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I've noticed recently that wines which we get under the hashgacha of the Bada"tz Beit Yosef list "R' Ovadia Yosef Shlit"a." As R' Ovadia died more than a year ago and these are young wines, I suspect that they were bottled and stamped with his hechsher after his death.

Considering this, is it improper to maintain a hashgacha stamp which lists a rav who is deceased with the honorific of "shlit"a"?

msh210
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Noach MiFrankfurt
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    What do you mean by "improper"? – Daniel Jun 16 '15 at 19:47
  • "adjective not in accordance with accepted rules or standards" – Noach MiFrankfurt Jun 16 '15 at 19:48
  • Is the problem specifically about the use of "Shlita"? I don't see that, in itself, as a kashrut problem. The main question is that it seems misleading to use a hashgacha stamp of someone who isn't even alive! Old items that are still on the shelf, of course, can't be changed. Problem is, when you buy a product, is there a clear method of knowing if you're getting an old or a new item? Is this the type of product where people would tend to check the expiration date? – DanF Jun 16 '15 at 21:36
  • @DanF, I suspect that it might be some sort of false advertising, as it implies that the R' hamachshir is different from the present one (R' Ploni's successor, as opposed to R' Ploni) – Noach MiFrankfurt Jun 16 '15 at 21:38
  • @NoachmiFrankfurt I would agree. My main question is say someone buys a product that was certified by Rav P who is niftar. When viewing the label, how does one know if it's an old label or it's misleading? If the product has a packaging date, that helps. An expiration date probably wouldn't. What works, here? – DanF Jun 16 '15 at 21:45

2 Answers2

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I do not see why one can not continue using up labels made prior to the Rav's death. This can be a true Hefsed Meruba / large monetary loss. The symbol has been updated and I am sure that all new labels are printed with the updated symbol.

Gershon Gold
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In America anyway, hechshers are trademarks. Changing it to z"l would be a different trademark. When a thing has a hecsher it should be understood that the body that owns the tm rights and not R ovadia is doing it. When moshiach comes will all books authored by the arizal need to be recalled and relabeled?

Clint Eastwood
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