Trump vodka seized in kosher scam

Police have seized hundreds of bottles of Donald Trump’s vodka brand for illegally bearing labels saying the product is suitable for Jewish Passover celebrations.

Forged stickers that say the vodka is “kosher for Passover” – the Jewish holiday during which people are not permitted to consume anything made with leavened or fermented grain – were discovered on hundreds of bottles in a distribution centre, leading to the arrest of three people.

Vodka is typically made from fermented grain, forbidding the majority of vodka brands from being consumed over the Jewish festival. However, the Trump vodka on sale in Israel is made from potatoes, allowing it to be drank during the holiday.

But following a newspaper investigation which questioned the brand’s kosher credentials, police in the country carried out a raid on a warehouse in the town of Haifa, telling the press that their “kosher for Passover” labels are phoney.

Trump vodka is one of several failed ventures launched by the controversial US presidential nominee and property magnate Donald Trump.

It launched in 2007, but stopped selling in the US in around 2011 after producer Drinks Americas, which had rights over the Trump moniker, said the brand failed to meet sales thresholds.

But the spirit found popularity in Israel during Passover in recent years because it is one of the few vodka brands that can be consumed.

After Drinks Americas dropped the brand in 2011, its Israeli importer, Pixel, found a new German producer that could continue producing the brand in kosher form.

However, this process took several years, and vodkas tested for certification before 2013 were discovered to be non-kosher.

“We discovered that instead of one of the ingredients that was supposed to be kosher for Passover, they used a different one”, the investigation by the Jerusalem Post quoted Rabbi David Silverstone, of the OK Kosher certification organisation, saying.

It leaves the possibility that there are still many non-kosher versions of the vodka in circulation, according to the investigation.

The police raid on scam kosher labels now throws even more doubt on the brand’s suitability for consumption during the important religious festival.

The Donald Trump Organization has failed to respond to press enquiries.