A rabbi who worked for the Orthodox Union, the world’s biggest kosher certifier, for 20 years is claiming in a lawsuit that the agency acquiesced to demands from Manischewitz, a client and the iconic matzo-maker, that it soften its standards.
The O.U. let Manischewitz hire and pay for its own kosher inspector, a practice that is “considered unacceptable throughout the kosher food industry” and that creates a conflict of interest, according to the lawsuit, filed by Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchak Horowitz against both the O.U. and Manischewitz in April and pending in Manhattan Supreme Court. The suit also says Manischewitz sold macaroons labeled kosher for Passover that in fact were not.
Read Full Article »