Is it safe to buy products in an all kosher store or one with a designated separate kosher section without checking for the hechsher? What if I know the owner?
A. One should be careful in all circumstances. It is fairly common, for instance, for Pesach displays in unsupervised supermarkets to include products which are kosher for year-round use but not for Pesach. Even in an all kosher store, the personal standards of the proprietor often do not extend to the products sold in his store. For instance, the store may carry a product bearing a poor hechsher that the owner would not eat from. Another example being a store that generally caters to consumers who eat Pas Palter, with the assumption that consumers who keep Pas Yisroel know what to buy. This being the case, the buyer should always check for an acceptable hechsher that meets his kashrus standards.
