The Osem company stops providing mehadrin kosher for one of its most important flagship products - ketchup, as a result of the war in Ukraine.
Israel Today has learned that due to a huge shortage of tomato concentrate produced in Ukraine and stuck due to the war, the company began producing the product using a tomato concentrate made in Israel, a problematic fact in terms of the elegant training due to the year of the shemita.
The shemita year, in which it is forbidden to cultivate the land in Israel and eat its produce, poses a challenge to companies that use fruits and vegetables, due to significant differences in approaches between the various kashrut - which rely on two methods of consuming agricultural produce.
As part of the sale permit method, which is accepted by some of the religious sector, but is strictly forbidden to the ultra-Orthodox public, the land is sold to a non-Jew and thus the land can continue to be cultivated and its products marketed.
Opponents of this method eat a foreign crop - agricultural produce outside Israeli territory. Therefore, the "sale permit" method will receive kosher from the Chief Rabbinate, while produce from the foreign crop method will receive a more elegant kosher, such as the Haredi community.
Will a replacement be found?
Barn ketchup, Photo: Dudu Greenspan
So far, they have purchased ketchup from Ukraine in order to receive the fancy kashrut, which allows them to sell the desired product in the ultra-Orthodox sector as well.
Now, due to the war in Ukraine, dozens of tons of ketchup are stuck in the country, and it is not at all clear when they will be released.
This led to a shortage of the desired product and a first-of-its-kind decision in the company.
"Working to find a solution"
Bassem recently decided to start producing precedent from Israeli tomato ketchup to meet demand, using the sales permit method, but this involves giving up until further notice of the fancy kosher.
The Osem company responded: "The war in Ukraine is affecting the supply of raw materials and production, including a tomato concentrate for ketchup production. We are working in a variety of ways to meet the demand of all consumers in Israel, including the ultra-Orthodox community."
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