The number of countries that produce kosher certified products has grown to 104, according to kashrus sources.
The Orthodox Union (OU) operates in all of these countries and significantly now includes the Gulf states of Dubai and Saudi Arabia.
In addition to the OU, agencies like the OK and Star-K are also major certifiers around the world, including a growing presence in the Pacific.
Kashrus sources estimate that nearly 1500 mashgichim (kashrus supervisors) oversee the production of kosher products around the world with nearly 1,000 working for the OU, according to Rabbi Moshe Elefant, COO of the OU Kashrus Division.
The major source of mashgichim is Chabad emissaries stationed around the world. It is not uncommon for some of the mashgichim to work for more than one agency. One rabbi told Kosher Today that he works for two national agencies as well as the local Vaad.
The addition of Dubai and Saudi Arabia by the OU is a reflection of the changing geopolitical situation where these countries have warmed considerably to Israel as a result of their confronting a common enemy, Iran.
Many of the countries that now produce kosher are anxious to penetrate markets in the US and Europe but are faced with the reality that so many of these markets require kosher certification.
In the US, for example, many of the larger companies are kosher certified and cannot use ingredients that are not kosher. Another motif for many of the countries is to do business with Israel and its growing food industry.
If places like Saudi Arabia become more accepting of Kashrus, then they are less likely to promote the most extreme antisemitism and less likely to be violent enemies of Israel and of Jews in general.
It may not make a huge change immediately, but every baby step, helps.
maybe trump is more like achashverosh. We still win in the end but what a crazy story!
1-brave mashgiach to go to saudi arabia
2- trump is maybe eliyahu hanavi
And it if were required then getting a hechsher wouldn’t help.
No, they want a hechsher for the same reason they want it on anything else — because their experience is that it more than pays for itself in increased sales. If it didn’t they wouldn’t be interested.
Exactly, they hate us, why now go start giving kosher allowences??
I personally dont understanddd…
Also, there r enough places in the world that allow kosher food already.
Why look for arab countries to be doing us “favors”?
Are we looking for Saudi arabia kosher products???
I mean i think its nice that they made improvment and at least think something about jews….
But i think its unessesary…
Jews are not allowed to enter saudi arabia period. How is a moshgiach suppose to enter. Addionally they hate israel and think jews are pigs. No, not just some of the population….its the national teachings. So we are all gunghoe now. How about people wake up and realize that some nations are just evil.
Instead of blasting and bashing the OU, lets be thankful for the almost one million products the OU kosher certifies, you can go to a supermarket anywhere in the US and find kosher products, this is not available anywhere else in the world but maybe Israel.
the reason water in the usa has a hechsher is financial, if the company uses a govt inspector they have to pay $3,000 to $5,000 just for the cost of the inspection and more money for the required test, by getting certified by a reputable kashrus agency the govt does not enter the picture at all and allows the water to be sold as inspected. IN OTHER WORDS it cost companies thousand less to use a hechsher than not….
And the OU tells the companies that. But if a company wants one anyway, because it helps with marketing, then the OU will go out and inspect the plant, and not just rely on the chazokoh that there’s nothing wrong with it. And once in a (very long) while they do find something wrong. Once they even made a run of water with an OU-D, because the equipment had just been used for milk and there was no time to kasher it. But if you ask the OU they will tell you that you don’t need to worry about such… Read more »
Halevai it would be, because that would kill any germs that could be in the water, but right now it’s not being done. What’s more, if a brand of water *were* being irradiated the OU would make no objection. Don’t believe the nonsense you read in Hamodia.
An OU mashgiach’s inspection is thorough, and would definitely find evidence of any such fraud. Do you think the mashgiach just comes and looks around at what’s going on right now?! No, he spends most of his time in the office going through the paperwork and making sure it all makes sense. He knows that if the plant produced so much of whatever it makes then it must have bought so much of each ingredient, so there should be receipts and packing slips for them all. If they can’t produce them then they must have bought ingredients they’re not telling… Read more »
cause the water is radiated, truthfully, radiadation over time will cause serious health issues, all water is radiated, including the nyc tap water, as of right now there is something wrong with nyc water because it’s sticky, put your hand under the flowing water, this lit drives me nuts,l do know that it was broken and fixed with 2 million by gov’er ,it was in the hamodia paper,lit looks like it broke again, l have email dov hikind and senator christen gillibrand head of the evir org here in nyc, nyc isn’t being run properly
A lot of times, the OU will schedule a time for a mashgiach to come and investigate the kashrus of the products it puts hechsherim on. What happens other times? Would the OU know if ingredients are being switched? Do they rely on Moslems, since they are not idol worshippers, for food that needs to be pas or bishul Yisroel?
Read the article again – it does NOT say that kosher food is available for sale in these Arab countries. It does say that they are now permitting mashgichim from the OU to come into their countries to oversee kosher food production for export.
LOL , LOL , LOL
Good Gezugt
Moshiach now , and even Saudi Arabia will be part of Eretz Ha-Kodesh
Very nice, but who cares. What do we care if arabs can have kosher food? They dont even let us be in their countries to live like jews. So, what for?
Sorry for my ignorance… But i dont think there are jews in Saudi arabia. -Maybe there are i ijust dont know- sorry for my ignorance
To #2. Would you use aluminum foil without a hechsher? What about soap? Or plastic bags? Why does ‘poland springs, etc’ have a hechsher? As do many other brands of water? Cause they can! Hey, if the OU can charge for it, and the company wants it, there ya go!
Recently traveling to an island and the local shaliach told me he has his own hecgsher for all the water bottles even if they don’t require it halachically. He said this was just a way to earn an easy steady income. Like most products that don’t require hecgshers it’s just another easy business venture.
bh:)
REALLY IS THERE A SHLIACH IN SAUDI ARABIA OR DUBAI?
they all ready have Ralph Lauren (Lifshitz ) stores there !
Probably Estee Lauder is selling there as well
Chabad of Riyadh ! Moshiach Now !
Are we missing any foodstuff that we now have to buy products from countries who dont allow us to live as jews in their country (saudi arabia, Dubai) or are openly hostile to jews and israel (turkey) ? Are we out of our minds?
it’s about time. now i can finally go to Saudi Arabia and not be concerned about the food. thank you so much. for a second there i thought i would be deprived of the privilege of going to Saudi Arabia. THANKS
Go Donald Trump, The best US president ever
BS”D I was recently in Dubai airport and there was no such thing as water with a heksher (please no retorts water does not need one, if so why does poland spring etc have one)
Maybe we in Israel can get decent meat if they will allow schechita.