Hebrew National: Answering to a legal authority

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According to a class-action lawsuit that was recently filed in a Minnesota federal court, something’s not quite kosher over at Hebrew National.

The Los Angeles Times reported that this suit accuses ConAgra (Hebrew National’s parent company) of “using dirty animals for its meats.”  ConAgra, in a current statement on the Hebrew National website, claims that “this lawsuit is without merit” because “Hebrew National’s kosher status is certified by a well-recognized and authorized third party.”

This "third party" is afterwards identified as the “Triangle K organization.” Wikipedia explains that Triangle K “has long been a source of controversy within the Orthodox [Jewish] community.”  This could be because “the overwhelming majority of Othodox Jews only eat glatt kosher,” and “Triangle K continues to certify foods which are not glatt.”

In an article by Rabbi Ari Zivotofsky for kashrut.com (a website which bills itself as “The Premier Kosher

Information Source on the Internet”), it is emphasized that “Glatt Kosher” does not mean “extra kosher.” The term glatt means “smooth” (as in smooth lung tissue), and refers specifically to the absence of lung adhesions that could render an animal treif ("torn").

The degree to which animals are critiqued for defects can determine whether or not an animal will be certified

as kosher.  If a cow’s lungs contain relatively minor adhesions, then that cow might still be considered “kosher” by Ashkenazic (although not by Sephardic) standards.

It therefore seems that “being kosher” is open to a lot more interpretation than, say, “being pregnant.”   An

important question concerning this lawsuit might therefore be the following:  “How has ‘kosher’ been defined within United States law?”  If that question can be reasonably answered, then it might just be possible to ascertain whether ConAgra, Hebrew National and Triangle K have been running “kosher” operations.

Resources

http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-hebrew-national-con-agra-20120620,0,6721431.story

http://www.hebrewnational.com/kosher-difference.jsp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangle_K

http://www.kashrut.com/articles/glatt/

Copyright June 21, 2012 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved