Posted by Menachem Lubinsky on December 20, 2010 under Kosher | 
New York…The year began with the news that at least two Albertson’s stores that served kosher consumers in Florida would be closing. It is ending with the bankruptcy of A & P, which in recent months closed several Pathmark and Waldbaum’s stores, including a flagship Pathmark kosher store in Monsey. But there were also significant developments with independent kosher retailers, including the relocation of the Seven Mile Market in Baltimore to a 55,000 square foot facility, the planned entry of a major Israeli retailer and the increased kosher offerings by club and discount stores all over the country. The upshot of all of these developments is a three-tiered kosher retail mix that has changed the shopping habits of many kosher consumers and has resulted in stiff competition between the three types of retail grocers.
While the changing kosher retail scene may have been the biggest story for kosher in 2010, there were other notable stories. Kosher slaughter (schechita) continued to come under pressure in Europe and New Zealand. There were more well-known brands that became kosher, including Gatorade and Glenmorangie. Kosherfest 2010 saw a record 7,000 trade representatives attend with an increased number of gluten-free and spelt items. The ongoing recession put the squeeze on the lucrative Passover hotel business and on many upscale gourmet items. It was a banner year for kosher cookbooks with such notable authors as Joan Nathan, Gil Marks, Susan Fishbein and Jamie Geller and a significant book on the development of kosher by Sue Fishkoff (“The Kosher Nation”). There was a dramatic up tick in the role of social media in kosher sales. All in all, kosher sales increased by approximately 12%, at a time when the food industry in general will grow only by several percentage points as it did in 2009. Kosher grew by about the same percentage number in 2009 with the closest competitor being organic foods that grew by 5%.
Posted by Menachem Lubinsky on June 21, 2010 under Kosher Slaughter |
London…Staff Reporters…The shocking news that shechita (kosher slaughter) was effectively banned in New Zealand appears to have set other developments in motion in the past week. Kosher Today has learned that Rabbis in Europe are convinced that a new regulation on shechita adopted by the European Union was directly related to the New Zealand requirement that animals be stunned prior to shechita, effectively ending shechita in New Zealand. A source here told Kosher Today: “The New Zealand action has emboldened animal rights activists in many part of the world to go for the jugular.” The EU adopted a new regulation which will require that kosher meat be labeled as “meat from slaughter without stunning.” The European action was closely followed by a warning from Rabbi Yona Metzger, Chief Rabbi of Israel, that he would order the Chief Rabbinate to stop certifying kosher meats imported from South America, namely Uruguay, unless the practice of shackling and hoisting of animals was ended. Although Metzger had previously spoken out against the practice, this was the first time he actually set a deadline in 2011. About 70% of Israel’s beef is imported from South America. There were also rumblings in many other parts of the world, including Australia. Henry Grunwald QC, chairman of Shechita UK, the umbrella organization that defends shechita, said the decision will have a serious impact on the kosher meat industry, particularly since 70% of an animal killed by shechita is consumed by the non-kosher market. He said: “This ill-conceived amendment discriminates against kosher food and will have a significant impact on the kosher meat industry across Europe. The Jewish community is fully supportive of providing consumers with information about the origins of their food and we urged MEPs that if they wanted to label meat and meat products, labels should include those killed by electrocution, shooting, gassing or clubbing as well as the many millions of animals that are mis-stunned during the stunning process. To pick on one method is suspicious, troubling and discriminatory.”
