Dan D'Ambrosio

Free Press Staff Writer

Jeff Kaufman disappeared into the kitchen of his immaculate 19th-century home on North Willard Avenue and returned to the formal dining room with a kosher frozen pizza in his hand.

"I just wanted to show you the products that will be affected," Kaufman, an observant Jew, said. "We get this from Price Chopper. If we don't grab it and put it in the freezer, we're not going to have it. It's a small company and they're not going to change for this small observant community in Vermont."

Kaufman was referring to Vermont's GMO labeling law, which went into effect July 1, and appears to be forcing kosher foods off store shelves as the small companies that manufacture the foods decide not to relabel their packaging just for Vermont.

Rabbi Zalman Wilhelm, sitting across the table from Kaufman, explained the economics behind the situation.

"Let me take this from the perspective of the companies," Wilhelm said. "Think of a company that sends food everywhere. Vermont is not even 1 percent of their business, a fraction of a percent. With this new law in place, it's not worth it for them to bother with the paperwork."

Wilhelm said there are about 20,000 Jews in Vermont, fewer of whom are observant of kosher diet requirements.

"The amount of sales kosher companies have in Vermont is so minimal it's more like a favor they're selling it over here," he said.

Kobi Afek, vice president of sales for Osem USA, one of the biggest manufacturers of kosher groceries in the world, confirmed the Vermont market is minuscule. Osem USA is based in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.

"The business we're generating from this market is not that much," Afek said. "I'm sure if it was in New York or New Jersey everyone would adjust."

Afek also confirmed the expense associated with complying with the Vermont law is considerable.

"We're talking here about a major change," he said. "First of all they have to review the law. That's an expense. They have to make sure their ingredients and statements meet the law's requirements. If not they have to change the label and print packaging. For such a small market, you say, 'Let's just move ahead and forget about Vermont.'"

Osem is not forgetting about Vermont. Afek said some of the company's products, which include everything from ketchup to croutons, did have to be pulled from shelves in Vermont. He said they will be labeled later to comply with the law. Other products already comply. Afek said Osem has an advantage because it ships into the European market, where many countries banned GMOs last year.

Kaufman got a shock on July 1 when Vermont's GMO labeling law went into effect, and kosher food items began to disappear from the shelves of the Price Chopper on Shelburne Street in Burlington, where Kaufman and many other members of the observant Jewish community shop.

Kaufman explained that kosher food laws come from the Torah.

"God gives directions on what can and can't be eaten," he said. "All fruits and vegetables are kosher. For fish they have to have fins and scales. We learn about what's permitted and not permitted from the Torah."

Kaufman said he doesn't think the observant Jewish community has any objection to GMO labeling.

"But as part of the implementation you can't deprive people of food — food they can't get otherwise and rely on," he said.

'It's going to be gone'

On July 1, Kaufman discussed the kosher situation with a manager at Price Chopper who told him to "go to aisle 11 where kosher dry good are, if there's anything there you use or like pick it up, because it's going to be gone and it's not coming back."

The Price Chopper on Shelburne Street referred the Burlington Free Press to the company's vice president of public relations Mona Golub, based in Schenectady, New York. In an email sent Thursday, Golub said two major kosher suppliers — Manischewitz and Kedem — were "predominantly in compliance" with Vermont's labeling law, although Passover products for 2017 "may present some issues."

Golub said she had yet to hear from a third major supplier.

In an earlier conversation, Golub said Price Chopper has no control over what national manufacturers decide to do about the labeling law.

"We do have complete control of our own brand and we've been working the last 12 months to ensure they are all being relabeled and in compliance," Golub said. "That for us is near 9,000 products. To put that in perspective, in the State of Vermont a store might carry 20,000 to 35,000 items."

Neither Shaw's nor Walmart would confirm they would no longer sell their private label food items in Vermont because of the labeling law, referring questions to the Vermont Retail & Grocers Association, which said it had no information.

VT retailers say GMO label law unclear

Golub confirmed that Price Chopper had compiled a list of about 3,000 items from a variety of manufacturers that would not be relabeled to comply with Vermont's GMO law and would no longer be available. The list includes items ranging from Wise snacks to Ray's Bagels and Gold Peak Tea. Del Monte canned fruits are also on the list, along with many varieties of infant formula.

The list also includes a considerable number of kosher items, from matzo ball mix to a garlic dressing marked "Passover only." In addition, many Hispanic, Asian and Indian foods are on the list.

"There's a lot of work that goes into a massive change like this," Golub said. "All the man hours that have gone into researching what would have to change, in addition to actually commissioning new packaging and all the hours that go into rotating product at the store level to ensure old labels sell first to make way for new labels."

Signs were posted on the shelves of kosher foods in the Price Chopper on Shelburne Street. The signs said, "We apologize we can no longer offer this product to you. Its manufacturer will not be updating its packaging to comply with the new GMO labeling law."

Kaufman reached out to Sen. Tim Ashe, D/P-Chittenden, prior to July 1 to find out if kosher foods would be affected by the labeling law and was told there shouldn't be a problem.

Ashe acknowledged on Thursday he had been discussing the availability of "certain kosher foods" with Kaufman.

"I look forward to continuing that discussion if indeed supermarket shelves in Vermont are not carrying these items, which are foundational to religious observance," Ashe said.

A new twist

Sen. David Zuckerman, P-Chittenden, a strong supporter of the GMO labeling law, learned for the first time this week that kosher foods are being affected by the law.

"This is a new twist that I am learning about," Zuckerman said. "We didn't see this."

Zuckerman maintains labeling is not an onerous requirement, even for a small company. He pointed out that he runs his own small business, Full Moon Farm in Hinesburg.

"I have changed my label for my farm numerous times to meet federal and state guidelines, the cost is negligible," Zuckerman said. "I think disclosure of what's in one's food is important to people of all religious or non-religious persuasions. A majority of people of Jewish faith who didn't have access to GMO information would also be frustrated."

The entire discussion of GMO labeling in Vermont could become moot as the Senate passed a federal labeling law 63-30 late Thursday night, after 30 hours of debate.

Proposed GMO law goes to Senate

The federal law requires labeling, offering three options: text determined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture; a QR code that can be read by a smartphone; or a symbol, also to be determined by the USDA. The proposed federal law more narrowly defines GMOs than Vermont's law and could exempt many foods, according to Sen. Patrick Leahy's office. The USDA has two years after passage to complete rule-making for the proposed law.

Sen. Leahy issued a statement on Thursday strongly critical of the law: "The Senate's GMO bill vote is a well-funded travesty, a setback for consumers' right to know. They deserve clear labels, not scavenger hunts."

The House is widely expected to pass the federal labeling law, leaving President Obama as the only question mark. The Administration has not taken an official position on the labeling law, but Obama's longest serving Cabinet member, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, supports a mandatory federal labeling law. Vilsack told the Chicago Tribune on Friday it's "the only way to deal with this."

The passage of a federal labeling law could ensure that kosher foods remain available in Vermont, as the companies currently deciding to write the state off would be required to label for all 50 states.

This story appeared online on July 10, 2016. Contact Dan D’Ambrosio at 660-1841 or ddambrosio@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/DanDambrosioVT.

LIKE THE FREE PRESS ON FACEBOOK

SIGN UP FOR BREAKING NEWS BFP ALERTS

SUBSCRIBE TO THE FREE PRESS

Do you have a breaking news tip? Call us at 802-660-6500 or send us a post on Facebook or Twitter using ‪#‎BFPTips.