Omaha, NB - Two trucking companies near Omaha have built Kosher Truck-Tank Washes to "Kasher" trucks, to meet the demands of food manufacturers. The washes are necessary for transportation of kosher food or their ingredients.
"Most companies now are totally kosher, totally following the kosher rules," said Rick Jasa. He and wife Linda Ingram-Jasa opened Ingram Tank Washes Inc., in Blair, Neb., about two months ago. They also operate Jasa Transit, which hauls only kosher food loads.
During a kosher wash, water is held at a higher temperature for a longer period of time, usually at least 190 degrees for at least 15 minutes. The process specifies standards for water filtering for particulates, for pre-rinsing and final rinsing, and for detergents used in wash cycles. Each tank is sealed with numbers that correspond to paperwork for the wash.
The Jasas' computerized systems include digital keypads allowing operators to request different types of washes depending on what was in the tank.
The wash systems produce printouts that are kept on file and inspected by a rabbi from the organization that certified the tank wash as kosher. Each truck tank also must be individually kosher certified. If a non-kosher food is hauled in the tank, the tank must be recertified as kosher.
