Organic Families

It’s becoming easier to find kosher food, even fresh kosher meat, in Columbus stores.

The food processing industry cites the growth in kosher (and halal) foods as one of its major trends, along with organic, because of kosher’s association with cleanliness and purity standards.

Star-K, a kosher supervising body, claims that demand for kosher foods is increasing by 15 percent each year.

In a change from past practices, though, the local kosher market isn’t being served by local kosher food producers. Instead, kosher foods, and now even most fresh kosher meats, are produced in a central location.

Kosher meat processing, like most meat processing, now takes advantage of  economies of scale through centralization and packaging technology that can keep meat fresh longer while not violating kashrut rules.

AgriProcessor, the meat processing firm in Postville, Iowa is a major customer of the Cryovac system developed by Sealed Air, a company that also makes products such as Bubble-Wrap. One-third of AgriProcessor’s products are kosher, including the Aaron’s Best brand and Rubashkin’s.

“Technology has changed the whole game. Companies can package meat so that it can be shipped all over and be fresh. It opens a whole market,” said Rabbi William Goldberg of the Columbus Vaad Ho-Or.

Kroger officials recently met with representatives of the Columbus Vaad Ho-ir to discuss how Kroger could do more in Bexley, East Columbus and New Albany.

Rabbi Goldberg said that while Kroger has met with kashrut authorities in Columbus for many years, the recent meeting focused on how Kroger might expand its offerings in the area. Both Goldberg and Kroger representative Dale Hollandsworth emphasized that any plans were in the exploratory stages.

Kroger already has created kosher markets in Memphis, Atlanta and Cincinnati. The Cincinnati market opened recently and Hollandsworth said that the Atlanta kosher store is a hallmark for a store of its type, with a deli and bakery. In Columbus, Kroger offers only Vaad-supervised pizza.

Hollandsworth said that meeting with the Vaad is a part of the same campaign that has brought sushi, olive bars, soup bars, Donatos and Starbucks to Kroger stores.

Rabbi Goldberg said that competition from Giant Eagle, Trader Joe’s and now Kroger creates more pressure for Bexley Kosher Market.

Irv Szames, owner of the market previously has said that he is looking for a buyer interested in keeping the store he has owned for more than 20 years completely kosher. Szames was not available for comment on this story.

Food industry experts say that kosher food is a top trend in the industry because of associations with quality and purity. According to Food Services of America, only one in five purchasers of kosher foods do so for religious reasons.

Manischewitz, the nation’s largest manufacturer of kosher foods, has been profiled in the national press for its attempt to sell to the broader American market and its Web site touts products that fit low-carb diets. Food industry experts say that the popularity of kosher foods is related to consumer interest in organic, natural and non-genetically modified foods.

But the major chain stores don’t carry some popular cuts of meat other than beef and poultry, leaving an opening for specialty providers such as Boris Mikhli of Cleveland. He offers weekly delivery of kosher meat to customers in the Columbus area.

Mikhli said that he has been offering the service for 20 years and has a “couple dozen” regular customers who place regular orders. Mikhli said that he’s maintained his customer base despite the expansion of kosher offerings in supermarkets because he offers veal, lamb and accepts specific orders for cuts of meat that mass processors can’t fulfill.

“I still process my own meat. I de-vein it,  and kasher it in the store,” said Mikhli. His market makes customer deliveries less than a week after receiving the meat in his Cleveland store. Bexley customer Roni Leeman said she relies on his service for holidays and that he’s very accommodating with special requests.

Fran Golden, also from Bexley said that she’s been a customer of Mikhli for about nine years and that his prices are comparable to frozen kosher meat pricesbut that the quality is “excellent.”

“The meat is fresher, you can get any cut you want,”she says.

Joe M. Regenstein of the Cornell Kosher Food Initiative said “many other (non-Jewish) folk for various reasons, will buy kosher on an intentional and ongoing basis, but the economic clout of kosher still resides in the Jewish community” because of its continuing commitment to kashrut.

Non-Jews, including the Muslim community, vegetarians/vegans and Seventh-Day Adventists will buy kosher items because the standards and labeling allow those groups to make appropriate selections within their own rules.

Regenstein also said that consumers perceive kosher as quality and some consumers “simply like the fact that that plant is inspected regularly.”

Regenstein said that the increasing popularity of kosher foods among supermarkets exists because kosher stock will draw kosher customers, extending the markets’ customer base. Another appeal is that kosher foods cite ingredients and follow specific rules, “so a lot of supermarkets come to like it for just that reason.” n