Man sues Burger King for serving him non-kosher burger
An application for a class-action lawsuit against Burger King was filed last Thursday at Tel Aviv District Court after a religious man ate a cheeseburger at a branch that was presented as kosher but it was later discovered that the cheese was made from cow’s milk.
In recent months, Burger King has launched a campaign for kosher substitutes, such as burgers with bacon made from turkey instead of pork, as well as a cheeseburger that includes a vegan cheddar cheese. As such, a religious person can eat their cheeseburgers and bacon without violating the kosher laws of the Jewish religion.
At the beginning of the month, the plaintiff arrived at the chain’s branch in the Azrieli Hod Hasharon mall. The Burger King’s sign read “kosher,” and the plaintiff assumed that the branch was kosher.
The motion for approval of
the class-action lawsuit, filed by attorney Amit Ben Aroya, depicted the events as follows: after the plaintiff bit into a hamburger with what he thought was vegan cheese, he wondered about the quality of
the imitation cheese and asked at the counter how to produce a taste so similar to regular cheese. The employee at the counter responded that it was, in fact, ordinary cheese.
“The applicant, a religious man, was shocked,” read the statement. “It was further made clear to him that the branch had once been kosher, but it was no longer kosher.”
The plaintiff emphasized that “the violation of autonomy is not reserved only for the kosher public – every person has the right to know what foods they are putting into their body and no one is allowed to mislead the consumer public about the ingredients in their products. This is true, as stated, for everyone and is exacerbated for the kosher-observant public.”
In response, the Burger King branch said, “The class application has not yet reached the company and, when it arrives, we will study it and respond accordingly. Delek, as the new controlling owner of Burger King, adheres to all rules and training practices in kosher branches in particular, as does Burger King.”