Tiv Ta'am ( he, טִיב טַעַם, "Quality Taste") is an Israeli supermarket chain, notable for being the country's most prominent purveyor of pork and other products not complying with the

kosher (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...

dietary laws of Judaism. Tiv Ta'am is Israel's largest producer and supplier of non-kosher meat,Gaydamak acquires non-kosher supermarket chain
Ynetnews, 10 June 2007 and is also noted for most of its branches staying open during the Jewish Sabbath and on Jewish holidays (except Yom Kippur). Some of its branches are open 24/7. As of 2020, there are over 40 Tiv Ta'am branches throughout Israel. The company is also involved in food processing and formerly in telecommunications.TLV:TTAM
Google Finance, accessed 12 December 2008

History

Tiv Ta'am was founded by Kobi Tribitch and Tzachi Lipka in 1989. The company is today a national chain. In addition to the supermarkets throughout Israel, Tiv Ta'am is also involved in food processing and production, including hot dogs, chicken, fish, seafood, dried fruits, cheeses and wine, and formerly in telecommunication, which included the importing, marketing and distribution of telecommunication switchboards. In 2007 Tiv Ta'am sold its holding in the telecommunication satellite company Satcom Ltd., and in September 2008 it sold its holdings in

Tadiran Telecom Tadiran Telecom (TTL) L.P., is a privately held Israeli Unified Communications and Collaboration (UC&C) company, providing UC&C systems globally. TTL is owned by Afcon Industries, which in turn is controlled by the Shlomo Group (TASE:SHLD), ...

Potential sale

In June 2007 a lot of news was made and uproar among certain segments of the Israeli public,Gaydamak, Tiv Ta'am deal falls through
Ynetnews, 18 June 2007 when Arcadi Gaydamak, Israeli businessman, made an offer to purchase the company and making a public commitment to turn the supermarket kosher and stop selling pork. He also said that he would make

Mizra Mizra ( he, מִזְרָע, ''lit.'' Sowing) is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located between Afula and Nazareth, it falls under the jurisdiction of Jezreel Valley Regional Council. In it had a population of . History Kibbutz Mizra was establis ...

, the factory which produces pork products for Tiv Ta'am, supply chicken instead of pork. A few days later, the deal collapsed, when it became apparent that it was infeasible to turn the supermarket kosher in addition that Kobi Tribitch, refused to knock off $10 million from the purchase price. It was infeasible to turn it kosher because Mizra had a contract with Tiv Ta'am that allowed it to sell pork, and some analysts believed Gaydamak realized most of Tiv Ta'am's customers shop there because it is not kosher.

Controversy

Controversy was created in 2006 when the Israeli investigative affairs show ''

Kolbotek Kolbotek ( he, כלבוטק) is a veteran Israeli consumer affairs and investigative reporting TV show on Channel 2 (Israel), Channel 2. It premiered in December 1974 on Channel 1 (Israel), Channel 1 and was then presented by Daniel Pe'er. Since ...

'' alleged that Tiv Ta'am was selling meat after its expiration date. In 2007, ''Kolbotek'' showed video of cats roaming one of Tiv Ta'am's storerooms and eating food, prompting Tiv Ta'am to run a $500,000 advertising campaign to improve its image.Tiv Taam pours $500,000 into spicing up its image
Haaretz, 11 October 2007 Tiv Ta'am has been criticized by

ultra-Orthodox Jews Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...

for selling non-kosher products such as pork, with many boycotting the chain.

References

External links

Official website
{{TASE companies Retail companies established in 1989 Companies listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange Supermarkets of Israel Israeli brands