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| The "Kosher Nostra Scam" on the American Consumer |
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| timbuktu |
| 11/18/03 at 21:56:18 |
| [slm] The "Kosher Nostra Scam" on the American Consumer by Ernesto Cienfuegos La Voz de Aztlan Los Angeles, Alta California - 4/27/2002 - (ACN) La Voz de Aztlan receives quite a few "news tips" per week from our many subscribers and readers. Some we dismiss immediately but a very few catch our attention. Last week we receive an e-mail asking us if we knew the significance of the small encircled letter "U" or letter "K" that can be found printed on many food cans, food packages and on other kitchen products. The message gave us some clues and suggested that we do some research into the subject. What we found certainly was "news" to us and it both shocked and angered us. On arriving at my residence, I immediately went to the pantry to verify that what I had just learned was actually true. Sure enough, most of the packaged and canned foods from major companies, like Proctor & Gamble and others, did have the (U), the (K) or other similar markings. The instant Folgers Coffee, the Kelloggs box, the Jiff Peanut Butter, the Pepper container even the Glads plastic sandwich bags carton had the (U) or (K) mark on them. We needed a little more verification so we called two Major companies to asked some questions. We chose Proctor & Gamble that markets the Folgers Coffee and the Clorox Company that manufactures the Glads plastic zip lock sandwich bags. Each of the two companies, as well as most others, have 1-800 telephone numbers printed on their packages for consumers to call in case they have any questions about their products. When we asked the Proctor & Gamble representative what the (U) meant on their Folgers Coffee container, she asked us to wait until she consulted with her supervisor. She came back and informed us that the mark meant that the coffee was " certified kosher". We than asked her how and who certified the coffee to be "kosher" and whether it cost any money to do so. She refused to answer these and other questions. She suggested that we write to their Corporate Public Affairs Department. We than called the Clorox Corporation to ask what the (U) meant on the package of their Glads plastic sandwich bags and she also said that the (U) meant that the plastic bags were "kosher" but refused to answer questions concerning payments the Clorox Corporation has to make in order to be able to print the (U) on their products. What we learned next, pretty much floored me personally. I learned that major food companies throughout America actually pay a Jewish Tax amounting to hundreds of million of dollars per year in order to receive protection. This hidden tax gets passed, of course, to all non-Jewish consumers of the products. suffer the consequences of a Jewish boycott. Jewish consumers have learned not to buy any kitchen product that does not have the (U) the (K) and other similar markings. Another shocker was learning who is actually behind these sophisticated "Kosher Nostra Scams." It turns out that the perpetrators of these elaborate extortion schemes are actually Rabbinical Councils that are set up, not just in the U.S. but in other western countries as well. For example, the largest payola operation in the U.S. is run by those who license the (U) symbol. The (U) symbol provides protection for many products sold here in Aztlan and in the United States. This symbol is managed by the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations with headquarters at 333 Seventh Avenue in New York City. The scam works like a well oiled machine and is now generating vast amounts of funds, some of which are being utilized by the Union of Orthodox Rabbis to support the Ariel Sharon Zionist government in Israel. The website of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations is full of pro-Israel and Anti-Palestinian propaganda. The "Kosher Nostra" protection racket starts when an Orthodox Rabbi approaches a company to warn the owners that unless their product is certified as kosher, or "fit for a Jew to eat", they will face a boycott by every Jew in America. Most, if not all of the food companies, succumb to the blackmail because of fear of the Jewish dominated media and a boycott that may eventually culminate in bankruptcy. Also, the food companies know that the cost can be passed on to the consumer anyway. The food companies have kept secret from the general consumer the meaning of the (U) and the amount of money they have to pay the Jewish Rabbis. It is estimated that the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations, which manages the (U) symbol protection racket, controls about 85% of the "Kosher Nostra " certification business. They now employ about 1200 Rabbi agents that are spread through out the U.S. Food companies must first pay an exorbitant application fee and than a large annual fee for the use of the (U) copyright symbol. Secondly, the companies must pay separate fees each time a team of Rabbis shows up to "inspect" the company's operations. Certain food companies are required to hire Rabbis full time at very lucrative salaries. The amount of money that the non-Jewish consumer has paid the food companies to make up for the hidden Jewish Tax is unknown, but it is estimated to be in the billions since the cam first started. Only public awareness concerning the "Kosher Nostra Scam" will eventually help stop this swindle of the American consumer. Public education of the scam may lead to an eventual non-Jewish boycott of all products with the (U), (K) or other Jewish protection symbols. I certainly do not need to pay extra for "kosher water", "kosher coffee" or "kosher plastic sandwich bags". In fact, I demand my money back for all the money I had to pay over the years for the hidden and illegal Jewish Tax. |
| 11/18/03 at 22:01:43 |
| timbuktu |
| Re: The "Kosher Nostra Scam" on the American Consu |
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| Mujahideen |
| 11/19/03 at 02:09:43 |
| [slm] I am not sure why the author would actually be surprised to learn that corporations have to pay to use the certified kosher symbol. This is not exactly new information and it is also pretty understandable. They are paying a fee for a service – that service being certification that their products meet kosher standards. You the consumer are obviously going to have to absorb this cost – they are in business to make money not lose money. While it may not be very overt its certainly not illegal nor a tax – it is just business expense and like all such expenses they are passed on to the consumer (us). Actually I find the kosher certifications quite useful. While not all Kosher certification meet Halal standards - if one understand the rules of the kosher certification body and knows their Fard Eyin – kosher certification is a very useful yard stick to determine if a product meets our dietary standards. Yes some money does go to Jewish organizations some of which are likely Zionist in nature. But so do your taxes and you all still pay them. If we actually understood the concept of consumer power we might have our own ‘H’ symbol on virtually all food products. The problem with us is we don’t understand this issue, we would never agree on what the standards would be and many would never pay a dime more for their food. Food science is pretty complicated especially in more processed foods or commodities. Many products contain components we would consider unlawful or at least doubtful – many times these are not even on the label. I find the Muslim Consumer Group tends to be the most aware and qualified in this area. They are also very accommodating to Khilaf surrounding many of these issues. www.muslimconsumergroup.com [wlm] |
| Re: The "Kosher Nostra Scam" on the American Consu |
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| tincanman |
| 11/19/03 at 09:38:17 |
| Or its Just away to make money. Here if a company sells Harram meat labled as Hallal they can be prosecuted, Unless the meat has been otherised Hallal. So we have the Hallal food authority who autherises Harram meat as hallal, and when caught no one can do anything to the Companies selling harram meat labled Hallal beacuse, they will claim that it isn't their fault as it had been otherised. They charge £ 30 000 a time for autherisation, and these 30 000's add up and more then covers any fines they recieve for wrongly otherising stuff. And the people who want the autherisation are the people selling harram as if they pay 30 000/year they can sell cheep Harram meat as Expensive Hallal and no one can do anything to them. |
| 11/24/03 at 01:44:08 |
| tincanman |
| Re: The "Kosher Nostra Scam" on the American Consu |
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| Raindrops |
| 11/19/03 at 20:03:20 |
| [slm] Kosher certification has really been quite helpful a lot of times when we could'nt make up our minds as to whether a product could be used by us or not.......but u have to be aware of the kosher dietary laws to interpret the certification symbols........it's really quite difficult to memorize the entire list of halal products.....so if we r confused about some ingredient we look at the certification symbol.......esp if we need to buy that thing immediately and don't have time to go home and check and come back again for it..... I'm not at all happy about all that money going to zionist organizations :( but unless there is halal certification of products...the kosher certification does have it's uses for muslims. [wlm] |
| Re: The "Kosher Nostra Scam" on the American Consu |
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| onemuslimgirl |
| 11/22/03 at 23:46:14 |
| please be careful, all that is kosher is not halal! for example we bought some sweets the other day and because it had the k on it, didn't bother to read the ingredinets, later my mom was reading them and found out the product had alcohol. also, a friend of mine has this great book about different foods and ingredients and what is halal adn what is not. for example in some bread products they use human hair. those are considered kosher because jews are allowed to eat it, but do you really want to eat something that has human hair in it? just be careful and remember kosher does NOT equal halal.... |
| Re: The "Kosher Nostra Scam" on the American Consu |
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| tincanman |
| 11/24/03 at 01:55:49 |
| I dont think people understood what I am saying. If food is not autherised Hallal/Kosher but labled as such, then the manufacturer would be prosecuted if they are lying. If it is autherised, the manufacturer CAN NOT be prosecuted. Autherisation is not a guide to trustworthyness, its the opposite, because if they have paid for autherisation, they CAN NOT be prosecuted if they sell Harram as HAllal. Many kaffar sell harram Food marked HAllal, and they can not be prosecuted as they have paid £30 000 autherisation fee. The HAllal food autherity is currently selling these certificates to Kaffar who sell Harram meat, resulting in the Kaffar being immune from prosecution when they get caught. If so called Muslims behave in this way, what makes you think the Jews don't? How can you trust the Kosher lables? and remember there is more than one set of lables, because the different jews regard different autherities as trust worthy. So if jews do not regard their authorities as trust worthy how can we? Also remember that reformed jews consider some pork products as lawful. How about using the vegitarian lable as a guide to what foods are alright to eat? or better still, reading the ingreadiants/phoning the company? |
| Re: The "Kosher Nostra Scam" on the American Consu |
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| Mujahideen |
| 11/24/03 at 12:54:00 |
| [slm] I don't think its necessarily an issues of Jews not 'trusting' their Kosher certification agencies it a matter of difference of opinion. Within Judaism there are a number of different certification agencies and they all have slightly different policies with respect to specific ingredients - they have more difference of opinion on legal issues then we have within Shri'a. Of course Kosher does not always equate to halal. That's why Kosher certification is a good yardstick and not an absolute indicator of food purity. If you know your fard Ein with respect to what food Allah has made lawful and what he has prohibited and you know the opinions of the major kosher certification agencies then you have a valuable tool in determining the purity of a food product. Its a tool like all other tools we have its not perfect. Not all ingredients have to be placed on a label - generally unless its an allergen an ingredient which makes up less then 2% of the product does not have to be labeled. Many products have gelatin in them and it is not on the label because there is far less then 2% of the overall volume or weight of the product - so Muslims will read the label and think there is nothing bad in it when it has a substantial amount of gelatin. Often when you call a company they may not know what the souse is of a particular ingredient or they will not tell you if it is even in there or not. they don't always have to disclose everything. There are very complicated regulation dealing with food labeling. Also vegetarian means a lot of different things to different people. So simply because something is labeled 'vegetarian' does not necessarily mean its halal. [wlm] |
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