Community Magazine January 2019

TEVET - SHEVAT 5779 JANUARY 2019 103 hamehadrin , farm fresh produce at their table and at non-exploitive prices. Tovah’s produce is certified by three entities, the renowned leading expert, Hadayan, Rabbi Asher Eckstein from Brooklyn, Hadayan, Rabbi Mordechai Gross from Bnei Brak, Israel, and the OU. 4 Everything, from start to finish, from harvesting, cutting, cleaning, inspecting, to freezing and packaging, is performed in China. China has evolved into a powerhouse for the kosher food industry. One of the Tovah owners clarified that China has become the most efficient venue for growing the vegetables and cutting, cleaning, inspecting, freezing and packaging them. China’snewPresident, Xi Jinping, knownas “the chairman of everything,” has implemented multiple improvements in the last five years 5 (such as pollution reduction, enhancement of the hygienic landscape). Some kosher companies have started growing produce in Vietnam in an effort to cut costs. The experiment has been disappointing; the conditions in Vietnam are not as clean or efficient as in China. Tovah’s vegetables are grown in greenhouses located on farms in the countryside of China. Greenhouses provide a more careful and controlled environment for growing insect-free vegetables. Produce grown in greenhouses are less likely to be damaged by inclement weather conditions such as rain and wind, and are protected frommany diseases and bacteria. The most compelling reason for growing produce in a green house is to enable crops to be grown when they cannot be grown outdoors. Tovah’s products are frozen within six hours of harvesting! Once frozen, the vegetablesmaintain their freshness for three years. Given that China is 7,200 miles away from the U.S. and is fairly new to the kosher produce industry, Tovah has instituted a rigorous examination protocol for its vegetables. This includes the training of all supervisors and staff by Tovah owners, management, and by mashgichim . Tovah’s staff includes trained checkers who are supervised by the mashgichim on the farms and in the factories. Checkers take a substantial number of samples from each greenhouse. If one bug is found during the testing of that greenhouse, that entire harvest in canceled. One Tovah owner related that he brought one of his key Chinese supervisors to Israel for ten days to be trained by the best mashgichim . This supervisor is responsible for training the local staff in China. Hadayan Rabbi Asher Eckstein is on site to ensure that appropriate procedures are followed and to answer questions from the checkers. 4 Tovah also koshers all of its machinery and equipment used in the farms and factories it outsources to. 5 Xi Jinping was re-elected for a second five-year term in October 2017. To learn more about him: https:// www.newstatesman.com/world/asia/2017/12/chairman-everything-why-chinese-president-xi-jinping-will- change-history. A rabbi also supervises the harvest to make certain that only bug-free, clean, and fresh vegetables are sent to the factory, which is also in China, for processing. Approved vegetables are sent in sealed sacks to the washing factory, where another rabbi separates the sacks by greenhouse. Tovah is proud to say that it is the only kosher frozen vegetable producer that tracks and reports its harvested vegetables and the related checking procedures using WhatsApp. The head mashgiach is informed via WhatsApp about each harvest, every day of the harvest. The sacks of vegetables that are picked and cut are tracked by greenhouse and are reported via WhatsApp when loaded onto the truck and sent to the factory. When the truck arrives at the factory, a staff member compares the number of sacks taken off the truck to the numbers on the WhatsApp report that was posted by the farm staff when the sacks were put on the truck at the harvesting farm. As a former auditor, I recognize how valuable these cross-referencing controls are. If the two totals do not agree, that harvest will not be used, and the farmers are out the money. Therefore, these checks and balances ensure that the bedikah is accurate, and they serve as an incentive to the farmers and their staff to practice quality control and assurance. Tovah offers multiple product lines across the entire United States and globally. Its most popular products are mixed peppers, onions, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, butternut squash, and sliced zucchini. What’s Next on Tovah’s Radar Screen? Stay tuned for Tovah’s frozen vegan burgers. Tovah is developing a full line of veggie burgers containing no flour or eggs. Gram flour is used, which is chick-pea (protein) based with lots of nutritional value. Tovah is also working on harvesting and freezing frozen strawberries without using any halachic loopholes. If you want to make sure you and your loved ones are eating the finest, fresh, and halachically bug-free veggies, please consider joining the Tovah family. Contact info for Tovah Family Farms: 917-509-1019 – Production 973-523-4101 – Distribution info@tovahfamilyfarms.com http://tovahfamilyfarms.com/ SPONSORED MESSAGE Ellen Geller Kamaras, CPA/MBA, is an International Coach Federation (ICF) Associate Certified Coach.   Ellen helps people find their passion, purpose, and positivity in life and relationships and conducts personal growth workshops throughout the year. Ellen can be contacted at  ellen@lifecoachellen.com (www.lifecoachellen.com ). Hedayan Rabbi Asher Eckstein checking broccoli on the farm.