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February 11, 2005/Adar 12 5765, Volume 57, No. 24
No baloney: There's a salami shortage
CHANAN TIGAY
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
NEW YORK - Five hunks of Hebrew National salami lie side by side in a glass display case at Ben's Kosher Delicatessen in midtown Manhattan.
Cordoned off in a corner of the case, they don't look like much - especially when compared with the crispy corn dogs and enormous latkes. But the guy managing the restaurant's takeout counter is relieved that he has any salami to sell at all.
For the last several months, a shortage of Hebrew National products has hit kosher restaurants and food
distributors across North America, forcing some, including Ben's, to fill the gap with other meat products.
"We had to replace it with inferior product," the man said, asking that his name not be used.
And the inferior product led to inferior sales, he said: As the shortage dragged on, Ben's, which operatesseveral restaurants in New York and Florida, lost money from customers unwilling to pay for anything but the venerable brand that "answers to a higher authority," as the famous advertisement put it.
The shortage comes at what should be a time of celebration, as Hebrew National, which was founded on Manhattan's Lower East Side, celebrates its 100th birthday.
"At this point, we've been working very hard to increase production," said Julie DeYoung, a spokeswoman for ConAgra Foods Inc., the Omaha, Neb.-based food giant that bought Hebrew National in 1993. "We are for the most part filling orders on the most popular products. For the minor products, there will continue to be some shortages for a period of time."
The most popular products, DeYoung said, are the outfit's extensive line of hot dogs - Hebrew National's Web site lists half a dozen varieties of beef franks alone. Products still experiencing shortages, she said, include such packaged lunchmeats as turkey and salami.
Hebrew National has seen "several-digit growth" in demand for its hot dogs in recent years, DeYoung said.
"Demand is outstripping the current supply," she said. "We have built a new manufacturing facility" inQuincy, Mich., "to allow us to increase production to be able to fully meet demand."
Getting the new factory up to speed - what De-Young calls a "ramp-up process that takes time" - has contributed to the shortage.
Demand is strongest on the East Coast, she said, though demand on the West Coast is picking up. And as super retailers like Costco begin stocking Hebrew National products, DeYoung said, the company is becoming, as its name suggests, national.
Locally, Neal Borenstein of Chompie's acknowledged that the family-owned New York-style deli has not received a shipment from Hebrew National since Dec. 10.
Borenstein said he brought in a non-kosher product, but "our guests didn't like it."
It was a different story at Scott's Generations restaurant where owner Scott Snyder said he's had little problems procuring Hebrew National Beef. Snyder explained that he is a distributor.
Two strictly kosher eateries - Scottsdale Kosher Market and Segal's New Place - don't carry Hebrew National. Brandon Budd, a spokesman for the market, and David Segal, owner of Segal's, said Hebrew National does not meet their kashrut standards.
Contributing Editor Hank Neyer contributed to this story.
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