Lawsuit accuses Hebrew National of unkosher practices

A lawsuit filed against Hebrew National alleged that its hot dogs and other products are not actually kosher.

The class-action suit, filed in May in a federal court in Minnesota, accuses ConAgra Foods — the business designation of Hebrew National that is certified kosher by Triangle K — of several transactions that would render the meat being processed as not kosher.

The suit also accuses the company of mistreating its employees, especially its kosher supervisors and slaughterers. The firm AER provides the kosher slaughtering services at Hebrew National facilities in the Midwest.

Employees who complained about the inappropriate actions were fired or transferred, the suit claims.

Among the complaints is that non-kosher meat was packaged and labeled as kosher meat. The complaints also said that the lungs were not inspected well enough for imperfections and that some cows were slaughtered incorrectly.

The suit also alleges that the employees were paid in violation of American tax laws.

Shlomoh Ben-David, the owner of AER Services Inc., denied the charges in an interview with The Failed Messiah website.

The story was first reported last week by the American Jewish World.