Immigration Law

AGRIPROCESSORS DECLARES BANKRUPTCY AS KOSHER MEAT SHORTAGE WORSENS

By Greg Siskind

The nation's largest Kosher meat and poultry processing plant has declared bankruptcy in the wake of a massive immigration raid and criminal charges being filed against high level officials of the company.

The company is still operating, though it is down to a fraction of the staff that previously worked at the company. The company is now operating with 250 workers, down from 700 following the raid (most of whom were employees of a staffing company).

The company supplies 60% of the nation's Kosher meat and the troubles at the company have already had a serious impact on the market. According to the Associated Press:

Experts said Agriprocessors provided about 60 percent of the nation's supply of kosher meat, with most of that coming from the Postville plant. The company also operates a plant near Gordon, Neb.

"That's potentially devastating. What's worse, the Postville plant was supplying many smaller communities almost exclusively," said Joe Regenstein, a kosher food expert at Cornell University. "It had a unique distribution niche."

He said production at the plant has slowed so much in recent weeks that the impact is already being felt in smaller communities. Regenstein said the reduced supply also hurts urban Jewish communities, but they can more easily find other suppliers.

"It would have to take a major effort for someone to up their production," Regenstein said. "If they had the meat they could distribute it, but I'm not sure the infrastructure is in place for someone to step in and take over operation of the plant."

Rabbi Morris Allen of the Beth Jacob Congregation in St. Paul, Minn., said Jews throughout the country depend on Agriprocessors.

"It's a tragedy it's had to come to this," Allen said.

Full post as published by Greg Siskind's Blog on November 06, 2008 (boomark / email).