A day in the Life Of COR

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A day in the life of...
Rabbi Sholom Adler
By Moshe Epstein
The Kashrus Scene—
As Seen from Toronto
W
e live in a world with constantly evolving technological advances. These
advances have caused many changes in the food industry, making
kashrus supervision a greater challenge and responsibility. The COR,
Canada’s primary kashrus agency, was founded over fifty years ago by Rabbi Gedalia
Felder, zt”l. Today, the COR has grown and expanded to accommodate the growing
food industry, ensuring quality kosher food for the Jewish consumer. The acronym
“COR” stands for Council of Orthodox Rabbis, which is how the organization was originally referred to at its inception. Today the
organization is known as the Kashruth Council of Canada, yet is still widely referred to as the COR.
Rabbi Sholom Adler, the COR’s Kashrus Administrator, was born in Brooklyn and raised in Toronto, where his parents moved in
1964. He attended Yeshivah Shaarei Yosher, and later the yeshivos of Brisk and Lakewood. Rabbi Adler graciously related a typical
day at the COR with Hamodia.
Some Background Info:
Canada’s official 2005 census reported a
population of 370,000 Jews, 190,000 of whom
live in Toronto. Although only a small
percentage of Canadian Jews are strictly
observant, a majority keep kosher. Toronto,
the base of the COR’s operation, is home to
tens of thousands of frum people. I feel
privileged to serve the Toronto kehillah, as
well as the numerous other communities
whose families consume products under our
hashgachah.
At the COR, I am responsible for seven
hundred companies across Canada. I work
with a team of capable and experienced
Rabbinic Coordinators and I’m also
currently in charge of shechitah. I received
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my kabbalah as a shochet from the Debrecener
Rav, Harav Moshe Stern, zt”l, and from,
ybl”c, Harav Yechezkel Roth, shlita. As a
bachur I was interested in the field of
shechitah, and so during bein hazmanim I often
accompanied shochatim to observe the
process. Before becoming affiliated full-time
with the COR, I worked for twenty years as
a mashgiach with various kashrus agencies
worldwide, so I brought along to the COR
both firsthand acquaintance of the shechitah
process and on-site industrial knowledge
and experience in establishing and
maintaining
sophisticated
kashrus
standards throughout the food industry.
The COR has the largest foodservice
department in North America that
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supervises
over
130
community
establishments such as restaurants, caterers,
bakeries and retail stores. This is managed
separately by Rabbi Tsvi Heber, Director of
Kashrus, Foodservice Division.
About the COR
Being Toronto’s primary kashrus agency
has its challenges. Large metropolitan areas
might have choices of multiple agencies, so
establishments can shop around for a
certifying agency that will suit their needs,
both culturally and financially, or for any
other reason. In Toronto, the COR balances
all of these issues to satisfy a wide range of
constituents, catering to the full spectrum of
Canadian Jewry.
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As well, in cities with more than one
kosher-certifying agency, what can happen
is that when one agency removes its
certification from an establishment due to
non-compliance, within hours, the
establishment has signed up with another
agency. The consumer, often unaware of the
switch in certification and why it took place,
is put at possible risk for less-than-optimum
kashrus.
This type of switch to another kashrus
agency in Toronto would prove to be an
unsuccessful move, as kosher consumers
here place their trust in the COR, which
provides them with the high standards they
enjoy.
As
Canada’s
largest
kashrus
organization — with 70% of the “market
share” — the COR’s mission is huge. As its
administrator I can say that no “one” day is
“typical,” since new situations are
constantly arising, but I will do my best to
describe a “typical” day at the COR.
Mornings
As morning dawns, my busy day at the
COR begins, as I and other staff members
reply to the constant phone calls and email
requests. This correspondence with the
many companies and restaurants under the
COR’s supervision range from routine to
unique. One Friday we received a phone
call from one of our companies located near
Halifax, Nova Scotia, asking that a specific
piece of equipment be kashered by the
following Tuesday. They needed this
equipment right away to fill an order. Since
it was Friday, when our office closes at 3:00
p.m., the task seemed impossible. But prior
experience has taught me to “never say
never,” so I picked up the telephone and
did my hishtadlus. Fortunately, I located the
mashgiach who was scheduled to be in
Halifax a week later for a different job, and
I asked him to change his itinerary to enable
us to accommodate the client.
While relating this story took me mere
minutes, actually engineering these
arrangements took several hours and many
phone calls — but that’s a good part of
what I do!
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And it doesn’t typically end with one
crisis: While waiting on hold to resolve the
Halifax dilemma, another call came in from
a local bakery with a new predicament. The
bakery had run low on bagels and needed a
special production to take place on
Monday, under the supervision of a
mashgiach. While still negotiating for the
Halifax company, I called our in-house
scheduler and asked that he take care of the
local matter, which he accomplished
successfully.
Afternoons
On a typical afternoon, I handle many
interesting issues. One example I’ll share
with you is my experience with a company
that produces boxed juice drinks that you
might send along with a school-age child to
drink during recess. The company that
owns the brand that has the formula for the
product sends it to a specialized processing
facility for production and packaging. This
is because the machinery used in that
process, referred to as “Tetra®,” is very
expensive to own and maintain. The
specialized processing facility serves a wide
variety of juice drink and non-kosher liquid
food producers, making it challenging to
kasher the machinery. Researching the
sophisticated technology involved, and
resolving the problems that arose due to the
machinery not being dedicated to only
kosher juice, was a challenge that proved
extremely rewarding once overcome.
Another scenario of a company
that uses a preparation process
with complicated halachic
ramifications relates to a
manufacturer that markets
hard-boiled eggs. The system
they use for the preparation of
other kosher foods and for
boiling the eggs is a steam
boiler that, in turn, heats the
water that cooks the eggs to
such a degree that they become
“hard-boiled.” Understandably,
a mashgiach must turn on the boiler
to begin the cooking process. This will
ensure that it will be bishul Yisrael —
Rabbi Adler on his way to inspect a facility
food cooked by a Jew, for which an
observant Jew must at the very least ignite
the fire that begins the process.
Studying the machinery, I realized that if
an electrical blackout would cause the
boiler to shut down, there were two
options. One would be to halt everything
until someone from the COR could be
summoned to the site — a situation that
could incur substantial financial losses due
to “down time.” The other option I came up
with was much better: I segregated the
bishul Yisrael egg cooking system so that
even if someone at the company does turn
on the boiler to enable the operation of the
rest of the equipment (which does not
require “bishul Yisrael”), the “hard-boiled
egg” cooking system is not affected. I also
assisted in designing a dial-in code system
to remotely restart both the boiler and the
“egg-cooking” system.
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Rabbi Sholom Adler
The Low-down
On High-Level Meetings
On a typical day I also attend several
meetings. One such meeting may take place
with the Rabbinical Vaad Hakashrus (RVH),
which meets about four times a year, barring
any major issues that demand emergency
sessions. One of the important topics this
board addresses is COR policy.
A recent interesting case was a question
posed by a non-Jewish businessman who
had signed a contract to lease a store in a
mall. The store was to be staffed by non-Jews
and kept open on Shabbos, while selling
COR-certified candy. Our rabbinical board
decided that it could not give a hechsher on a
store kept open on Shabbos. Since the mall
owner insisted that all of the stores renting
from him be open
Rabbi Adler inspecting machinery in
a food-manufacturing facility
seven days a week, the businessman is now
trying to get out of his contract and find a
more accommodating landlord.
Had this non-Jewish business been
located some distance from any Jewish
community, where no public zilzul of
Shabbos would have been involved, instead
of a local retail establishment, our Rabbanim
may have considered other parameters, but
in this case, that was the psak halachah.
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The RVH has tackled policy decisions on
a variety of interesting questions. For
instance, if we kosher-certify a caterer at an
affair attended by both Jews and non-Jews,
after which food and drink will be awarded
as prizes to attendees — a gift certificate to a
restaurant, a case of wine, or the like — must
the prizes also be kosher? The psak halachah
was, yes: prizes that would be consumed,
albeit after the event, must also be kosher in
order for the event to be under COR
certification.
Another RVH matter was a CORcertified kosher caterer who booked a mixed
marriage. Was this permissible? The
Rabbanim decided that the COR certifies the
caterer, not the event, over which they have
no control and no knowledge of the
parties involved until the actual
affair.
However, since many Canadian
Jews look for the COR certificate
before eating at a simchah, the RVH
decided that they would not certify
a caterer who served chalav stam.
This will prevent anyone at the
simchah from not being able to
participate or eat something they
wouldn’t want to consume
because he or she is makpid on
chalav Yisrael.
On the other hand, coffee
shops that serve chalav stam do
receive
COR
kosher
certification if they meet all of
our standards and agree to
place signs at the store
entrance, as well as inside,
informing consumers that chalav stam is
being served. The difference is that in the
first instance, a person might not have a
choice of attending the simchah, and it would
be impossible to adequately notify guests
that chalav stam was being served (for
example, at a bris or other event). However,
anyone opting to buy a cup of coffee in a
particular shop has their preferences and
knows it is their responsibility to carefully
read the displayed kashrus certificate for
details.
Finally, I want to share the RVH’s policy
regarding companies that employ
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undocumented foreigners, or otherwise
contravene provincial or federal regulations.
If one of our contracted companies would
face such a situation, our problem with them
would not center on the political issue of
whether undocumented workers should or
should not have the right to work in Canada.
Instead, it would focus on the fact that the
people managing that company have
proven themselves to be less than 100%
trustworthy. People who don’t hesitate to
cheat, on any issue, are not the best
candidates for COR kosher certification,
since there’s an element of trust built into
our contracts that cannot be ignored.
Other Meetings
In addition to RVH meetings, I also
attend other meetings on a regular basis.
Before I describe some of the issues we deal
with, I would like to remove a common
misconception. When many people hear the
words “kashrus organization” the concept
of the organization being the policeman
seeking to catch perpetrators of fraud in the
food industry may be the general picture
that comes to mind. But nothing is further
from the truth. Many hours are spent each
week educating both manufacturers and
individuals about our standards and
requirements in an effort to help them to
comply. Although mistakes may be made,
they usually occur as a result of ignorance,
not malicious intent.
What you have to realize is that food
manufacturers don’t understand the halachos
of kashrus, but they do understand the
concept of service, which is a strong
motivator. We provide the companies with
the opportunity to enter a whole new
market, which would otherwise be
unavailable to them, and they in turn
appreciate the level of service that the COR
provides. The increased production of
kosher products provides a tremendous
service for the Jewish community. The large
array of kosher-certified food provides a
much greater choice in both quality and
price for supermarket shoppers. This
arrangement, which satisfies and helps all
parties, greatly increases my job satisfaction
and keeps me motivated despite the long
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hours and frequent trips I
often have to take to fulfill
my duties.
I have also developed a
PowerPoint presentation
called “Kosher 101,” which
is a tutorial for companies
to learn the basics of kosher
laws and how they apply
to food manufacturing
facilities. This raises their
awareness so that they
understand what lies
behind all the rules and
thus will more easily
comply.
A recent case comes immediately to
mind. A trucking company transported a
load of fatty acids in a tanker that was later
slated to transport a kosher-certified
ingredient, totally unaware that some fatty
acids can be derived from animal fats, and
would therefore be halachically problematic.
Baruch Hashem, we caught the mistake in
time and took corrective steps. Yet, it was
never a matter of “catching” the trucking
company, but rather educating them better
so as not to make such mistakes in the
future.
Of course in instances of actual fraud,
perpetrators must be caught, stopped and
punished. However, besides some foreign
manufacturers whose culture is so vastly
different from that of the West that it
necessitates our dealing differently with
them, the majority of companies located in
Canada and the United States have a
business interest in complying with all of
our rules. I never present myself or any of
my rabbinic coordinators and mashgichim as
policemen, but rather as people dedicated to
making our partnership work, for the benefit
of the consumer as well as the manufacturer.
One type of meeting that I participate in
on a typical day concerns long-term
planning for improved service to the
consumer, as well as the reliability of our
hechsher. A recent issue concerned the
aftermath of the Monsey meat scandal of
several years ago. The COR is currently
working in conjunction with scientists and
technicians from Trent University, in
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Rabbi Adler checking a chalif
Peterborough, Ontario, on a highly
sophisticated system to prevent such a
tragedy from recurring. Bar codes don’t
work with fresh, unpackaged meat, so we
are developing a system that will have 100percent traceability of meats. We hope to
have such a system and pilot project in place
in six to twelve months.
At a previous meeting, we also discussed
the new COR logo, which includes the word
“kosher” in Hebrew (see first page of this
article) so that it will be immediately
recognizable as a kosher symbol. This
symbol is already seen on many products
and is great for achieving corporate
branding.
One project among many others I’m
currently working on is a contract with the
producer of a Kosher for Passover paper
towel that will be produced without starch
or kitniyos glue. I also met with a company
that professionally handles power-washing
and heavy-duty cleaning in the safest
methods possible, to discuss alleviating the
inherent dangers of dealing with the
extremely high temperatures and fire
involved in kashering.
Lighter Matters
I don’t want everyone to think that every
minute of each day is consumed by only
weighty matters. Sprinkled throughout each
day, in response to both telephone calls and
emails, are inquiries of every sort. I recently
dealt with a manufacturer seeking kosher
certification for hand sanitizers! We told him
that unless he sought Kosher
for Passover certification we
couldn’t help him, as
sanitizers are inherently
kosher. Additionally, a
non–Jewish
wig
manufacturer sought kosher
certification for her wigs!
(Remember the Indian hair
scandal? Obviously she did,
which prompted her call.)
As well, we had a consumer
in a supermarket who called
on his cell phone and
wanted me to stay on the
phone with him while he selected among
products, all without certification (which I
did for a very short while).
After Hours
My typical workday ends at about six
p.m., when I head home for family time, a
shiur, davening and, quite often, participation
in simchos. But one recent Sunday night, a
shochet who was scheduled to shecht in
Quebec called frantically from New
York’s Kennedy Airport and told me that
he had not been allowed onto the flight,
since his name was spelled incorrectly on
his ticket. He was slated to begin
shechting at six a.m. Monday morning.
Gone was my family time, my shiur, and
all the rest.
After numerous phone calls I located a
travel agent (on a Sunday!) who was able
to issue an emergency ticket for the
shochet (charged to my credit card, of
course!). The shochet jumped into a taxi
from Kennedy Airport and raced to
Newark, where he picked up the new
ticket with his correct name at the airline
counter, and he made it to Quebec on
time. I made all that effort not just to help
the shochet, but for the kosher consumers’
benefit as well. If he hadn’t arrived on
schedule, the COR would not have had
an entire shipment of meat, which we
were counting on for our consumers.
And so begins another day in the life
of Rabbi Sholom Adler, Kashrus
Administrator, COR. The kashrus scene —
M
as seen from Toronto — is alive and well. ]
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