This October 20th marked another historic day in the annals of the O.K. Labs. On that day, in Wieze, Belgium, world headquarters of Barry Callebaut, an agreement was signed formalizing a global kashrus certification for this esteemed chocolate manufacturer.

Rabbi Levy addresses the audience.

Until now, although we supervised Barry Callebaut's kosher operations in several locations in the U.S. and abroad, we had entered into a separate agreement for each plant.

The global certification unifies Barry Callebaut's kosher production under exclusive O.K. supervision regardless of where production occurs. There could be no more appropriate recipient of a global hechsher than Barry Callebaut, which is the world's leading producer of Belgian chocolate. The O.K. had supervised part of Callebaut's operation for a quarter-century, and the recent decision by the firm to seek certification for its fifteen plants worldwide led to a massive joint effort by our respective staffs. The result was celebrated in the signing ceremony.

Rabbi Levy and Onno Bleeker sign the global cartification agreement.

I was very pleased to attend on behalf of the O.K.. I was also very gratified to be accompanied by my mother, Mrs. Thelma Levy, who had first visited Callebaut thirty years ago with my father, of blessed memory. It was my mother who supervised the content of the global contract. Rabbi Shimon Lasker, the O.K. representative in Belgium who has the hands-on responsibility for supervising Callebaut, was on hand as well.

Barry Callebaut was represented by its Chief Executive Officer, Onno Bleeker, and by Willy Geeraerts, head of Corporate Quality and Environment, both good friends of ours, along with other notables in the company.

Onno Bleeker welcomed us with a succinct, accurate explanation of the importance of kosher food to the Jewish people. He emphasized how kosher food is also sought by many non-Jews. He noted that today's world market increasingly demands a reliable worldwide source of kosher chocolate, and that Barry Callebaut's implementation of a global kosher program is responding to that demand. He also conceded that Rabbi Lasker has been very tough on Callebaut, but that toughness is welcomed at his company, because it leads to positive results.

Molding the chocolate.

I followed Onno Bleeker, and spoke of the long relationship between the O.K. Labs and Barry Callebaut. I noted that the two companies are a good fit because we both insist on the highest standards, without compromise. I stressed that it is tempting to become complacent after concluding a large-scale agreement such as this one. That would be a mistake. We need to consider the global certification not as an end, but as a beginning. It is an opportunity to reinforce our standards, both in terms of kashrus on the O.K.'s end and quality on Callebaut's end.

In this context I related a story about Rabbi Sa'adiah Gaon, the tenth-century sage. An expensive diamond owned by Rabbi Sa'adiah Gaon was lost and then miraculously recovered. When he found the diamond, he was very saddened. He became ill, and a special medicinal cure was prepared for him. As he was about to take the medicine, a spider fell into it. At that point he became happy. He explained that when he found the diamond, he was saddened because he felt that having reached the pinnacle, there was nowhere to go but down. When he fell ill and his medicine was spoiled, he brightened at the fact that he now had nowhere to go but up. I emphasized that having concluded the global contract, the O.K. and Barry Callebaut have to avoid the trap of thinking we are at the top. We have to accept the challenge of managing the new global certification in harmony with our respective standards.

Following me, Willy Geeraerts spoke warmly of my father, of blessed memory, who a quarter-century ago first gave O.K. certification to the Callebaut facility in Wieze.

Chocolate is conched to make it smooth.

Unfortunately, Daniel Mazigh, an Orthodox Jew working at Barry Callebaut, could not be at the ceremony. It was Daniel whose global vision was the stimulus for global certification, and who played a hands-on role along with Willy to implement the program.

Callebaut's exponential growth during the past thirty years has positioned it as the leader in worldwide chocolate production. The company was founded in 1850 as a malt, brewery, and dairy company. It first produced chocolate in 1911, and has grown in stature and size ever since. (In the U.S., Callebaut chocolate is generally sold to other companies rather than to the consumer, which is why you may not necessarily find a product labeled "Callebaut" on your store shelf. However, the company's products are used in many premium kosher chocolates that are sold here.)

Meanwhile, the Barry company was founded in 1842, and began processing cocoa in 1920. It too grew steadily, and in 1997 the Callebaut and Barry companies merged. The combined firm represents hundreds of years of chocolate and cocoa knowledge.

Callebaut and the O.K. first crossed paths in the late 1960's. Callebaut was not yet a player in the lucrative U.S. market, and sensed that going kosher would generate strong demand here. This presumption proved correct. In his speech at the signing, Willy Geeraerts noted that the "Jewish channel was certainly at first the sales channel for our chocolate in the U.S." Today Callebaut's chocolate is recognized here and around the world for its unmatched quality and consistency.

Thirty years ago, Callebaut consisted of one plant. Through an ambitious expansion program, the company acquired or built sixteen additional plants. Among these are U.S. facilities in St. Albans, Vermont, and Pennsauken, New Jersey. Barry Callebaut's seventeen plants stretch across fifteen countries on four continents.

Standing (right to left): Rabbi Levy, Onno bleeeker, Rabbi Shimon Lasker, Stefan vervliet, and Willy Geeraerts. Seated (right to left): Rabbi Levy's wife, Mrs. Malka Levy, and Mrs. Telma Levy.

From the start, the goal of the O.K. at Callebaut was to upgrade the standards of kosher chocolate production. For example, eleven years ago I visited Wieze and met with Beni Pollet, who at the time directed the kosher program. My goal, which we achieved, was to make the pareve line truly pareve l'mehadrin, that is, to the absolute strictest standards of kashrus. (Unfortunately, many other chocolates labeled "pareve" are supervised as such only after resorting to dubious leniencies.)

At the time I selected Rabbi Shimon Lasker to be our mashgiach at Callebaut. I fully agree with Onno Bleeker that Rabbi Lasker is tough, but his perseverance and insistence on kashrus without compromise are appreciated at Callebaut, whose quality control standards are without peer in the chocolate industry. Today Rabbi Lasker may be the world's foremost expert in kosher chocolate production.

Stefan Vervliet succeeded Beni Pollet. Stefan proved to be a man of vision. He wanted to produce chalav Yisrael chocolate, and utilized Rabbi Lasker's expertise to manufacture it to the highest standard. Today Barry Callebaut's chalav Yisrael line is known around the world as the premier chalav Yisrael chocolate.

We have discussed chocolate production before ("The Intricacies of Chocolate Production," October 1997), and readers are referred to that article for further details. In brief, among the issues that we encounter are the source of cocoa butter, the necessity to have entirely separate pareve and dairy lines, and the production of truly chalav Yisrael chocolate. The supervision at Barry Callebaut has been designed to ensure that the chocolate is produced without compromise: pareve is truly pareve, and chalav Yisrael Callebaut can be eaten by the most discriminating consumers.

The global certification of Barry Callebaut covers facilities in Belgium, the Netherlands, France, the United Kingdom, the U.S., Canada, the Ivory Coast, and Cameroon. Callebaut acquired a facility in Singapore in 1995. We are in the midst of arranging supervision for this plant, and a hechsher will be issued once the process is successfully completed.

After the festivities, we conducted a two-hour seminar with the quality control managers of Barry Callebaut's European production sites. The purpose was to acquaint them with kashrus and how specifically it will be implemented in their facilities. In this way, and with Rabbi Lasker's ongoing input, we can count on the highest kashrus standards being maintained. We plan training sessions for the facilities located in North America and in Africa in the near future.

We are certain that our relationship with Barry Callebaut will continue in an atmosphere of mutual respect, and we look forward to ongoing cooperation and growth with this august company.