OK Kosher Certification Held Its 13th International Annual Mashgiach Conference

On Monday, 2 Kislev (November 28), OK Kosher Certification held its 13th annual International Mashgiach Conference in Chovevei Torah in Brooklyn, NY. Over 150 OK personnel and rabbis were in attendance, including rabbis from Japan, India, Greece, Israel, Poland, Germany, Belgium and others from around the world.

As in past years, the OK honored two rabbis. This year’s honorees were Rabbi Shloime Bistritsky, the newly elected Chief Rabbi of Hamburg, Germany, and Rabbi Binyomin Neufeld from Israel. Both rabbis were chosen for their dedication to upholding the rigorous kosher standards set forth by the OK.

Every year the OK features a company that is making strides in increasing their kosher offerings and goes above and beyond to work with their mashgichim and rabbis. This year the OK honored two companies: Post Foods, LLC and Exter B.V. (a flavor company in Europe). For over 50 years, Post cereals have been kosher certified by the OK providing their customers with high quality kosher breakfast cereals.

Rabbi Levy, Kashrus Administrator, opened the conference with words of Torah, inspiration, and the latest happenings at the OK. Attendees were also honored to have HaRav Yosef Braun, Rabbi of Crown Heights, share a few words of Torah. Rabbi Hillel Baron, from Columbia, Maryland, spoke about outreach opportunities within certified companies; Rabbi Yitzchok Ort, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, shared insights into the changing kosher dairy industry; professional basketball player Tamir Goodman, also known as the “Jewish Jordan”, introduced his new innovation, SportStrings Tzitzis that are now certified OK; Rabbi Eli Lando gave a brief talk on customer service; Mr. Menachem Lubinsky, CEO of Lubicom Marketing, enlightened the rabbis on the growth of the kosher food industry; Rabbi Yitzchak Gornish a rabbinical coordinator at the OK shared his scientific knowledge with a presentation on the Chemistry of Kashrus; and Rabbi Yisroel Stern of Chassidus Mevueres spoke about the OK’s contribution to spreading the wellsprings of Chassidus through Heichal Menachem. Rabbi Chaim Fogelman MC’d the event with his much-loved combination of Chassidic insights and humor.

One attendee commented, “This year the conference was an incredible success. It was so well prepared, and extremely interesting. We all benefitted greatly from the event.”

The conference ended with a lavish buffet lunch catered by Bunch-O-Bagels and time for the rabbis to interact and share their experiences.

Attendees received a brand new sefer by Chassidus Mevueres printed specially for this event.