Large L.A. bakery drops RCC, switches to Kehilla Kosher

Since the Doheny Meat Market scandal broke in late March, three kosher establishments have dropped the Rabbinical Council of California's certification. Schwartz Bakery, which announced it had left on May 20, is likely the largest of the three. Image courtesy Facebook/Schwartz Bakery

Schwartz Bakery, a kosher bakery and caterer with six retail locations across Los Angeles, has dropped the Rabbinical Council of California (RCC) as its kosher certifier. The bakery announced on its Facebook page on May 20 that all of its locations were now being supervised by a competing kosher agency, Kehilla Kosher.

According to its Web site, Schwartz is "the first kosher bakery in Los Angeles." It is the third kosher establishment to leave the RCC in recent weeks, and the second to join the businesses supervised by Kehilla.

The RCC has been under intense pressure since March, when video footage emerged that showed the owner of Doheny Glatt Kosher Meat, the largest meat distributor under RCC supervision, allegedly bringing unidentified animal products into his store at a time when the kosher overseer was absent.

Schwartz is likely the largest business to leave the RCC to date. Founded in 1954, the family-owned business also caters events, sells packaged baked goods to retailers across the Southland and runs the lunch program at Yeshivat Yavneh, an Orthodox day school near Hancock Park.

Marc Hecht, Schwartz Bakery’s owner, and RCC President Rabbi Meyer May could not be reached immediately on Thursday for comment.