Fairfax District : Probe of Non-Kosher Meat

The state attorney general’s office has charged a Fairfax Avenue butcher shop with selling non-kosher turkey as kosher.

The civil action, which carries possible penalties of $2,500 or more, alleges that Bazar Meats also failed to keep the paperwork required for butcher shops to prove that their stock of fresh meat comes from kosher suppliers.

David Levi, who was named in the complaint, denied the charge, saying he had just taken over the operation and was not yet in business when county investigators seized a case of turkeys two months ago.

Bazar Meats is inside Bazar Market, a separate enterprise where Levi worked before taking over the meat counter on his own, he said.

“I’m ready to go to court, and the landlord will testify that the box wasn’t mine,” Levi said.

Senior Assistant Atty. Gen. Herschel Elkins, who filed the complaint after an investigation by agents of the Los Angeles County Department of Weights and Measures, said the defendant has 30 days to respond to the complaint.

“We haven’t alleged any complaints at this time against Bazar Market,” he said.