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Certification

“The kosher certification is one additional layer of quality control that moves us towards alignment of a strategic goal at Hydropothecary: to make sure that quality is always first and foremost to what we’re doing,” St-Louis said in a phone interview. “And secondly, once you have that additional quality, there are some customers that have been asking for an alternative.”

The announcement came on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. The certification, though, is not about a blessing, but a thorough review of how the marijuana is grown and processed, Vaad HaKashrut director Rabbi Levy Teitlebaum said in a phone interview.

“When I go to a company and am certifying peanut butter or strawberry jam, it’s about the actual ingredients and the equipment they’re made on,” said Rabbi Teitlebaum. “We ensure that … how it is made and the ingredients that are within it, and the ingredients that make up those ingredients, way back to the source, back to the base ingredients, are in fact all kosher or are inherently kosher.”

Hydropothecary said its certification “requires several components, including an audit of cleaning protocols, kosher compliance review and on-site inspections throughout the year.” Rabbi Teitlebaum said his group will do unannounced spot-checks to ensure compliance, such as making sure insects, which are not kosher, do not find their way into the products.

So far, the kosher designation for Hydropothecary only extends to the company’s medicinal offerings. Rabbi Teitlebaum said consideration of recreational cannabis, which the Canadian government aims to legalize by next July, has yet to really be given.

The current designations are to help people healing from illnesses, the rabbi said. “According to the Torah, according to the Talmud, this is something that if we are able to help them, that is my obligation.”

gzochodne@postmedia.com

Twitter: @geoffzochodne