Has anyone heard of the hashgacha KSA

HealthCoach

Mon, Feb 12 2007, 1:33 pm

Kosher Supervision of America?

DefyGravity

Mon, Feb 12 2007, 1:37 pm

http://www.kosherquest.org/ind.....mbols

This website is a link from the Star K's website, so according to them, it's reliable.

(My mother called to find out about them several years ago, she was told they're reliable).

chavamom

Mon, Feb 12 2007, 1:59 pm

We were always told it was reliable, but recently we heard that the CRC (from one of their mashgichim) is saying they no longer recommed it. I'd ask a LOR to sort it out for you.

amother

Mon, Feb 12 2007, 2:24 pm

I hear its a Lubavitch hashkacha and a very reliable one too.

yoyosma

Mon, Feb 12 2007, 2:30 pm

deleted until I know more.

Last edited by yoyosma on Mon, Feb 12 2007, 4:50 pm; edited 1 time in total

amother

Mon, Feb 12 2007, 2:33 pm

[quote="yoyosma
As far as I know the reason why some people dont eat it is purely political.[/quote]

as with a lot of hashgachas unfortunately (at least in israel - I'd say most) Rolling Eyes

amother

Mon, Feb 12 2007, 2:52 pm

my husband is a mashgiach and he says that KSA is completely fine people don't eat it for political reasons btu that has nothing to do with the hechsher.

shanie5

Mon, Feb 12 2007, 2:57 pm

can I ask what hashgacha he works for?

mimsy7420

Mon, Feb 12 2007, 3:50 pm

I think, but I might be wrong, that if you go to LA and eat in the restaurants there then you are eating KSA's hashgacha, as do most people who live in LA.
There was some controversy over them in Toronto, because our local hechsher (COR) did not want them to come in and start giving out their hasgacha to certain establishments (Krispy Kreme) for various and mostly political reasons.

amother

Mon, Feb 12 2007, 4:09 pm

I hate to break the news to you people but KSA is no longer reliable - and this has very little to do with politics.

Just a little insight into why the OU and OK (a Lubavitch organization) no longer trusts them.

The OU (and most other hashgachos) has a list of hashgachos that it trusts - for example: OK, Star K, COR, etc - as components of the final product that is being supervised. However, the OU is allowed to check up on these companies to make sure that the other supervising agency is trustworthy.

What happened with KSA is that on more than one occasion when a compenent was checked on it was found to have lots of problems - machinery that wasn't kashered properly, etc. The biggest problem is that KSA did not want to change the way they were doing things (hire experts in the fields - that know the machinery - to figure out how to properly kasher things, etc.). This is when all the hashgachos took KSA from a "always good" status to a "case by case" status. This does not mean that everything that has a KSA on it is treif, but it doesn't either mean that everything with a KSA on it is kosher.

Case in point: La Brea Bakery - those frozen bread loaves that people were buying at Costco and then baking them at home. I called my LOR (a local - CA - based Chabad Rav) and asked him if I bake if for 15 or 20 minutes if that makes it pas yisroel. He told me, "It would be pas yisroel but I'm not sure that your baking it will make it kosher."

Also, Only1 -

Quote:

I think, but I might be wrong, that if you go to LA and eat in the restaurants there then you are eating KSA's hashgacha, as do most people who live in LA.

Most hasgachos of restaurants in LA are under the heart K - Taichman (who has taken Lisbon off of the board that supervises restaurants) not KSA.

Signed,

A person who no longer trusts the KSA

yoyosma

Mon, Feb 12 2007, 4:50 pm

Until I find out more, I would like to take back everything I wrote. I have not lived in LA for at least 8 years. Back then it was fine.

amother

Mon, Feb 12 2007, 4:56 pm

Im worried because I thought it was a Lub. accepted Hechsher. I got honey, Humus and pesto with that Hechsher in the past. I guess ill need to check into this.