Glick Kosher Cleared of Dog Food Allegations

We recently noted the closure of Glick Bros. Kosher Market and Butcher after more than 30 years serving the community. We noted that little information was available about the cause, but almost as soon as the post was up comments started pouring in alleging that the store was, among other things, closed due to contaminated food – namely that they were mixing dog food in with their meats, and also selling non-kosher foods as kosher.

It appears Sheepshead Bites was the victim of a malicious hoax. Like many of our readers, we were outraged by the charges and immediately sought to verify them with the relevant inspection agency. Eventually, though, we realized that all of those comments came in from one IP address using multiple names. This means it all came from one twisted reader.

Still, we awaited the inspection reports for verification. After some delay, they’ve arrived and show that there were no violations along the lines of what was alleged. The NY State Department of Agriculture and Markets – which oversees kosher establishments – shows no hint of the many foul things our malicious commenter stated. No dog food. No non-kosher food packaged as kosher. No expired food being sold as fresh. Furthermore, department officials stated that the business was still registered with them, and is was not “shut down” by the agency.

We’d like to apologize to the owners of Glick Kosher for the actions of that commenter. He has been banned, as will any future commenters who abuse our system.

That’s not to say there weren’t violations. Within the past two years, Glick Bros. has received violations for such things as cockroaches, mouse droppings and insects, as well as dirty food preparation areas and unsanitary meat grinders (sometimes showing a “buildup of old dried and foul-smelling meat residues”). Some might argue that violations like this are normal in any food establishment; others might argue that it’s just plain nasty.

We’ve embedded the reports so you can judge for yourself.