Meticulous attention to detail, a cool head, and high tolerance for long, uncomfortable journeys are all requirements for Rabbi Danny Moore’s work as a globe-trotting kashrus supervisor. “A mashgiach doesn’t pasken! My job is to see and report the facts on the ground”
How many types of apples can you name? Maybe five or ten? Fifteen? Well, there are as many types of mangoes out there as apples. But the best type of mangoes in the world are Alphonso mangoes, and the best place to cultivate them is in western India.
When a factory in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, applied for kashrus certification for their mango puree, and in our initial phone conversation asserted that the only product produced in their facility was mango, I knew I’d be making a trip out to the Indian provinces. India is a vast country. Traveling to a village means locating the nearest airport to that province, and then spending hours upon hours in the car.
When I called our contact Satish, a marketing agent in India, he told me the best way to reach Maharashtra was to travel on a 12-hour sleeper train.
“What’s that like?” I asked.
“No worries,” he replied. “I’ll book you in first class.”
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