April 8, 2021
Dearest Kosher Consumer,
This communication is in response to the recent issue that B'gan / Bertram had with margarine that it marketed as Kosher for Passover with a certification from KAJ and the Nirbater Rov. As already publicized, some boxes of margarines reportedly had a chometz issue.
The aforementioned fiasco brings to light very serious questions how such a disastrous event happened, regarding the checks and balances that B'gan / Bertram, KAJ and the Nirbater Rov have, and regarding the questionable recall and notice that went out from B'gan/Bertram (attached), amongst other issues.
I believe we can all agree that had there been no inside margarine wrapper which indicated that the product may have had a kashrus problem - as publicized by B'gan - this serious issue would have never been found out even by the most stringent Kosher consumer. I suspect that this joins other kashrus issues at B'gan/Bertram Food products that until today are unknown to anyone.
Until there is full transparency and accountability from B'gan/ Bertram, KAJ and the Nirbater Rov, all B'gan/Bertram food products cannot be recommended to the kosher consumer at this time.
Thank you,
You won’t get a satisfactory answer.
ReplyDeleteSo don’t hold your breath.
Also, transparency does not mean that Horav Hagoon Reb Y.... should have the first and last word. Transparency could be accomplished with other less aggressive Rabbonim.
Isn't B'gan/Bertram an OU certified company? What did they respond?, they are more on top of these types of issues.
ReplyDeleteThere were numerous other issues this Pesach with Heimish places, it was swept under the carpet, that's why this is important to follow through and not purchase their items until a level of comfort is established for an educated kosher consumer.
ReplyDeleteBertram, B'gan is a company that respects kashrus not 100% nor if way can say 1,000,000% ONE MILLION percent! almost never had there been any kashrus scandals with them, maybe there was once a defective lot of some of their greenhouse-grown products AND it was addressed A-OK.
ReplyDeleteYudel is trying to get a foot into them for some unknown reason, so he's trying to intimidate them and us kosher consumers, kosher consumers, RELAX! noting wrong at Bertram? B'gan.!!!!
Can’t believe someone else also sees through these nasty posts.
DeleteYep, Yudel is trying to get the kosher consumer to wake up and smell the coffee (unless one has corona C"V).
ReplyDeleteTell the consumer the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth, Give them a level of comfort to rely on your company's products.
It's interesting that one writes this is the first time anything happened with B'gan / Bertram products, etc. How do you know?, maybe it was swept under the carpet?
Bgan placed an ad in Weekly Link Magazine regarding a confusing label on their french fries. There was a "P" on packages which many reasonable people assumed meant kosher lePesach.
ReplyDeleteBgan's ad was not worded very nicely. It more or less said that of course P means pareve which you lowly consumers out there should've been smart enough to figure out. Kosher lePesach is only when it's spelled out in long form, Bgan confidently insists.
Considering that many companies have used P for Pesach for several decades, the Bgan ad reeks of arrogance & a cover up for their own failing, which borders on negligence, if not it isn't actual negligence.
Is that Shimmy Bertram?
ReplyDeleteMaybe the crazy kanoyim who wanted Shimmy's head in the late 90s have been speaking to Yudel.
The kanoyim made a big tummel against Shimmy & had him axed from the BMG Board over a misunderstanding. Shimmy used a word at a meeting that once upon a time only was in usage for things not tzniusdik. As the English language evolved over time, the word is also used in ways that are not prust. But the kanoyim demanded Shimmy's head on the chopping block, insisting that once prust, always prust in all circumstances.
Sadly ironic that Shimmy was a korban when you look at the line up on the BMG Board who are actual menuvolim & ganovim.
Began put in a ad and spread the word of a error that occurred . It makes no difference how it happened . The bottom line is they
ReplyDeletealerted the consumer in a timely fashion.
Then come the “Monday morning” coaches and accuse the good willed company of negligence since the actual problem COULD OF occurred under different circumstances and then they would of “swept it under the rug”.
Says who? Only a hateful and evil person would choose such a route.
To accuse a honest company of negligence in a “loo yetzooyor” situation is outright vicious and terorristic. Something that occurrs almost daily here on this blog.
And then wonder why no company or hashgacha wants to “co operate” with them!!!
Menuvolim & ganovim on the BMG Board? Where? Who?
ReplyDeleteCompletely unacceptable! I will be getting together with Ralph Z. & the CEO, maybe at the CEO's favorite Utah ski resort, to weed out those shysters!
They did not publish the alert in any publication.
ReplyDeleteThey realized it by bedikas chometz night, which consumer publication was published after that before pesach? NONE.
BTW- This is not the first time B'gan had such issues, we saw something a while back published re: B'gan.
If this would have been an OU certified product as well, it would have likely been caught earlier in a timely fashion, they are very well systemized. MAny people use Pesach Margarine up to 2 -3 weeks before Pesach. B'gan did not produce that margarine the week of pesach.
Maybe the issue was only discovered close to Erev Pesach and if so the OU would not be any better.
ReplyDeleteAlso the issue probably was a yoitzay min kitniyous which is nowhere close to real Chometz.
In any event, it was publicized before Pesach and not during pesach as others 'in the past' have done.
So relax and take it easy. You keep on truckin with the OU and us heimishe will use heimishe Hashgoochehs exclusively.
With an OU oversight, possibly it would not have happened in the first place, secondly, with their pesach system it likely would been discovered weeks before pesach.
ReplyDeleteThirdly it was not a Kitnious issue it was at least a sofek chometz issue.
What was the issue? Tell us since you seem to know ALL the details.
ReplyDelete