ב''ה Our CommUNITYDecember 2016 SAFEly Kosher CANADA KOSHER JOINS WITH WORLD’S TOP FOOD SAFETY EXPERTS IN INITIATIVE TO HELP SMALL – MEDIUM SIZED BUSINESSES. M Proudly welcomes Rabbi Pinto JCC WelcomES three new Rabbis to town PICS of the month Jewish Community Council of Montreal Company highlight: jusPur Conseil de la Communauté Juive de Montréal message Dear Friend, Only a few weeks back, we completed a full month of all the Yomim Tovim/Jewish holidays. We are now back from the into the regular mode of work and we have much to look forward to, over the next few months. As it states, Kol Yom Yehiyou b’Einecha K'Chadashim-every day it should be in your eyes as new. We must look for ways to improve on a constant basis, to upgrade and to be better director people. Both in our personal lives and in our work ethic. At the M-Canada’s Kosher Certifier & Jewish Community Council of Montreal, there is a lot happening, which we are very glad to share with you in these newsletters. The M Kosher Tour will be commencing where people in synagogues around Montreal will be able to pose their questions and concerns regarding any topic which they may have and I look forward to addressing these questions and giving answers to you, who deserve the explanations. Suggestions are also M - Canada’s Kosher Certifier always welcome. Jewish Community Council of Montreal During the past few months, we have had the pleasure of hiring Rabbi Maimon Pinto, well-known Toll-Free 1-866-739-6363 in Montreal for his Shiurim and interpersonal Fax 514-739-7024 relationship with the community. Rabbi Pinto will www.mk.ca coordinate the training of new Mashgichim and will [email protected] also be responsible for the checking of bakeries and JCCMontreal1 restaurants, ensuring they adhere to the standards MK- Canada’s Kosher Certifier required. instagram.com/canadakosher/ As we look forward to Chanuka, there is much to be done. Let’s continue in our quest to do things twitter.com/koshermatters better, together with you. WE ARE STRIVING TO SERVE YOU BETTER: B’Hatzlacha. should you have any suggestions, questions or ideas, or if you’d like to see an article written on a certain subject email [email protected] Rabbi Saul Emanuel DIRECTOR We’d Love to hear from you! SHER KO C ’S ER A T D I A F I N E A R C c a e d r t a n if i a c c a U t e D 1 u r c a s h er Our CommUNITY / November 2016 Proudly welcomes Rabbi Pinto! RABBI MAIMON PINTO JOINS TEAM OF KASHRUTH PROFESSIONALS. His final year of yeshiva was spent in Israel at Yeshiva ‘Shuva Yisrael’. He received his rabbinical ordination (semicha) “With the appointment of Rabbi Pinto as from Kollel Or Yaakov in Rechovot Israel where he continued our Rabbinical Coordinator & Training learning for three years. Rabbi Pinto is a much beloved teacher in Montreal, Facilitator, M is taking another important giving weekly classes at the Montreal Torah Center on step in cementing our position as the leader topics ranging from the weekly Torah portion (parsha) to in Kashruth in Canada and North America,” Jewish holidays and interpersonal relationships. Last year Rabbi Pinto launched a very successful series on Shalom explains Rabbi Saul Emanuel. Bayit – Peace in the Home for women. He also teaches at Congregation Nahar Chalom giving classes for college and Working together with M Rabbanim and office staff, university students. Rabbi Pinto drafted Montreal’s first bilingual Mashgiach “I look forward to working closely with Rabbi Manual. This will serve as the uniform guide for all of M’s Saul Emanuel, Rabbi Peretz Jaffe, and most notably over one hundred and twenty mashgichim. Chief Rabbi Weiss and all the Rabbanim of the M” states “I will be offering classes on the guide,” says Rabbi Pinto. Rabbi Pinto. “We share a common commitment to “Courses will be divided based on language and whether the constantly upgrading the principles, guidelines and work Mashgiach works in a restaurant, factory or institution. The practices associated with our mashgichim.” Mashgichim will have the opportunity to hone their skills and ask questions they may have which have evolved over the course of their employment.” Along with his other skills, Rabbi Pinto is an expert on Teloim (bugs) and spends much time in the M lab checking different seasonal fruits and vegetables to ascertain which are acceptable for each season. He will be visiting M bakeries and food establishments to work with both the mashgichim on site and the company, ensuring the highly acclaimed M requirements are met and in place. Rabbi Pinto was born in Israel and moved to Montreal with his family in 1986. He was educated in Hillel Montreal, later continuing on to Yeshiva in Morristown, New Jersey. November 2016 / Our CommUNITY 2 SafelyFirst appeared in the CJN reprinted with permission. Kosher Canada’s Kosher Certifier, which issues the M Hechsher, is determined that the food it certifies not only meets its Kashrut requirements, but international standards for food safety as well. Canada, is determined to help our existing and future clients meet this challenge.” The Council formerly known as and the United States Food and Drug Central to this effort will be an on- the Vaad Ha’ir announced on Oct. 10 Administration in order to have access line registry where food suppliers can that it is partnering with Food with a to domestic shelves and export mar- obtain up-to-date information, and to- Conscience and Medina Quality kets,” said committee member Albert gether with their customers monitor Food Assurance Services to assist Chambers, head of Ottawa-based Mo- their progress toward meeting inter- small and medium-sized kosher nachus Consultant, which has been in- national standards. food manufacturers and suppliers in volved in the development of Canada’s Based on their results, Food With a improving their safety standards. food safety and traceability policy. Conscience will award companies one Noting that this will benefit GFSI is described as an indus- of three levels of rating: bronze (meet- consumers beyond those in the try-driven effort providing guidance ing the basics of the GFSI global mar- Jewish Community Council, along the food supply chain, overseen ket program), silver (intermediate) and Executive Director Rabbi Saul by the Paris-based Consumer Goods gold for the highest standards. Emanuel said “Canadians are the big Forum, which was founded in 2009 “I wish to stress that a bronze rat- winners. They will have more and has representation from more ing means that basic standards have confidence in the food they’re putting than 70 countries. been met but that there is room for on their tables.” “This is a costly and time-con- improvement,” said Danielle Medina, An international advisory commit- suming challenge for many small and President of Food With a Conscience. tee of independent academic and in- medium-sized businesses and cus- “Achieving gold status means that dustry experts will guide this effort. tomers. Competent authorities all GFSI requirements have been met. “Small and medium-sized busi- have agreed that individual compa- An external audit and certification will nesses are increasingly going to have nies should be able to move for- have to be completed.” The council has been concerned with ensuring the safety of the food it “Canadians are the big winners. They certifies for some years. In 2011, it was one of the kashrut will have more confidence in the food they’re certifying bodies in Canada to putting on their tables” Rabbi Saul Emanuel. share a grant from the federal government for a project aimed at setting national standards, which it to meet internationally accepted stan- ward in phases over an extended co-ordinated. Medina Quality Food dards and regulations as dictated period of time,” Chambers said. Assurance Services and Food With by the Global Food Safety Initiative Rabbi Emanuel said, “M, which a Conscience, private companies that (GFSI) and government bodies like already works with a large number of serve as consultants to industry on the Canadian Food Inspection Agency kosher food manufacturers across food safety, were also partners in that endeavour. 3 Our CommUNITY / November 2016 Pics This project helps kosher the confidence of retailers and food food manufacturers identify the service operators, which in turn will ingredients used in the preparation lead to increased sales at home and of the of foods, ensuring that each abroad.” ingredient is ko-sher, and then The advisory committee will pro- recording the informa-tion using vide input on food safety develop- specially designed soft-ware, Rabbi ments, specialty food issues, and Emanuel noted. audit and certification standards. month “There is no question that kosher Besides Chambers, the members are certification respects and enhanc- Stephane Cadieux, food safety man- es food quality and safety standards ager, Gate Gourmet Canada Inc; Prof. throughout the whole food supply Samuel Godefroy of the Department of chain, including raw and semi-man- Food Science at Université Laval; Jeff ufactured foodstuffs and final prod- Hall, Director of Quality Assurance at ucts in all principal segments such as Metro Ontario Inc.; Dr. Nikos Mavrou- meat, fish, dairy, fruit and vegetables, dis, Senior Lecturer in Food Science bread and beverages,” stated Rabbi and Program Leader in Food and Nu- Emanuel. tritional Sciences at Northumbria Uni- “In the current climate of food versity; Anick Provost, Director of fraud where manufacturers use prod- the Food Safety Allergen Control ucts that are not identified on their Program at Allergies Québec; Kevin Rabbi Saul Emanuel meets Homeland labelling to the detriment of consum- Swoffer, Director, KPS Resources Security Border Patrol Officers to explain about the Lulav and Etrog.