y Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5tjt.com This is the first of a series of two articles on Kashrus. Most people are aware of the recent discovery that Restaurant Depot seems to be the main supplier of meat for a “Kosher” Chinese restaurant in Route 9 in Manalapan, New Jersey called Kosher Chinese Express.  Many people are aware that the owners had a “history” of non-compliance with rules as well.  And some people are aware that the owner of that restaurant, allegedly, had his own keys to the place. In light of all of this, we need to ask ourselves the following question:   If a hashgacha is being paid by the food establishment itself, does this not create an incentive for the Kashrus agency to look the other way, and or obscure critical information? FATALLY FLAWED Our system of Kashrus seems to be fatally flawed the way it is currently structured.   Especially during Elul, we need to figure out how to fix it.  Things just keep happening again, and again, and again. In 2009, researchers Bernard Lo and Marilyn Field published a book called, “Conflict of Interest in Medical Research, Education, and Practice.”  In the book, authors Lo and Field defined a conflict of interest as follows:   “A conflict of interest is a set of circumstances that creates a risk that professional judgement or actions regarding a primary interest will be unduly influenced by a secondary interest.” It is a little strange that the Kashrus system we have in place in this country is rather counter-intuitive in terms of its structure.  The incentives or negiyos – are in the wrong places.  If a hashgacha is being paid by the food establishment itself, does this not create an incentive for the Kashrus agency to look the other way? SIMILAR PROBLEM IN ACCOUNTING In the 1980’s and 1990’s, the entire field of accounting had a similar problem.  The way the system worked was such that false information in terms of the financial health of a company was put out there and investors were being ripped off.  Incomes, for example, were being misstated.  Financial audit statements made companies look rosier than they actually were.  Supposedly “independent CPAs” merely took the information from the self-generated company reports and spit it out as fact.  They did this even though there were blaring red flags. In response to this comical situation, the government passed the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002.  It is a United States federal law that set new and expanded requirements for all U.S. public company boards, management, and public accounting firms. It included criminal penalties for those who violated it.  The reason for the problems was the counter-intuitive structure. The problems in accounting still exist.  Indeed, the SEC regularly comes out with new regulations on this account.  The solution for the accounting problem is that there should be more watchdogs for the auditors:  Hechsherim for the Hechsherim, so to speak. When the inspector is paid by the people that he supervises there is a risk that his judgement and actions will be unduly influenced.  The same is true, to an extent, for the supervisory agency.  The health safety of the restaurant consumers has been placed at risk.  Indeed, the general public has also been placed in danger. An auditor friend of this author told me, […]

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