Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Breadfan (Stale Matzo Scam Upd-ate)
Many of you have probably noticed the stale smell and taste of machine shmurah-matzos this year. (B”H I’m more fanatic than that – so the possibility for me to fall victim to such a scam is extremely low.) Some people got really angry about it and decided to get to the bottom of the matter. So far here is what has been found out:
A certain distributor (still unknown) bought up all of last years Haddar and Glick’s matzos after Peasch, at about 4 pennies on the dollar. This year he sold them as fresh matzo. My guess is that he even saved himself the freezing costs. Haddar claims they know nothing – but swear they had nothing to do with it. Unfortunately for them, among their customers –or, more precisely, among the crooked distributor’s customers – were a few top-notch attorneys who got really ….., well angry for their Seder being spoiled in such a way. So now either Haddar spills the beans, or they will have to face Mr. Cuomo Jr.’s wrath – and ambition to prove himself a good anti-capitalist corporation-eater. (Don’t hold your breath though for him to go after child molesters – that’s not glitzy enough). However, all matzo manufacturers will probably be forced to properly code & date their products from now on.
Cholov Yisroel could use a bit of that, and the meivin should yavin.
That’s the story in short, so far. I have a few more details for later – if you know anything, let us hear from you.
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2 comments:
It doesn't surprise me that last year's matzohs are sold by some unscrupulous people. After all, as you alluded to, Chalav Yisroel seems to have a very short shelf life. In this spirit, one of the local meat dealers routinely sells prepackaged deli meats after the Use By date has expired. When my ex complained, they simply rotated stock, hiding the old stuff in the middle of the pile.
FWIW, I happened to have a couple of boxes of Manischewitz matzoh from last year, so I tried it and it was fresher than any of the Israeli brands I tried this year.
BTW, Eddie James House Jr., aka Son House, is buried about 6 miles from here, in Detroit. My son, whose daddy taught him the blues, insists that Son House is the most influential guitar player ever, in that he was an influence on both Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters.
The scoop on Cholov Israel is that they put on them much longer than real dates. Of course, the spilled milk, especially for large hassidic families, is net profit for Ahava Dairy. But no one complains because most of them are on WIC and food stampps. BTW they get regularly fined for this by the USDA but the profits override the fines.
I don't know why you assume that I am a big Son House fan. I'm much more into rock, Priest, Sabbath, Budgie stuff, but I also love blues - much later kind though; Snowy White, Peter Green, BB King, John Mayall, Gary Moore etc. Also fusion Frank Gambale, John McLaughlin, Wether report, Mahavishu, Simon Phillips....
JI
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