Kashrut legislation proposed by Kulanu MK Rachel Azaria, designed to allow independent kashrut authorities to operate while turning the Chief Rabbinate into the industry regulator, is set to come before the Ministerial Committee on Legislation on Monday.

At the same time, a separate bill on kashrut proposed by Bayit Yehudi MK Betzalel Smotrich – which is intended to unify kashrut standards, create different levels of rabbinate kashrut certification and introduce professional standards for kashrut supervisors – is also scheduled for debate in the committee. […]

Azaria’s legislation is designed to overturn the current model for kashrut supervision, in which the Chief Rabbinate and its regional branches issue kashrut licenses to restaurants and other food businesses, provide the kashrut supervisors to such businesses, and provide the inspectors to oversee the supervisors. […]

Smotrich’s bill, supported by Chief Rabbis Yitzhak Yosef and David Lau, would leave the Chief Rabbinate’s control over kashrut licensing intact, but would establish unified standards for kashrut licensing across the country.