Unions Seek to Bring Agri to Its Knees With New Charges of Unsafe Meats
New York... The United Food and Commercial Workers has launched its latest salvo against Agriprocessors with a stinging report of 250 non-compliance records from the United States Department of Agriculture during 2006. The Union has been unsuccessful at attempts to unionize workers at the Agri plant in Postville, IA. It has in the past tried to capitalize on the now infamous PETA video, a Forward report of the mistreatment of workers, a call by liberal rabbis for a new certification that covers non-kashrus issues, and now a stinging document to prove that meat produced by the nation's largest producer of kosher meats is unsafe. But U.S. government spokesmen contend that the plant is in "full compliance" of health and safety regulations. Agri is a USDA plant which means that its inspectors must be present during any slaughter. As in other anti-Agri reports, the latest Union charges were prominently featured in yet another vilifying story by Nathaniel Popper of the Forward, including raising concerns about the safety of Agri products. "The release of these USDA documents, though, appears to be the first time that concerns have been publicly raised about the safety of the food from AgriProcessors, and the documents add a new dimension to AgriProcessor's problems given the sensitivity of food safety in the United States. Kosher meat is often marketed as being under stricter supervision because it is overseen by both government and kosher inspectors." But KosherToday has learned that in addition to the fact that the U.S. government confirms that the plant is now in fill compliance, most of the violations are of the routine nature that are common to a large number of meat and poultry plants around the country. Professor Yitzchok Levine, whose blog monitors many concerns of the Jewish community, quoted a food industry expert who noted that "the article in the Forward and the Union's attempt at defaming Agri reek of sensationalist journalism which blows the facts out of proportion to reality." He said that the Union's report of two recalls compared to the 30 industry-wide was particularly outrageous since one was for a product mislabeling whereby a potential allergen was not listed with a voluntary recall by Agri and the other was for 2,700 pounds of Hot Dogs that had the potential of Listeria contamination, which is no more than one pallet worth of food that could easily fit into one 15 passenger size cargo van. He wondered how that could be compared to the one million pound plus recalls of some of the non kosher companies. He called the charges that Agri had not taken precautions against Mad Cow "malarkey" since there "should be no more Mad Cow disease in this country as a result of the banning of offal as an ingredient in animal feed years ago."

Newly Kosher Certified Companies to Debut at Kosherfest '07
New York, NY... by Sara Cohen... It has become common for newly certified kosher companies to make their debut in the kosher market by exhibiting at Kosherfest, the annual kosher food trade show which this year will mark its 19th edition. When the two-day show opens on November 11th at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in Manhattan, it will again introduce many first timers who will seek to compete in the lucrative kosher food market with its $11 billion in annual sales. Abel & Schafer, a cake product company based in Ronkonkoma NY will make its debut at this year's Kosherfest. It produces cake mixes, bread mixes, glazes, fillings, low fat products and more. The company will be showcasing its pareve line, an increasingly desired designation since it appeals to a larger market of kosher consumers looking for products that can be eaten with meat or dairy. "Our goal at Kosherfest will be to create awareness of our pareve products," said Frank Priedemann, General Manager and Abel and Schafer. "There are a lot of cake products out there that are dairy and we are excited to cater to a broader market." Manhattan-based The Exceptional Brownie will also be a first-timer at the show. Having obtained kosher certification from the Kof-K Kosher Certification just 3 months ago, it is anxious to introduce its products to the large number of retailers, wholesalers, distributors and food service that attend the annual trade event.  Claire Sauerhoff, president of The Exceptional Brownie, explains that she will be featuring 8 different varieties of upscale products at the show. The brownies and blondies are made from all natural products and dark chocolate, a growing sensation in the food industry. "With our recent certification and our participation in Kosherfest, we hope to gain visibility in the growing kosher food industry," said Sauerhoff. Abel & Shafer and The Exceptional Brownie will be amongst at least 50 other exhibitors participating at Kosherfest for the first time.
 
Boston's Best Kosher Establishments Yields Few Surprises
Boston... Milk Street Café, Stop & Shop Bakery, Cherryl Ann's and Gordon & Alperin were rated the top kosher establishments in the city, in the second annual Boston area kosher survey conducted by Kosher Community Surveys LLC ( www.kosher-community-surveys.com). The survey, conducted this summer, asked local consumers about their opinions on Boston area kosher stores, restaurants, and bakeries. Other establishments with strong ratings include Ta'am China, Rosenfeld's Bagels, and the Butcherie. Neil Rosenbaum, President of Kosher Community Surveys LLC, observed, "Consumer interest in this year's survey was impressive - almost 400 people participated, a 33% increase from last year." Kosher Community Surveys conducts consumer surveys of kosher restaurants, bakeries and stores across the country. The company is the only organization of its kind, collecting and producing reports on the quality of kosher food establishments on a geographic market-by-market basis.  The organization is dedicated to the improvement of the kosher food sector through customer feedback as well as providing recognition to those establishments with the highest quality food and service in their respective markets.

Kosher Dairy Prices Soar Around the World
New York... Idele Ross, KosherToday Israel Bureau Chief and Staff Reporters... With the slice of a pizza hovering around $3 in some places in New York came the reality of soaring dairy prices that are even higher for Cholov Yisroel products in many places throughout the world. From Israel comes word of yet another 3.8% price hike due to sharp increases in grain prices used for animal feed. The decision to raise prices was made by a joint committee of the Agriculture and Finance Ministries. Among the causes for the sharp rise in prices, according to the Israel Dairy Board, are the increase in demand in China, climate changes, a slump in the surplus of grains held by developed countries, and the growth in prices of maritime transportation. Lisa Standerfer, purchasing officer at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, says she has seen prices rise dramatically for milk and other dairy products. In the U.S., dairy prices have jumped dramatically. John J. Wilhelm, director of purchasing at the Upstate Niagara Cooperative in Buffalo, N.Y., has seen prices of non-fat milk powder increase by 47% over the last two months. "The dairy industry is going through an unprecedented period of high costs for non-fat milk powder and whey powder." He adds that "this is due mainly to exporting these materials to developing countries." And, as the price of milk has gone up, so have the prices for kosher cheese, yogurts, sour cream, ice cream, coffee shop products and even pizza. Like in Israel and even in Europe, prices of milk have skyrocketed due to the higher costs of feeding cows because so much corn for feed is being diverted to ethanol production. Experts also note that consumer demand for dairy products has increased by 2.9% from January to May while U.S. milk production only rose 1.1% in the second quarter. Yet another reason given is a drought in Australia and production woes in New Zealand, two large dairy-exporting countries, reducing global demand. 

Herring the New "Comeback Food" in Kosher Market
Brooklyn NY...Sales of herring in many Jewish neighborhoods are "going through the roof," according to one retailer. Sol ("everybody knows me by that name") an old-timer from the Lower East Side could have sworn that sales of herring died with the Borscht Belt and the old Yiddish theater, but a survey of retailers shows that herring sales may have increased by as much as 30% since 2003. It appears that many younger affluent Orthodox Jews have taken to herring just as they "brought back cholent (a traditional Shabbat dish) that is now an almost daily item, particularly starting on Wednesday in advance of Shabbat," explained the retailer. Most kosher stores now stock a variety of herring products including Herring Cocktail in Seafood Sauce. Herring Fillets in Wine Sauce. Matjes Herring. Milker Herring. Pickled Herring. And Pickled Schmaltz Herring. The retailers say that the herring is very much a part of the weekly grocery basket of younger shoppers which many also include sushi, assorted dips, and Mediterranean salads. While Sol appreciates the resurgence of herring, he fondly recalls the days of buying a whole herring and wrapping in a well read Daily Forward.

Major Importer of Israeli Foods Seeks Level Playing Field...in Israel
Bayonne NJ...As one of the major importers of Israeli foods and wines, the Kedem Group, headed by the Herzog family, is not asking for a quid pro quo from the Israelis. It is thankful for the opportunity and has benefited from the surge in consumer demand for the Israeli foods. But the company is seeking a 'level playing field' when it comes to the export of their grape juice to Israel. It seems that despite the various free trade agreements between the U.S. and Israel, the Kedem Grape Juice is subject to a tariff of either 10.2% per case or NIS 1.45 per liter, whichever is higher. This is in sharp contrast to the European Union where Kedem benefits from an annual quota of duty free grape juice of approximately 50 containers. The Kedem Grape Juice is popular with the large number of Americans who live in Israel as well as many Israelis who prefer the "non-grapy taste," as one Israeli put it. The added tariffs also make it much harder for Kedem to compete in many price sensitive neighborhoods. Many American young couples where the husband is studying in 'kolel' live on a fixed budget and will buy the Israeli juice simply because it is less expensive and despite the fact that it is so different from the taste they were brought up with. Kedem officials hope that the Israeli authorities will realize the inequity and allow the grape juice to be exempt from tariffs like other American foods.