Re: Marc's clarification

Question

As Marc stated under the OU's guidance (sorry I shouldn't leave out the Star K or OK) we have gone from halacha to chumra with regards to packaged food products. But, when you "add to the Torah you will take away from it". How many people freely eat from "certified" restaurants or butcher shops under haschgacha such as the following: pizza parlours owned by Goyim that serve cheese and fish dishes. No mashgiah, no Jew, visited every so often by the supervising Rabbi. The pizza parlour was once owned by a Jew and sold to the Gentile partner and the supervising Rabbi did not want to offend the Goy by discontinuing the hashgacha. butcher shops owned by Jews who leave their Gentile employees alone in the store for days at a time to receive deliveries and cut and sell meat without a Mashgiah. This I have seen in both LA and Miami in a few places. Fish grills owned by Goyim who serve a full menu of fish dishes with potatoes, rice or pasta - no mashgiah, no Jew. a restaurant that served both meat and dairy dishes (under the Star K) where the very nice Israeli wait staff were serving frozen yogurts to customers who were purchasing hot pastrami sandwiches on the same trays. No mashgiah. When I called the Star K Rabbi he told me that the restaurant was "just like home". This restaurant is out of business now. Caterers - owned by Jews who are out selling jobs all week leaving the Gentile employees alone in the kitchen facility to receive deliveries, butcher meats, and cook all of the dishes for weddings etc with no mashgiah or Jew on the premisess (this I have seen personally in both LA and Miami in a few places) and of course all of the "kosher certified" dairy products that are taref such as cream cheese and cottage cheese. I don't want to single out LA and Miami, it is just that I have not spent very much time in NY or Chicago in the past ten years. It used to be that when things were "not right" they did not last very long, but it seems as though the kosher consumer does not look for anything but the sign in the window. The frustration is that the agencies set the standards for the Jewish people whether or not they are correct. I hope that this website will make more kosher consumers knowledgable and educated about the establishments that they patronize. Thank you again for all of the hours and hard work that goes into it.