A tip of the snout to alert reader and longtime BBQ buddy Ike Walker*, who alerted me to a story in the New Yorker about pork that was mistakenly labeled Kosher in a Queens supermarket. Although pork is by definition not Kosher (or treyf, if you want to show off), few things could be more Kosher than reading an article in the New Yorker about pork. And it’s a pretty interesting story too.
Among several gems in the story: “In this era of budget cuts, [New York] state has laid off all eight of its Kosher-enforcement inspectors, leaving Rabbi Weiss as a one-man department… .” State-funded Kosher inspectors? Really? Better yet, I am pleased by the discovery of the Orthodox Union, which according to the article, has a “voice-mail recording [that] describes it as “the global leader in Kosher supervision and the world’s largest Jewish resource.” The Orthodox Union, among many other things, certifies products as Kosher and offers a “Kosher Alerts” RSS feed. A recent alert:
“Brands: West Coast Select
Products: Maple Nuggets Smoked Sockeye
Company: Sundance Seafood LTD., Surrey British Columbia
Issue: Unauthorized OU
West Coast Select Maple Nuggets Smoked Sockeye bear an unauthorized OU symbol. This product is not certified by the Orthodox Union, and it is being withdrawn from the marketplace. ”
I am thinking about trying to get OU certification for my favorite local BBQ joint, Allen & Son’s, so I can dine completely guilt-free. Until then, the BBQ Jew certifies all pork as Kosher. Keep on swinin’ and dinin’.
*Notably, Mr. Walker is also the man whose family introduced me to pig pickin’s way back when.
Filed under: Barbejews | Tagged: Kosher, Outside NC, Signs of aporkalypse | Leave a comment »
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