New Lawsuit Challenges New York's Enforcement of Kosher Inspection Laws

Four months after filing a similar lawsuit (see prior posting), Long Island (NY) kosher butcher Brian Yarmeisch has filed a new federal lawsuit challenging the manner in which New York state enforces its kosher food laws. Yesterday's New York Jewish Week reports that Yarmeisch seeks a preliminary injunction to prevent the state from continuing to enforce portions of its Agriculture and Markets Law. This comes as the state has not yet responded to the March lawsuit. Yarmeisch believes that New York's Kosher Law Protection Act of 2004 merely requires that he post the name of the person who supervises the kosher status of products he sells. However state inspectors have continued to visit his premises to look at whether the prepared food items he sells contain only ingredients that were certified as kosher. At issue are differences between Orthodox and Conservative rabbis over whether items such as vegetables, dairy products and certain wines must actually carry a kosher certification in order to be used.