Rabbi works with food manufacturers throughout Ukraine
When Obolon wanted to export its beer to Israel, it called on Rabbi Nathan Chazin for help. Chazin, who heads the Kashrut department of the Union of Jewish Religious Organizations of Ukraine, provides manufacturers with kosher certification for their products. In doing so, he is effectively helping the nation’s food processors open new markets for their goods.
Chazin has had the right to certify Ukrainian products and facilities as kosher for six years, and is the only person in the country presently doing so.
“Kosher supervision means that a qualified rabbi has ensured that a product has been prepared in accordance with Jewish traditions,” said Chazin. Those laws stem from the Pentateuch, the first five books in the Bible’s Old Testament, and center around certain foods that are considered clean and fit for consumption. “Unclean” foods include pork, shrimp and catfish. Even acceptable meat, like beef, must come from animals slaughtered painlessly using a special ritual.
There are also special laws relating to cheese, grape juice and wine production.
Before Chazin can certify that a product is kosher, every aspect of its production must be scrutinized, from the food itself to the implements used to prepare and package it. Food‑preparation equipment cannot be used to prepare non‑kosher foods. Equipment that has been used to prepare non‑kosher products must be subjected to a specific cleansing regimen.
Chazin said he provides a written list of Kosher ingredients to food processors, and personally inspects and approves the production process.
Once certification has been granted, rabbis stage occasional unannounced inspections to ensure that the requirements are upheld. Chazin and a staff of 10 examine certified processing plants at least once a year.
Chazin says his work meets the requirements established by the Orthodox Union. The 75‑year‑old union, headquartered in New York, is the world’s largest kosher supervising agency. It has provided certification to 300,000 items produced in 70 countries.
The union’s database contains information on more than 170,000 food ingredients.
“If you see the OU logo on a product, you can be sure that this is a clean product,” said Chazin. The logo appears in some unexpected places, from vodka bottles to cans of Coca‑Cola.
In Ukraine, Chazin has focused on alcoholic beverages, seafood and dairy products. He recently provided the certification necessary to allow the manufacturers of First Guild vodka to find a market among U.S. consumers.
“These products need new markets, and kosher certification opens new frontiers for them,” said Chazin.
Chazin is presently working with Nemiroff and Sun Interbrew to arrange certification for their products.
Obolon certified its Premium and Lager beers.
“We did it because we wanted our products to be sold in Israel,” said Mykhailo Zelenko, Obolon’s export engineer.
Zelenko said that only the labels of beer destined for export show the OU mark, even though “the ingredients and equipment used for beer sold on the domestic and export markets are the same,” he said.
Chazin was reluctant to say what obtaining kosher certification can cost, but he said that much depends on the product involved and the changes in ingredients or processing that may be necessary.
Nevertheless, providing kosher certification “is a good business,” Chazin said. He added that the income earned by his organization, as a religious entity, is tax‑exempt.
Chazin is branching out, looking for products to certify in other CIS countries where there is a need for his service. With only about 250,000 Jewish residents, Ukraine’s market is limited, he said.
Chazin also certifies restaurants, another reason he’s looking toward other countries.
“There are three oriental Jewish restaurants in Russia that serve only kosher food,” he said.
