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• Latest alert posted on Thu March 12th, 2009

KASHRUT NOTICE - Fruit imported from Israel (avocados, mineolas and possibly others) are now available in South Africa. These fruits are produce of the previous year (5768) which was a shmitta year, and are therefore classified as having kedushat shvi’it (sanctity of the seventh year). The following rules apply to fruits and vegetables having kedushat shvi’it:

•Fruit normally eaten by humans should not be given to animals.
•Vegetables, such as potatoes, which are normally cooked, may not be eaten raw.
•Fruits and vegetables normally eaten raw should not be cooked.
•Fruits and vegetables that are eaten both raw and cooked can be eaten either way.
•Juice may only be extracted from such fruits or vegetables where this is normally done, e.g., oranges and apples. It is not permissible to extract juice from, for example, bananas.
•Leftovers, peels and husks which are normally eaten or have remnants of food attached, must be wrapped first, and then disposed of in the normal manner.
•If a food with kedushat shvi’it is cooked with other food, all the food must be regarded as having kedushat shvi’it.

Purchasing such fruits with cash poses a halachic difficulty which is beyond the scope of this notice to elaborate on. Therefore, one may either purchase them with a cheque or credit card, or if one wishes to use cash, then other non shmitta items (not necessarily fruits) should be included in the purchase.

Dum Dum lollipops from Spangler Corporation with a "K" or OU on them are acceptable. Chewy Dum Dums from Brazil are not kosher.