Recently, significant amounts of non-kosher fish, included in
packages of codfish (bakala), both cases and bags, were
discovered in simcha halls and stores in chareidi
neighborhoods, causing many people to unwittingly eat non-
kosher products. In light of this serious problem, the
beis din of Shearis Yisroel said that everyone should
carefully examine all of the codfish packages in his
possession, as well as those he plans to purchase, to be sure
that they do not contain non-kosher fish.
The problem has surfaced in packages that do not have real
kashrus certification. A piece of fish need not have kashrus
certification if it is sold with its skin and the scales are
in evidence.
Recently, avreichim and kashrus supervisors reported
on this new and dangerous problem that came to light during
routine examinations of codfish packages. These examinations
clearly determined that large percentages of the fish
packages contained non-kosher fish. In one instance, six non-
kosher fish were discovered in a one kilogram (2.2 pound)
package. It should be noted that some of the packages even
bore various kashrus certificates, but after a very
careful examination it was discovered that these certificates
were fraudulent.
In light of these incidents, the beis din tzedek of
Shearis Yisroel has decided to taken special measures to warn
the public of the problem, and to make every effort prevent
this great stumbling block, which has occurred due to the
failure to check each and every case and package of codfish.
In its public announcement, it said that every piece of fish
in one's possession (i.e. which one has already bought), and
every piece of fish in the packages one intends to buy, must
be checked separately, to ascertain whether its skin has
scales, something which can be confirmed by an examination
and careful inspection of the fish. This warning applies even
to fish packages which bear labels with hechsherim.
It was stressed that the differences between the types of
fish should be noted, and that the skin of a non-kosher fish
tends to be a bit pink. In halls, restaurants and similar
establishments under the supervision of Shearis Yisroel, care
has always been taken to insure the kashrus of fish,
and the mashgichim in these places received detailed
instructions regarding the manner of examining the fish, and
have been told to inspect each and every piece of fish. Many
people have already turned to the Kashrus Department of
Shearis Yisroel, and have received detailed instruction and
guidance on how to check the kashrus of the fish.
As soon as the Hebrew Yated Ne'eman publicized this
serious shortcoming, many people from all over the country
began to phone the paper and to report that they had also
found non-kosher fish in bakala packages. The general
director of Shearis Yisroel, Rabbi Yekutiel Dershowitz said
that avreichim and bnei Torah arrived in the
offices of Shearis' Kashrus Department with bakala packages,
and upon examining the packages, large percentages of non-
kosher fish were discovered. "This is a widespread
phenomenon," Rabbi Dershowitz said, "and the public must be
on the alert, and check each and every package of bakala,
even if the package seems to contains only kosher fish."
In light of the publicity given to the matter, kashrus
authorities in the Chief Rabbinate have begun to take
measures to prevent this large stumbling block. However,
since the packaging takes place on board the ships while the
fish is being transported to Israel, it will be difficult to
maintain tight supervision, and it will be necessary to
revamp the supervision policies in a fundamental manner if
they are to be effective.
