kosher certificate

Question:
At an ice cream store i went to, the kosher certificate the manager showed me was from 2006. he told me that he has been using all the same flavors since then, nothing has changed, he just hasnt had the certificate updated. he told me he was 100% positive everything was kosher. Would that have been ok to eat?
Sent (September 14, 2008)

Answer:
By: Rabbi Eitan Mayer

Shalom -- 

Relying on the manager in the way you describe pretty much makes him into the mashgiach, since without his say-so, all you have is a very old certificate. A manager who cares about his kosher-eating clientele will make sure to update his certificate in a reasonable amount of time, and the fact that it's so old raises questions.

Even if the manager fully believes everything is kosher and is not purposely hiding the truth, having real hashgachah means relying on someone who is an expert in determining what's kosher, rather than on a layperson who, despite the best of intentions, doesn't know what the expert does and can more easily make mistakes.

Berachot,
Eitan Mayer

Print this Answer