United Charedi Poultry Brand Divides into Two: Chassidic and Yeshivish

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chickenIt wasn’t as if the popular Yesh supermarket needed more poultry brands in its refrigerator case. But last week, a new poultry brand that seemingly had united disparate Chasidic and Yeshiva groups had already split into two. What began as the Hisachdus-Badatz brand is now two brands: Hisachdus Hacharedim, representing the Yeshiva groups under Rav Yosef Efrati, close confidant to the venerable Rav Yosef Sholem Elyashiv, and Hiscahdus Hachasidim supported by such major Chasidic groups as Belz, Gur, and Slonim.

The two new brands are effectively cutting into the market share of the Eida Hacharedis which for many years enjoyed a monopoly amongst the disparate Charedi groups.

A rabbinic source told Kosher Today that the new brands are competing favorably against the more costly brands of the Eida Hachareidis. With their steadily growing large families, many Jerusalemites and other charedim in towns like Bet Shemesh complained about the cost of fowl during the just concluded holidays. In some of the supermarkets that cater to charedim, the new brand was an instant hit and said one source, “it was immediately gobbled up by the institutional market.”

 The story here is not so much about the poultry but on just how fragile unity can be, having lasted literally weeks. The rony is that both brands are slaughtered in the same plant, using the same schochtim and the same processing. At least, there is unity here.

{KosherToday/Matzav.com}


13 COMMENTS

  1. My brother in Israel goes to the shlacht hoiz with a chabura, selects the chickens, makes sure they are able to walk 4 amos, has a shochet he trusts do the shechita, salts it himself (with the chabura), broils the liver, etc.

    They started the chabura after the Monsey debacle where traif chickens were being sold. He was making a chasuna and felt it was his responsibility to make sure everything was good so he went to the source. My sister-in-law said he was devastated by what he saw and wanted to throw out all their chickens. His isn’t the only chabura. They have found kulas being taken in any commercial shechita.

    This isn’t a question of chasidish vs yeshivish but what kulas we are willing to accept. You can be sure that in all cases hefsed meruba and other b’dieveds play a part.

  2. Mr. Ben Torah,

    Do you know anything about the poultry business?
    Do you know anything about the Kashrus business?
    Do you know anything about anything?

  3. I resigned from working for a well respected hechsher, as the kashrus was so bad I could not sleep at night. I now have no parnosso, but can sleep better.

  4. #2 Where there is mechanization, mass production, and commercial pressure, there will alway be takolos. In another halachic area, I began self supplying to a small extent. As part of my study of the inyan, I toured various commercial operations. I saw a few issues that bothered me, and ultimately I saw something that so shook me, I concluded that bl’n I will never again use the commercial product.

  5. To the Editors,

    By the way, I built and managed a butcher shop in the early eighties. I also, ran a few stings for Rabbi Schulem Rubin.

  6. Maybe we should go back to hand picking our chickens, giving it to the shochet, to shecht in front of our eyes, removing the feathers ourselves, taking out the inner organs, soaking and salting them ourselves, cutting and packaging them all by ourselves. I’m sure all the wives who work and who are mothers of large families would be happy to take on this additional chore/ chumrah.

  7. bs’d I am a practicing physician in Baltimore with Semicha in Yoreh Deah from Rabbi Heinemann. I was rosh kollel of a Yoreh Deah kollel for five years. Comment number 2 above says that “hefsed merubah” is a bidieved. That is not true. See the introduction of the ReMa to his sefer Toras Chatas and see Iggeres Moshe Yoreh Deah Volume 2, Simmon 36, page 48 in the right hand column. Both of these sources say that with a hefsed merubah we are utilizing the ikkur din. Without the hefsed merubah we can be machmir. But with the hefsed merubah it is IKKUR HaDIN and NOT a kula.

  8. Its nice to see that its just the marketing. Smae chicken, same plant, two different types of packaging. Thats all.

    I worked at a chicken plant, and was also scared by what I saw. I checked often and carefully, and when coming back from breaks, my replacement mashgichim wouldnt even be there! There was just too many questions. Im studying so I can learn shechita, and then Ill be doing my own. But I just cant understand: Why dont they check up on your mashgichim? Are they checking to see that they are checking???

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