Friday, April 02, 2010

Kashrus News: Why worry about bugs in the fish? Fish Fraud!

By now many of you may have heard of the latest kashrus issue: bugs in the fish. Essentially there are parasites that have caused concern by some Rabanim as an issue to take seriously. Unfortunately many times the news in the world of kashrus is simply a way for someone to create a problem and make money by bringing a solution. When the issue of dolphins being found in tuna first became a kashrus concern, many were quite worried about the halachic implications. I'm told by a relative that he spoke to Rabbi Schwab who had many years of experience in the kashrus of the production of tuna . He stated that if one understood what was involved in tuna production this question of other fish in tuna cans would never have come up. This latest kashrus issue however, might be serious enough to warrant even the most skeptic to think twice. There are reports that fish imported from different countries such as China and Vietnam are mostly mislabeled: Fish fraud. This would mean that purchasing a talapia fillet could mean you might be eating say a catfish. The FDA is saying they don't have enough man power to search the fish and really do something about fish fraud.  This may result in a new industry for the kosher fish market: Fish ID through DNA.

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