evening, Shabbos, Yom Tov, and Shabbaton audiences have included everyone from unaffiliated students of all ages to kollel yungerleit, homemakers, synagogue congregants, and kashrus organization administrators--Sephardim and Ashkenazim, alike.

“My intent is to convey a better appreciation and a deeper understanding of what today’s kashrus is all about,” says Rabbi Kurcfeld. “At the same time, I try to cover practical kashrus related topics that the kosher consumer can take home and apply to their daily living.”

Rabbi Kurcfeld’s topics have spanned the spectrum from the evolution of today’s kosher kitchen and the Sabbath mode oven to pre-Pesach oven kashering and hands-on bug checking of fruits and vegetables. He typically concludes his talks by discussing The Challenges of Certifying Today’s Kosher Food Industry.

“From the perspective of a kashrus agency, the constant technical and industrial changes create new challenges, that if not properly handled, can dilute one’s kashrus oversight”, believes Rabbi Kurcfeld. “In addition, the need to certify ever more far flung plants and companies poses a new set of logistical hurdles and requires us to travel more extensively. The trick is to keep up with the necessary manpower and oversight, and to never lose sight of the religious aspect of what we do and are all about—Kashrus L’sheim Shamayim.

STAR-K LAUNCHES THE INSTITUTE OF HALACHAH 
by Margie Pensak

The Mishnah teaches us, “Appoint for yourself a Rav”, a Torah guide, from whom you can acquire clarity through wisdom. But, what happens when you do not have a personal Rav, because you live in Fargo, North Dakota? Or, if you live in a large Jewish community and have a Rav, but time is of the essence for your halachic query? How often have you exasperatingly attempted to contact your Rav, only to find out that he was unreachable because he was in the middle of giving a shiur, attending a bris, or officiating at a wedding or a funeral?

STAR-K CERTIFICATION realizes that there is no substitute for a person’s own Rav, who knows him or her personally. However, to help remedy such situations, it has launched its Institute of Halachah, as a public service. The opening of a general halachic division, within its kashrus agency, depicts Star-K’s uniqueness and belief that the world of kosher extends beyond typical milk and meat issues....Click here to view the full article.

RABBI HEINEMANN ON SABBATH MODE OVENS

Teshuva (Responsa) regarding Sabbath Mode ovens by HaGoan HaRav Moshe Heinemann Shlita, Rabbinic Administrator of the Star-K

Click here to view.

Star-K's fifth annual Kashrus Training Program was held in July, 2008, at the Star-K offices in Baltimore, Maryland.

What do Plano, Texas, Thornhill, Ontario, and Olney, Maryland have in common? They are just some of the hometowns of STAR-K’s fifth annual Kashrus Training Seminar participants.

Held in STAR-K’s corporate office in Baltimore, July 28-31, participants included: rabbonim, kollel fellows, and others serving in klei kodesh, who have studied Yorah Deah. In the case of Rabbi Chanoch Oppenheim, the seminar served to further prepare him for the kashrus challenges he will no doubt face as the new rav of the Charlotte Torah Center, in North Carolina.

Also in attendance, was Rabbi Boruch Hirschfeld, rav of Ahavas Yisroel in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, and a Rabbinic Administrator of Cleveland Kosher. “The program was excellent,” said Rabbi Hirschfeld. “It is quite clear that the entire staff is under the stewardship of Rabbi Heinemann. They are eminent rabbis in their own right and show tremendous respect for each other.”

Rabbi Hershel Becker, rav of Young Israel of Kendall, and Rabbinical Board member of Kosher Miami (The Vaad Hakashrus of Miami-Dade), also attended the seminar, and found the experience invaluable. “To see the extensive, vital operation, and how Star-K is set up and compartmentalized, and the interaction among the staff, was so worthwhile. I personally gained a lot in halachah and in practical applications from the superb presentations. I appreciated being among so many people I never met and was able to make contacts from all over. By coming to the Star-K, and being joined together, we feel connected working together in kashrus for klal Yisroel.”

Although Rabbi Becker had previously been to a shlacht (slaughter) house when learning for s’micha, he noted the experience this time around was on another level. “Being out in the field of rabbanus for many years,” says Rabbi Becker, “you see things differently, and there is more of an awareness to all the detail. With all the questions and communal matters that come up, you incorporate the halachah in daily life in a more global way.

“We were beneficiaries of HaRav Heinemann’s wellspring of knowledge,” Rabbi Becker continues. “It struck me that not only did the Rav want to ensure that the shlacht house experience was significant and educational, but when he hosed off the blood from all of our boots—something which I didn’t expect the Rav to do—I understood that the Rav’s commitment to Torah and halachah comes with devotion to the klal. And, when Dr. Pollak had mentioned that when setting up the organization it was designed with one Rav to set the policies, I understood its significance. The Rav’s devotion is certainly reflected in the entire Star-K organization.”

The intensive seminar featured lectures by Star-K’s rabbinic staff members, including its Rabbinic Administrator, HaRav Moshe Heinemann, shlit”a, and its President, Dr. Avrom Pollak. Rabbi Heinemann spoke about the biur of fruits and shmitas kesafim in his shiur entitled, “Shmitta 5768 and Beyond”. Dr. Pollak discussed practical guidelines for setting up a local vaad hakashrus and gave advice for decisions one faces in doing so, in his lecture, “A Certifying Agency’s Administrative Issues”.

In addition to explaining the various segments of the kashrus industry, sessions covered everything from local foodservice challenges to supervising plants overseas. In addition, HaRav Mordechai Frankel, director of STAR-K’s recently launched Institute of Halachah, discussed the shaila, “If a Consumer Eats Non-Kosher Bearing a Hechsher Does he have to do Teshuva?” STAR-K produced audio-visual presentations related to chicken shechita and insect recognition, a hands-on practicum for vegetable checking, field trips to a slaughterhouse, confectionery, restaurant, bakery, and the kosher kitchen of the Hyatt Regency, as well as an optional eruv tour, rounded out the seminar experience.

           “Kashrus is all about the halachah and its interaction with the metzius, practicality, of food production,” sums up Rabbi Zvi Goldberg, STAR-K Kashrus Administrator and coordinator of the seminar.

Want to buy heads of fresh lettuce, but don't know how to check for bugs? Ever wonder if your fruit is really insect-free? Wonder no more! The STAR-K makes it easy with its new online insect checking video collection. Learn how to check lettuce, strawberries and more with our short, easy-to-understand video tutorials.

Material is continually updated. Click here to see our current video list.

A limited number of light boxes are still available for purchase from our office. Please call 410-484-4110 for information.

RABBI HEINEMANN DISCUSSES STAR-K'S CERTIFICATION OF VEGETABLES

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