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I am wondering if there is any listing of hechsheirim which provides ratings on their reliability as well as their leanings toward lenient psakim. I have heard horror stories of hechsheirim which are complete failures in stopping any wrongdoings, and I know that there are reliable and professional organizations which will use any leniency available to certify a product.

I am looking for a way to navigate the uncertainty.

Hershy S.
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  • The best way to navigate the uncertainty would be to find a rav who you trust and knows different hechsheirim intimately, or at least knows how to get the information, and ask about each hechsher you are unsure about. – Esther Apr 18 '23 at 19:34
  • @Esther, that advice would answer most questions on this site. – Hershy S. Apr 18 '23 at 22:33
  • Not really, for sure anything that requires a psak from a rav would be off-topic here. Additionally, saying publicly that a hechsher is bad can get you sued for defamation, so it is difficult to find that information in public. Apparently the CRC is willing to put out a list, but even they say that you have to look into it (and know what to look for!) and they recommend asking a rav who knows things as well in their info about how to know if a hechsher is good. – Esther Apr 19 '23 at 13:56

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The CRC has a list of hechsherim here: CRC Kashrus Agency Listing and they have an article that explains how they go about determining which hechsherim are reliable.

With that being said, what is considered reliable/lenient will very much depend on you. What you consider lenient others might consider perfectly acceptable and vice versa.

JoeJam
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  • I'm very surprised they are willing to say that a hechsher is no good, since that could open them up to lawsuits for defamation – Esther Apr 19 '23 at 13:55
  • @Esther, it seems like don't necessarily say a hechsher is no good, they just leave it off of the recommended list. – JoeJam Apr 24 '23 at 14:39