The Hartford Kashrut Commission (HKC) has joined the Association of Kashrus Organizations (AKO), an umbrella of kashrut organizations that share common standards of halachic compliance.

Established in 1985, AKO’s primary goal is to unite the different kashrut agencies worldwide under one umbrella in order to raise and maintain the highest level of kashrut possible. The AKO provides kashrut authorities throughout the world with a medium through which they can discuss issues affecting the kashrut industry, construct basic guidelines for mutually acceptable standards, plan for kashrut emergencies, and present a unified voice in kashrut.

“The HKC has always operated in compliance with nationally recognized standards of kashrut. That is the HKC mission to the Jewish public as well as to the providers who rely upon the HKC’s certification. Our list of providers – caterers, retail establishments and factories – has steadily grown over the years, and the time became ripe for our application to AKO,” said Rabbi Yitzchok Adler, spiritual leader of Beth David Synagogue in West Hartford, who has been the rabbinic administrator of the HKC since 1997. “There are HKC clients who are looking to grow their market shares, and HKC’s affiliation with AKO will surely be helpful,” he added.

While the AKO organization itself does not provide kosher endorsements, its members work together to provide the kosher community with the utmost in kosher supervision, said Adler.

For more information contact Rabbi Yitzchok Adler, (860) 236-1241.