Thread: Kosher supplies hit hard by plant's problems

Kosher supplies hit hard by plant's problems
By GRANT SCHULTE and TONY LEYS • gschulte@dmreg.com • November 8, 2008

Postville, Ia. - Financial problems at Agriprocessors Inc. have triggered a nationwide shortage of kosher meat that has raised prices and squeezed delis, food specialists say.

The Postville plant provided about 60 percent of the nation's kosher meat supply before a massive immigration raid in May, according to recent studies.

The resulting worker shortage and tens of thousands of dollars of outstanding debts have hurt the plant's production and forced its beef department to close.


Agriprocessors filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this week.

"My sense is that there certainly is a limited supply, and it's beginning to show up in the small communities that are not able to get meat," said Joe Regenstein, a food-science professor at Cornell University in New York. "That is a real concern. You can't stop 60 percent of the glatt kosher meat supply and expect it not to have an impact."

Meats are considered kosher only when they conform to Jewish dietary rules that require special slaughtering and butchering practices and preparation that involve rabbis. Those rules also forbid the use of certain animals or animal parts.

Kosher food sellers have already felt the effects of the cutbacks at Postville, industry experts said.

In Des Moines, the owner of a well-known kosher deli said his business has seen prices increase in recent months.

"Stores like mine are struggling all over," said Rabbi Yossi Jacobson, the owner of Maccabee's Glatt Kosher Deli in Des Moines. "It concerns everyone. We serve hundreds of people quality kosher. Nobody wants to see the plant shut down."

The shortages are also being felt across the nation.

In Los Angeles, a kosher-meat wholesaler said he is scrambling to find a new supplier, but no other meatpackers are able to quickly build up enough production.

"I'm extremely concerned," said Mike Engelman, chief executive of Doheny Wholesale Meat Co.

He said he is spending a lot of time on the phone, looking for meat.

"We're getting some here and there. But it's pretty limited, and we're not getting the quality we were used to from Agriprocessors," Engelman said.

He said small restaurants and delis are feeling the most severe pinch, because they don't have enough clout in the market to find new suppliers. "There's going to be a lot of shutting down of small places," he predicted.

Michael Choukroun, owner of Bar-B-Kosher restaurant in Los Angeles, said he is hanging on for now. Choukroun said he has taken kosher beef items off the menu at his lunch spot in Los Angeles' fashion district.

He still offers chicken dishes because poultry supplies are not as limited, but the prices have increased. He occasionally has a daily beef special when he can find kosher beef.

Choukroun said he has heard concerns from his customers about reports of poor labor conditions at Agriprocessors.

"It's really, really disappointing," he said of the situation. "Kosherness is not just about respecting the rules of dietary laws."

Choukroun said he hopes an upstanding company buys the Agriprocessors plant and reopens it soon.

A spokesman for Agriprocessors, which produces the Aaron's Best line of kosher meats, did not return messages.

Regenstein, the New York professor, said companies such as Empire Kosher Poultry in Pennsylvania are trying to fill the void.

Elie Rosenfeld, a spokesman for Empire, said requests for kosher poultry have increased since the raid in Postville.

The 700-worker plant does not offer beef products but is evaluating whether to get into that market, he said.

"Clearly, it's been a challenge to keep up with the demand," Rosenfeld said. "It's a challenge for the entire industry."

But many meat processors cannot enter the kosher market without a team of certified slaughterers to kill the animals properly, Regenstein said.

"It's not trivial to get into the market," he said. "You have to have a team of people. It's not just a question of deciding to go kosher and setting up equipment."

Rabbi Morris Allen of St. Paul, Minn., who has pushed for kosher standards to include fair treatment of workers, said the market faced a "summer of ups and downs" caused in part by the raid.

Agriprocessors also eliminated many of its small-scale kosher competitors that once served rural Midwestern towns, Allen said. The financial meltdown, as a result, was far more profound, he said.

Morris - who heads the Beth Jacobson Congregation in St. Paul - said his group advised Agriprocessors years ago to improve its labor standards but was ignored.

Federal agents raided Agriprocessors in May and arrested 389 illegal immigrants. The raid was one of the largest single-site immigration enforcement operations in U.S. history.

Federal and state prosecutors have filed criminal charges against the plant's top managers, including Aaron and Sholom Rubashkin. Agriprocessors also faces nearly $10 million in fines for alleged labor violations. The company also owes creditors between $50 million and $100 million.

A second company-owned plant, Local Pride in Gordon, Neb., closed this week because of financial troubles.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/articl ... /811080354

Everyone has been feeding the problem of undocumented /illegal criminal immigrants. But only few get to profit and the taxpayer has to pay the bill on these immigrants. Why can't Americans be hired, first? Pay Americans, and take care of Americans, FIRST!

Originally Posted by vmonkey56

Why can't Americans be hired, first? Pay Americans, and take care of Americans, FIRST!

Unfortunatly vmonkey56, this requires patriotism, something that doesn't exist at the corporate level anymore.