Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Nathan's Kosher HotDogs

There's been a lot of activity on a certain e-mail list attached to a shul regarding the Kosher status of Nathan's Kosher Hot Dogs. While I certainly do not mind people talking about items with a hechsher they are unfamiliar with it seems that what has created a hoopla is that the has the chutzpah to give a hechsher to a piece of meat that is not glatt.

The e-mailer then went on to say that he is very happy that he did not eat it and will from now on only shop at kosher certified supermarkets because his trust in hechsherim has disappeared.

On a Halachic level only Sephardim are required to eat Glatt Kosher. And Secondly it is quite possible that our Glatt kosher standards don't even fulfill the requirements for Glatt. This is why products are labeld Glatt Beit Yosef.

Secondly, this Hechsher - a reliable one - has every right to certify non-Glatt meat.

What really ticks me off about all of this is that the guy had no idea that kosher meat wasn't always Glatt. And "oh my gosh" if it's not Glatt it's not Kosher enough for me. Listen, don't buy the meat again if you don't want to, but don't go getting people in a frenzy over a respectable and reliable Hechsher because of your Chumrah.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Tee hee I got the same email too.
By the way, now that I'm looking at the hechsher I'm reminded that I won't buy it either...not because I think I'm Sephardi and need to eat Glatt, but because the Rav behind that hechsher is Rav A. Zeilingold, the one who's been lying on behalf of Rubashkin's chilul-hashem factory for the past 3 years. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=zeilingold+rubashkin

Natan said...

Alan you right, he is that guy. It seems funny then that a guy sticking up for Rubashkin's would certify non-Glatt meat.

Have you been reading up on the rest of the e-mails. People are sending e-mails thinking that buying Empire chicken at Shoppers is not Kosher. Oy.

Anonymous said...

Yeah apparently the Vaad has a policy that nobody should by kosher meat from regular supermarkets, only from local kosher stores.

It comes up on the list every once in a while. The same people argue about it over and over. It's the "i use my brain, damnit" people versus the "rabbi said you're a kofer, kofer" people.