BRUSSELS (EJP)---Finding ways to lower the prices of kosher food in Europe was one of the major topics discussed at the third conference of kashrut organizations organized earlier this week in Brussels by the Rabbinical Centre of Europe (RCE).
Some hundred rabbis from across Europe and representatives of the world’s most prominent kashrut organizations, including leading experts in the fast growing kosher industry, discussed the issue at the Crown Plaza hotel, close to the European Union headquarters.
Among the participants was Rabbi Chaim Lasry, representing Israel’s chief rabbinate, who is responsible for the approval of products imported from Europe.
One of the example cited at the conference is British supermarket chain company Tesco which sells a whole chicken at two pounds sterling (2.2 euros) while a kosher chicken of similar weight costs five to six times more than that – between ten and twelve pounds (11 to 12 euros).
This appears to be basically the situation throughout Europe, although the continent may be divided into two categories: those countries where it is not possible to obtain any kosher meat whatsoever and those where the prices of kosher meat are prohibitively high.
But the conference stressed that beyond the question of making food kosher, the situation has grave consequences for the uniqueness of the Jewish population among their non-Jewish neighbors.
A significant facet of the halachic rules of kashrut is the principle of preventing Jews from associating socially with non-Jews, fulfilling the verse, “I have separated you from the nations.”
"The current prices of kosher food in Europe makes it extremely difficult for tens of thousands of Jews to obtain kosher food," emphasized Rabbi Aryeh Goldberg, deputy director of the Rabbinical Centre of Europe, an organization which provides assistance, halachic advice and direction to hundreds of rabbis and Jewish communities throughout the continent.
"Their failure to eat kosher erodes their Jewish identity and their insulation from non-Jewish society," the rabbi added.
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Kosher food industry just keeps on growing. According to a US study, sales of kosher products rose 41 percent between 2003 and 2008 and are expected to rise 23 percent from 2008 through 2013. The study says only 14 percent of those consumers who purposefully bought kosher do so because they keep kosher. For those not observing kashrut, the most common reason for buying kosher is quality (62%), followed by general healthfulness (51%), then food safety (34%), then adherence to non-kosher religious dietary restrictions such as Hallal (10%).
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At the conference, a special panel consisting of representatives of the Manchester Kashruth authority (MK), the Federation of Synagogues in London (KF) and others, examined the causes for the inflated prices.
There are factors that affect the prices of kosher food in Europe that do not apply in other countries. For example, in many European communities there is a special tax imposed on the purchase of meat to help support the community’s educational institutions. The panel decided to lobby to lessen these taxes.
The rabbis explained that the high prices of food often place them at a disadvantage when they attempt to present Torah Judaism in a positive light.
Many of the members of the Orthodox communities in Europe are not Torah-observant in their personal lives. When a rabbi attempts to persuade a member to begin purchasing kosher meat made available by his kashruh organization, he is often confronted with the question: "Why should I pay five times as much for the identical meat?"
Another burning issue brought up at the conference was the problem of parasite infestation in fish. There was a fiery debate between two rabbis from Israel, Rabbi S.Z. Revach, head of the Institute for the Mitzvot Pertaining to the Land of Yisrael, and Rabbi Dov Landau of Badatz Chug Chasam Sofer.
Over the past several years Rabbi Revach has waged a campaign to make the public aware of the existence of these parasites and of the need to examine every fish before consuming it. Rabbi Landau, on the other hand, argued firmly that according to the Shulchan Aruch it is permissible to eat these particular parasites and there is no need for such a crusade.