Kashrut reform storm:
Opponents of the reform have long argued that it could lead to a jump in the cost of kashrut for business owners, because businesses in the field that now hold the cheap certificate from the rabbinate will have to pay for a private kashrut certificate from a corporation.
On the other hand, in the environment of the Minister of Religions, Matan Kahana, they argue that the reform is actually expected to save money, since many businesses now have a double kosher certificate - on behalf of the rabbinate and an elegant Badatz - and alternatively, the increase will be minimal.
In a presentation prepared by the Ministry of Finance and presented this week, ministry officials admitted for the first time that at least in some cases not only is the training reform not expected to bring prices down immediately, but it is also expected to cause them to be raised.
According to the presentation, since private bodies are not budgeted by the state, a 20% increase in kosher costs is expected for businesses that to date have operated with rabbinical kosher only.
The Ministry of Finance has tried to reduce the significance of this increase, claiming that only 28% of kosher businesses are under the supervision of the rabbinate only, while the rest are already under the double supervision of various Badatz in addition to the rabbinate, and are therefore not expected to experience a dramatic increase in costs.
The religious councils further note that the presentation by the Ministry of Finance did not reflect the fact that private corporations are expected to operate for profit, so in addition to the cost of management and operation, it is expected that these bodies will try to raise the price even further.
Another consideration that has not been taken into account is the compulsion of businesses holding a rabbinical certificate to need the certificates of some private kosher corporations - which is expected to increase the cost of supervision and the certificate by hundreds of percent.
Religious councilors estimate that the businesses most likely to be affected by the reform are restaurants and food stalls.
In most of these cases, there is currently only rabbinical supervision, and with the implementation of the reform, training prices are expected to rise as a result of the imposition of management and operating costs on business owners and the desire of business corporations to make a profit.