POSTVILLE, Ind., Nov. 8 (UPI) -- Legal and financial problems at one of the largest U.S. kosher meatpacking plants have triggered a nationwide shortage of kosher meat.
Agriprocessors Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this week, several days after being slapped with $10 million in fines from the Iowa labor commissioner's office, The Des Moines Register reported Saturday.
The company, based in Postville, Ind., provided about 60 percent of the nation's kosher meat supply before it was raided by immigration officials. Agriprocessors suffered a worker shortage and debts accumulated after the raid, the newspaper said.
"My sense is that there certainly is a limited supply, and it's beginning to show up in the small communities that are not able to get meat," said Joe Regenstein, a food-science professor at Cornell University in New York. "That is a real concern. You can't stop 60 percent of the glatt kosher meat supply and expect it not to have an impact."
The shortage of kosher meat has driven up prices for delis.
"Stores like mine are struggling all over," said Rabbi Yossi Jacobson, the owner of Maccabee's Glatt Kosher Deli in Des Moines. "It concerns everyone. We serve hundreds of people quality kosher. Nobody wants to see the plant shut down."
