Kashering Kosherfest

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R

abbi Aaron Mendelson is the rabbi representing the Association of Kashrus Organizations at Kosherfest where he’s been officiating for eight years. The international kosher food show is this week at theMeadowlandsExpositionCenterinNew Jersey.

What does your job entail?

There are six main points I’m in charge of: One that each product itself is kosher; two the equipment —toaster oven cutting board knife — is new and not from the house; three there are no issues of basar b’chalav meat and milk; four if they’re cooking something it needs to be bishul Yisrael; five if the wine isn’t mevushal it can’t be poured by an irreligious Jew or non-Jew so I have to approve the person pouring it; and six that any products served with the main product condiments or spreads or crackers or anything are kosher. There was a guy one year who had bread and he brought a nonkosher meat to put on top. Good thing we saw that…

How did you get involved?

The first year I did Kosherfest I was called by the OU a day or two before. They said that all the years no one was really overseeing the show. I came and did the best I could but with no advance notice or knowledge of how to run such a large operation it was very overwhelming.

Do you have a staff today?

AKO — the Association of Kashrus Organizations — is an umbrella organization of many different kashrus organizations from around the world and that’s who I work with. After the first year I sat down with Rabbi Sholem Fishbane the head of AKO and we said we need to figure out a plan. We made a list how to run it like a proper operation and we agreed that AKO should oversee the kashrus of Kosherfest — this way all the major organizations are involved. If there’s a problem at a booth I can work it out with the specific hechsher.