Kosher Equality: First Woman Elected To Lead A Kasruth Agency

Manhattan, NY – As the first female President to lead a Kosher certification agency, Miriam Jochelman Peled may have just become the most powerful person in Kosher – man or woman. On Wednesday Peled was elected by KOSH 9009 Board of Directors to serve a four year term as President of the organization. KOSH 9009 is one of the nation’s leading Kasruth and quality management consultation agencies and pioneer of a challenging movement that is destined to go viral promoting ‘Equality for Women in Kosher.’

The KOSH 9009 website is located at http://www.KOSH9009.com which proudly advertises its mission statement: “Kosher Made Simple and Affordable – With Equality For Women.”

Moshe Heinman, Director for KOSH 9009 said males have dominated Kosher supervision since the 1920′s when Kosher products started finding their way into the American market. According to Heinman, a teacher of Conservative Judaism, all major Kasruth agencies are directly or indirectly disqualifying women to serve in leadership roles, particularly as President, simply because of their gender. “Someday we respectfully hope to see a woman President of The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations (OU), The Organized Kashrus Laboratories (OK), STAR-K, Kosher Supervision (KOF-K), and other major Kasruth certification agencies, said Heinman.

Jochelman Peled is an educator, speaker, second generation of Holocaust Survivor Parents. Born in Postavy, Republic of Belarus, formerly the U.S.S.R, Miriam holds a B.A. in Art Education/Art Therapy, Master Degree from Seton Hall University in Judeo-Christian Holocaust Studies, and attended the Yiddish I.L. Peretz School, where Judaism was fostered, along with other secular subjects. Her professional work experience includes VP of Operations for Guberman-PMC, LLC, an internationally recognized quality management consultancy. Previously she served as senior auditor for G-PMC Registrars, in which she received numerous awards. She is currently serving a three year term as Chairwoman of CWOB, the nation’s fastest growing quality management certification program for women-owned businesses. Miriam has lived and/or traveled to Israel, Poland, Belarus, Lithuania, France, Italy, Russia and other countries teaching others of Jewish history, and its cultural, and social challenges.

In a nod to the significance of being the first woman to lead a Kosher agency, Jochelman Peled said she hoped her achievement would inspire more women to seek positions as head of a Kasruth agency. “I’m really hoping to see more women in Kosher supervisory roles for other Kosher organizations that believe in equality,” she said.

Sara Brickman, spokeswoman for KOSH 9009 said through Miriam’s leadership and strong values rooted in her Jewish faith and heritage, combined with her professional work experience, international travels, and understanding of Kashrut laws, KOSH 9009 will continue to prosper as a preferred Kosher/ISO certification program bringing guidance, strength, diversity and purpose to businesses worldwide.

The American Board of Accredited Certifications (ABAC), which serves as the accreditation board of KOSH 9009 and oversees its operations has made a history of bringing diversity to Kosher and quality system certification by electing women, minorities, Veterans and people of different faiths to serve as board members, directors, and signatories of the organization. Last year two consultants representing KOSH 9009 traveled to New York City to meet with Rabbi Moshe Elefant, COO of the Orthodox Union’s Kashruth Department to discuss a potential partnership that will enable the OU to offer quality management solutions for its customers, particularly ISO 9001 certification. The alliance never materialized but is believed to be still open for future discussions.

Ironically, earlier this week the New York Post ran a story about a major marijuana company in Colorado planning to sell medical marijuana in New York that is Kosher certified by the Orthodox Union. In responding to the story Heinman said, “It’s rather disheartening to learn the OU is seriously considering working with a Colorado pot peddler to Kosher a natural plant, but is yet to offer customers a quality standard implemented by over one million companies and organizations in over 170 countries.” He concluded, “Where’s the quality?”

Businesses interested in value-added Kosher Certification (KOSH 9009) and/or Quality System Certification (ISO 9001) can submit an application at http://kosh9009.com/apply.html

About KOSH 9009

KOSH-9009 is a nationally recognized Kashrut agency serving businesses of all sizes in a large variety of industries, including food & beverage processing, restaurants, delis, food machinery & equipment manufacturers and machine shops seeking to Kosher certification. KOSH 9009 is the first and only system accreditation program offering the combination of Kosher and ISO 9001 certification following International Organization for Standardization methodologies per national and international requirements, and more importantly inclusive of Rabbinical Kashrut (Kosher) laws.

Media Contact:

Sara Brickman

[email protected]

http://www.kosh9009.com

212-726-2320