I heard this anecdote about ‘self-certification’
A man went into a restaurant/fallafel place/pizza shop/insert your own in Geulah, and asked the owner who provides hashgacha here. The typical Israeli store owner pointed to a portrait on the wall of an elderly distinguished looking long-bearded Jew, and said “You see this man, he is my grandfather!”.
The potential customer replied, “If your grandfather was serving and there was a picture of you on the wall, I would buy here.”
Btw, Joseph, the tag for italics is em not i, but unfortunately, you can’t edit posts here.