An application for a class-action lawsuit against Burger King was filed last Thursday in the Tel Aviv District Court after a religious man ate a cheeseburger at a branch that was presented as kosher and later discovered that the cheese was from cow's milk.
In recent months, Burger King has launched a campaign for kosher substitutes, such as burgers with "bacon" that is not made from pork but from turkey, as well as a "cheeseburger" that includes a vegan cheddar "cheese". That is: a religious person can eat a "cheeseburger" with "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, outside of which is a Burger King sign that reads "kosher," and the plaintiff assumed that the branch was kosher.
According to the motion for approval of a class-action lawsuit, filed by attorney Amit Ben Aroya, after the plaintiff bit into a hamburger with was 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. It was further made clear to him that the branch had once been kosher, but it was no longer kosher," read the statement.
The plaintiff further 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."
The Burger King branch stated in response that "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."