Leaked Agri Star Letter Addressed to the Crown Heights Bais Din Says They Want To Stay Out Of Court, But Will Go If They Have To
by CrownHeights.info
Agri Star Meat and Poultry says they don’t want to go to court over removal of the CHK Hechsher, but will if they have to.
In a leaked letter dated April 4th, 2024, a lawyer for the Agri Star Meat and Poultry plant, which owns the Shor Habor brand, writes to the Crown Heights Bais Din and the CHK outlining their grievance over the removal of the Hechsher, and states that although they do not want to go to court, they will if they have to.
The letter outlines how Agri was not given any warning over the removal of the CHK Hechsher, and how requests by the CHK before the Hechsher’s removal were in fact implemented, with Agri’s investment in the brand costing hundreds of thousands of dollars.
What solution Agri Star is looking for is not clearly defined in the letter, but the lawyer notes that if a solution is not found then they may take their grievence to court.
Read the text of the letter below:
Rabbi Kirszenberg:
I write on behalf of Agri Star Meat and Poultry LLC referencing the March 6, 2024 letter stating that you are removing the CHK supervision from the plant.
As you are well-aware for close to 20 years Agri Star has been processing and packaging products certified by CHK. Further, Agri Star has and continues to maintain the highest level of Kashrus. Rabbi M. Weissmandl, Rav of Nitra, a foremost expert and authority on Kosher meat and poultry, the Union of Orthodox Congregations – the O-U; COR; Satmar/Monroe, all have and continue to supervise the plant and certify all products as being Glatt Kosher to the highest level and standard.
Notably, at your direction, Agri Star has implemented certain requests made by CHK over the past year. While these requests have never been made by CHK in the 20 years prior, Agri Star, along with the Kashrus Supervision acquiesced to the requests.
Relying on CHK’s continued cooperation with Agri Star, Agri Star invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in marketing, packaging and processing the Shor Habor brand containing CHK certification. At no time prior to the March 6, 2024 letter stating that CHK was removing its certification did CHK ever discuss such action. In fact, quite the contrary, Agri Star was committed to growing the Shor Habor brand with the express understanding and commitment made by the CHK.
As such, it is clear that your actions were to intentionally damage my client’s reputation as well as damage my client economically, especially given the recent considerable investment by Agri Star to the Shor Habor brand.
While my client does not want to seek Court intervention, it will do so if this issue is not corrected.
Why post this?
Honestly, why post this? Why do we need as a Klal need to know this? Won’t this cause more machlokes? I think this should be taken down. It’s none of our business…
Anonymous
Indeed. Who was the leaker!?
Bob
Because it’s an interesting story, if you want to read biased propaganda that doesn’t post any real or any important news and only posts stuff that makes chabad look good than you can read ****** news
Should not be in court
Should be handled by a bet din not court. Its a halachik matter
Anonymous
Since when do frum yodden go to court???
Din Torah!!!
Anonymous
Who says they aren’t going to Din Torah? All they stated here was a very non-specific threat of “going to court.”
Shmully
When they have no other choice…..
Mendle
Any time it is necessary
Rebbetzin Goldenpupik
Can you not read: They Want To Stay Out Of Court, But Will Go If They Have To?! They want to stay out of court but will go if there is no other choice…if matter cannot settle by a Din Torah or negotiated settlement.
CHK breached their contract with Agri and made it seem that Agri is “less than” acceptable kosher standards, plus costed them thousands…
Is Agri not allowed to push back?!
meyer cheinYe quessAnother
They should go to court to recover damages if they have any. Lubabs took the bachurim to criminal court where they could get jail time and this is only a money matter
Purim
The letter should have been written on Purim or April 1, because any secular court in the USA would laugh this lawyer right out of court if he were to ask the secular court to get involved in second guessing a Beis Din’s kashrus decisions.
HA
Seems like their plan to dump CHK and to create an alternate “better” hechsher failed so now they resort to threats.
Menachem
Anyone who bought Agri Star before should definitely NOT be buying it now. Threatening to take a Beis Din to court is a very low blow.
Mendle
Fact check : false!
Rebbetzin Goldenpupik
Yanking a hechsher without notice on flimsy reasons – is a low blow. It is a breach of their contractual agreement. As a company, why shouldn’t they push back and tell the CHK that they have a grievance and want fairness?! Wouldn’t YOU do the same??!!
Chaim
I don’t understand, according to what was posted on this website, Agri wanted to get a more national chabad hechsher so that more people would buy from them, so how can they claim that CHK is making lose money. Did they completely miscalculate?
Yes they miss calculated
The new hechsher has no following whatsoever one of the main guys has a very bad reputation and fought and undermined the BD of crown heights in recent years.
Unless they remove them and publicly apologize profusely to the BD no one should eat from Agri and the CHK should not return
Rebbetzin Goldenpupik
You are right!
We should all become vegetarians (that will really show them not to mess with us!). Guess what? It will make us healthier and is cheaper (compare prices for a pound of beans vs pound of meat)
Or, we can start using Satmar or Belz meat and chicken!
Any more brilliant ideas?!
jonathenstrebbler
Thank you to crown heights info for keeping us updated on this interesting and important story
Yankel
Biggest joke ever, so basically they miscalculated their decision to nix the CHK. According to this website they started arrnaging the new hechsher LK months ago. They messed up, only a small percentage of chabad only eat Chabad shcheita. Now many of those chabad familes are not eating LK. The ones who dont care also dont care to eat chabad shechita at all.
Too bad their loss
Jorge Loco
Satmer do their own run, according to their rabbis, they don’t give echsher to any other product or to Agri Star, just like using a goishe plant is not endorsing everything on that plant only what Satmer takes as kosher.
The Satmer shochtim are giving way better pay and treatment.
Change is good regardless of what they did in the past 30 years.
Yitzi
It’s gets more fun by the day ! Just proves what a joke this new lamed k hechser is
Rebbetzin Goldenpupik
List of known facts:
CHK pulls hechsher.
Agri arranges new hechsher with Lubavitch-K.
CHK tries to negotiate a return to Agri – if it rids Lubavitch-K and other conditions.
Discussions between CHK and Agri fail.
Agri strikes back at CHK for pulling hechsher without prior notice and without just cause – a breach of their contractual agreement.
How exactly does this reflect badly on Lubavitch-K?
Mushkie
Rabbonim and business people speak different languages. When they need to be brought together, either Agri should be represented at the negotiation by Agri’s rabbonim, or CHK should be represented by business people. Of course, each side would need to authorize their representatives to be able to make BINDING decisions. The problem is when each side talks a different language!