A supreme kashrut authority?

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SHOPS, restaurants or products that define themselves as kosher without the blessing of a legally recognised kashrut authority could face prosecution if a proposal submitted to the Federal Government last week gets the green light from legislators.

The submission, put forward by the Organisation of Rabbis of Australasia (ORA) and the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), calls for one body — namely ORA — to be given the legal right to endorse individual kashrut authorities, setting the guidelines they must adhere to.

Those not receiving an endorsement would not be able to operate as kashrut authorities within the law, preventing them from bestowing hechshers (kosher licences).

And in what was described as a “monumental and historic”¬† achievement, the proposal received the backing of the country’s principal communal kashrut authorities, including Kosher Australia, Chabad Kashrut and Adass Kashrut in Victoria, the Kashrut Authority in New South Wales and the Kashrut Authority in Western Australia.

The submission was put forward in response to the Government’s Issues Consultation Paper on Food Labelling Law and Policy Review, which asked whether there was a need to establish agreed definitions of terms such as “halal” and¬† “kosher” and, if so, whether the definitions should be included or referenced in the Food Standards Code.

Though the ORA and ECAJ submission recognises that, to date, the self-regulation of kashrut authorities has created “very few problems” and that the Jewish community feels it “has served it well”, it adds: “the rabbinic authorities in Australia have no capacity to prevent a producer from labelling or self-certifying a product as ‘kosher’.”

It also notes that “in a self-regulated environment, there is potential for confusion and even fraudulent conduct through the potential for rogue producers to use the word ‘kosher’ with impunity.”

To tackle that problem, the submission states: “The only viable means of regulation of kosher labelling would be to enshrine (by legislation or regulation) the present self-regulated system, that is, to give legislative or regulatory authority to the endorsement of the rabbinic or kosher authorities within Australia.

“Such legislation could provide that the word ‘kosher’ may only be used on a label if the product bears a form of endorsement that it has been certified as kosher by a recognised rabbinic or kosher authority in Australia. Such recognition can be conferred by ORA as the designated body representing the religious Jewish leadership for this purpose.”

Insisting that individual kashrut authorities would retain their autonomy, Rabbi Meir Shlomo Klugwant, chair of the ORA kashrut subcommittee, said as an overarching, endorsing body, ORA would be responsible for laying down the guidelines and overriding principles that the authorities would have to abide by. Quite what those principles would be are yet to be hammered out, Rabbi Klugwant noting “There is much work to be done and these are early days.”

However, he added: “What is encouraging is that all parties at the table ‚Ķ were happy and prepared to consider the concept of a centralised national body to endorse kashrut authorities in Australia. This is monumental and historic in nature.” The sentiment was echoed by Benjamin Koppel, president of Adass, who said he was “heartened by the united approach of the kashrut authorities and was pleased to be involved in the discussions and deliberations. It was good to be able to sit around the table together and to work towards a common goal.”

Rabbi Moshe Gutnick, head of the NSW Kashrut Authority, added: “It was extremely gratifying to have all the kashrut agencies working together for the common good, and if these recommendations are accepted by the Government — this will be to the benefit of all kosher consumers”

ZEDDY LAWRENCE