INSECTS INSECTS EVERYWHERE

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The CRC
Rabbi Sholem Fishbane of the CRC, Chicago Rabbinical Council, worries that Kosher consumers may be unwittingly consuming sea horses and mini shrimp. "The main concern with nori is insects. Nori is dried toasted seaweed and like all vegetables, it may well be infested with bugs, commonly, sea horses and mini shrimp. SEE

Most companies rely on quite sophisticated automated wash and verification systems to ensure that vegetables are bug-free. The trend for high human component industries to move operations to India, China and the like has seen a heavy investment in the development and installation of the very best bug removal systems. Never in the history of fresh and preserved vegetables has the quality been better.
Most, if not all Kosher certifiers, rely on these systems. The agency just verifies that the vegetable surfactant and sanitiser is Kosher approved and they also check the used wash water for bugs. 

The Aruch HaShulChan
The Aruch HaShulchan (Y.D. 100:13-18) argues convincingly that since most insects are neither readily visible nor removable, they qualify as a mixture, a TaA’RoVes. They are deemed to be one entity with the vegetable.

He also quotes authorities that allow a Beryah, a complete item, to be considered Battel at a ratio of 1/60.
Additionally, he quotes Poskim who contend that the rule of Beryah does not apply to SheRaTzim which are disgusting and not considered food.

Furthermore even if the insects are a prohibited BerYah which should not be Bottel, nevertheless since it is only DeRabbonon (a Rabbinic decree), it will not be prohibited in circumstances of doubt.

Who Is Gd Talking To?
We must begin with the Talmudic dictum, Lo NitNo Torah LeMalAchey HaShoRes – the Torah was not given to the ministering Angels, meaning we are human and Gd does not impose demands that are impossible to meet. There is no man or woman who has walked the face of this earth who can say with absolute certainty, “I have never eaten a Sheretz, a prohibited insect in my entire life.” This means, Gd does not expect anyone to be able to make such a declaration.

Unwelcome Stowaways
Raw fruit and vegetables are Kosher. However vegetable are not always just vegetables. Sometimes there are visitors, non-Kosher visitors, aphids, thrips, beetles or worms that come along for the ride.

What’s More Non-Kosher Than Ham?
As a matter of fact, insects are more “non-Kosher” than ham. More Torah prohibitions are violated when ingesting an aphid than when eating ham. At the same time they are are less "non-Kosher" than ham. We are not permitted to cook a soup with ham and remove the ham before eating the soup since the taste of ham is prohibited, but we are permitted to cook insect infested vegetables and remove them before eating the soup. Why is this so? Because the taste of insects is not prohibited by Torah Law. And although our Sages prohibited cooking insects in the first instance, they did not forbid it where our intention is to cook the vegetables. This explains how we have Kosher wine, jam, oil and flour; all of which are made form foods that are most certainly riddled with prohibited insects.

An enterprising person manufactures and sells "Kosher" cooking bags, bearing a Hechsher, a Kosher stamp [also a profitable enterprise] in which "buggy" veggies are enclosed in order to cook the veggies to flavour the pot. But this does not mean you can take a bunch of insects put them in one of these bags and cook it in a pot of soup. This is prohibited by Rabbinic decree. 

The Halachic rationale behind this strange arrangement is: we are not permitted to consume WHOLE insects. Insects that are missing bits and pieces, even if missing just a single bit, are not prohibited. Insects are not food, and the flavour of an insect is not a whole insect. In truth, we really should not require the bag since we can assume that in the processing and cooking, the insect will no longer be complete. That is why ordinary frozen chopped spinach for example, is Kosher. The question that needs to be answered is: why is this not true for Nori sheets? 

Q. How does it help to cook infested vegetables in a gourmet bag? How fine must the mesh be?
    A. The taste of bugs is not prohibited. As long as we can ensure that the whole intact bug does not make its way into the food we eat, it is permitted. The mesh must be fine enough to ensure that even small bugs will not slip through holes. SEE

How Closely Does Gd Want Us to Look?
So Gd does not demand (nor want) that we should be obsessive compulsive in assuring ourselves that we are not eating insects. Gd only wants us to do what is normal, what the average person is capable of doing, after all we are not angels.  But this is not so simple. Besides the difficulty of determining the AVERAGE eye, we need concern ourselves with AVERAGE circumstances. Is it necessary to use powerful lamps to illuminate the leaves or to have them backlit? There is also a dispute if the insect can be noticed but not identified. Often one can readily see a spot but its identification as an insect requires the use of a magnifying glass.

Three Categories of Infestation
The Torah and the Sages do not require that we be absolutely certain that the foods we eat are utterly free of insects. We are permitted to eat vegetables, without washing or checking them if they are vegetables in which insects are not commonly found. These are referred to as MiUt SheAno MaTzuy – an insignificant minority. They may be eaten without washing or inspection notwithstanding the fact that there may be an insect or two which will be eaten, for in the eyes of Halacha there are no insects at all. (See MishKaNos YaA’Kov Y”D 17 & Beis Ephraim Shut HaChaDaShos 8) From the Halacha’s perspective no prohibitions are violated even though insects have been consumed.
There are other vegetables which are very often infested. These are known as, MoochZak BeToLa’im i.e. a majority of samples would be expected to contain insects. Such veggies require by Torah law, inspection or a reliable washing process to verify that insects have been removed.

The Middle Category
MiUt HaMaTzuy describes a category somewhere in between the previous two. Most such vegetables are not infested but quite a few are. And here is another "very hard to define" definition. Although by Torah Law such foods do not require washing or checking, the Sages require that they be checked for insects. (Ramo Y”D 84:8 & Shut Rashbah 274. See also Shach Yoreh Deah 84: 28 and Sifsei Daas).

Defining MiUt HaMaTzuy
Now that we know the name let’s see if we can pin a percentage onto this category. Some rule that an infestation rate exceeding 10% deems the vegetables to be MiUt HaMaTzuy. Others feel that the cut off point is 7%. There is very little proof to substantiate these values.
Other Poskim look at the broad expectation and if such foods are usually consumed without fear by those who are repulsed by the thought of eating bugs, it is considered MiUt SheAno MaTzuy, which requires no checking.
Let's say the inspection discovers more than 10%, will passing the 10% inspection after a second wash suffice, or must we now inspect every single leaf?

Tinned and Frozen Veggies
The vegetables we buy in tins or as frozen or dehydrated convenience foods are all thoroughly cleaned and inspected. The standards are stricter than what is actually set by law since, “it is the housewife and not the government inspectors who buy it, and if she finds dead insects, she will not buy our product again."

The vegetables are typically washed in a chlorine bath to destroy all harmful bacteria such as e-coli, and a surfactant also known as a wetting agent, is added to improve the removal of clinging insects. If insects are found after the second wash, most companies will utilise the entire batch for other purposes. Nevertheless, there are no companies that guarantee their product to be completely free of insects.

Then There is The Question of Bittul
Non-Kosher ingredients in certain proportions will not render a product unacceptable. If less than 1/60 of the total food volume, the non-Kosher food is null and considered as though it does not-exist. The food is Kosher. Why then does this rule not permit the consumption of infested vegetables, since the insects are less than 1/60 of the entire volume?

Sometimes There is No Bittul
However, non-Kosher foods that are noticeable or significant in their own right, are not considered null even if in miniscule proportions.
For instance, a non Kosher piece of meat that has a noticeably different colour or a complete insect, which is significant in its own right, are not null and will render the entire mixture non-Kosher irrespective of their miniscule proportions unless the Halacha deems that they are not there as in the case of MiUt SheAno MaTzuy.

Bittul Requires One Mixture
Now, in leafy vegetables like cabbage and lettuce, insects on the surface of the leaf are visible and are considered to be an independent entity. They do not form one coherent mixture with the vegetable. Therefore aside from the fact that they are significant in their own right, they are not null and the vegetables must be checked.

Why are Cluster Veggies Different to Leafy Veggies?
However, in vegetables such as cauliflower and broccoli, the insects are hidden in clusters, florets, and crevices. Since the insects cannot be seen unless a change takes place, i.e. washing to flush out the insects, the vegetables and insects are considered one entity. Additionally, we are not certain that there are insects in the vegetables and we therefore must permit them as in all cases of doubt regarding Rabbinic prohibitions; Safek DeRabonnon LeKuLa. Nonetheless, we are encouraged to wash and check even these vegetables. 


This was the published opinion of Rabbi Moshe Heinemann of the Star-K Kashrus agency. Rabbi Heinemann  also published that he discussed this with leading Halachic authorities and they agreed. However, this article http://www.star-k.org/kashrus/kk-vegetables-leaf.htm is no longer published on the Star-K site but can be found here, ,  

The Aruch HaShulChan
The Aruch HaShulchan (Y.D. 100:13-18) argues convincingly that since most insects are neither readily visible nor removable they qualify as a mixture, a TaA’RoVes. They are deemed to be one entity with the vegetable.

He also quotes authorities that allow a Beryah, a complete item, to be considered Battel at a ratio of 1/60.
Additionally, he quotes Poskim who contend that the rule of Beryah does not apply to SheRaTzim which are disgusting and not considered food.

Furthermore even if the insects are a prohibited BerYah which should not be Bottel, nevertheless since it is only DeRabbonon (a Rabbinic decree), it will not be prohibited in circumstances of doubt.

Who Checks the Fruit Used for Making Kosher Jam?
Perhaps you have wondered how fruits for jams and grapes for wine and grape juice are checked for insects. Then again, many are not bothered by such questions; the Kosher consumer on the whole accepts without question, the guidance of (some) Kosher agencies.

To explain the mystery of making Kosher jam from bug infested fruit such as strawberries for example, we must first explain that only whole insects are prohibited by Torah law. (Some Kosher agencies will not permit various berries to be used since they are too difficult to check. Posted 6/6/07 11:29 PM. The CRC [Central Rabbinical Congress of NY, Hisachdus Harabbonim] has issued a pesak today that frozen strawberries from Bodek are 100% OK but only if they are cooked or pulverised.
An emergency alert was released proclaiming that even with extensive checks and washing; the berries are not to be eaten. It read: “Until now, the method of washing strawberries thoroughly in soapy water in order to remove any insects was considered by Jewish religious law sufficient. However, recent tests have proven that even after this rigorous procedure, insects are still present. “Until this problem is solved therefore, fresh strawberries should not be eaten.”)

What Did The Torah Prohibit?
Dismembered insects are prohibited only by the Sages. This was considered way before jam was ever invented. The Sages dealt with this problem when eating honey which invariably was unfiltered and contained bees’ legs. Tosafos (Avoda Zara 69a D”H HaHu) questions the practice of eating such honey and its contaminants. Rabbeinu Tam explains that since they are "mere bones," they are permitted. Rosh (Avoda Zara 5:11) adds that the bee's legs are "mere dust," and hence they are not included in the prohibition of eating bees. [See Temura 31a and Pesachim 21b] There appears to be no prohibition against eating bones of non-Kosher animals.

Carmine or Cochineal
As an aside it is interesting to note that for many years foods have been coloured with the highly valued, beautifully coloured and very stable Carmine (also called cochineal) which is essentially nothing more than the dried [which makes it in Halachic terms no more that dust of the earth, AfRa DeAlMa] and crushed cochineal insect. Cochineal is famous in the world of Halacha, enjoying the attention of some of our greatest Talmudic minds and promoting much heated debate. Today, many Kashrus authorities do not permit its use. [See Kosher Food Production by Rabbi Z Y Blech (p. 308). Do you remember the time when some did not eat the red 'Smarties'? They were said to have been coloured with cochineal.] Dismembered fresh insects however are generally not considered “mere dust” and therefore remain prohibited by the Rabbi's decree.

So jams and purees containing chopped fresh insects are not prohibited by Torah law since the insects are no longer complete; they have also lost their significance as a BerYa, a complete unit which will not be Battel, null. Nevertheless, there are still some problems: a) they are prohibited by the Sages; b) we are not permitted to add (even Rabbinically) non-Kosher ingredients in proportions that are insignificant, meaning we are not to make a mixture in which the insects will become null. Taking whole insects that are forbidden by Torah law and crushing them to remove this Torah prohibition should certainly be prohibited.

However, we are permitted to make jam and wine since the bugs and insects are already there and are considered to be an integral part of the mixture. [Which raises the question why are bugs an integral mixture with grapes but not an integral mixture with lettuce leaves, although the lettuce leaves unlike grapes, are suspected of retaining whole bugs which will be eaten.] Additionally the dismembering of the insects is the ordinary process of production and not a process dedicated to making the insects null. Furthermore many consider the presence of insects as uncertain, a Safek which directs us to be lenient since we are dealing with a Rabbinic prohibition.

Similarly, possibly infested produce (which would require checking) is permitted without checking and without being pulverised if it is cooked, based upon the notion of SeFek SeFeiKa (a double doubt). We are not certain that there are insects in the food, (one doubt), and even if there are, they probably disintegrate through the cooking (second doubt).

Here is Something That No One [Yet] Argues About
Every Kosher agency authorising wine makers and jam manufacturers relies on this analysis and none have [yet] protested this approach.

This article is prepared with reference to a variety of sources including http://www.star-k.org/kashrus/kk-vegetables-leaf.htm and observations by Rabbi Z Y Blech.