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12 Shevat 5764 - February 4, 2004 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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Opinion & Comment
Citrus Fruit LeMehadrin

by R' Refoel Berlson

Israel is the sixth largest citrus producer in the world. We enjoy oranges and tangerines, pomelas and grapefruit in our daily winter diet. It is important to know how to enjoy them without being susceptible to the various insect infestations that they bear.

On the market is an excellent guide by Rabbi Moshe Vaye (in Hebrew), "Bedikas Hamozone Cehalacha." The newly released volume 2 has a section on fruit.

Sitting at a table with R' Moshe Vaye with a bowl of fruit between you is an amazing experience. You see before you a tangerine, pomela and orange, whereas he sees a whole miniature zoo. Fruit lice in a variety of colors: reddish brown, black, grey, the dark brown comma-shaped fruit fleas. To the untrained eye, these look like specks of dirt clinging to the fruit, but they just so happen to be alive.

How can we distinguish between fruit flies and dirt, if they are so minuscule?

Fruit flies can be easily removed, wholly intact, with a fingernail or a knife, whereas dirt clings to the fruit. These flies, fleas or aphids, have a definitely round or comma-like shape, whereas dirt spots have no distinct shape.

Then there is the "flour aphid," a small, elliptical flea, and lastly, the rust mite.

Rabbi Vaye, the list is very depressing.

Most fruit that is marketed in the shops undergoes a cleaning process in the packaging plants. Most mites are removed by this cleansing, besides which the aforementioned flour aphid is relatively rare in marketed fruit. Similarly, the rust mite is also not usually found by the time the fruit reaches the greengrocer.

Nevertheless, most fruits are infested on the surface and must be inspected before eating. Even if a superficial glance shows the fruit to be clean, it should be checked for isolated mites, especially near the stem. Fruits that did not undergo any cleansing process are liable to be covered with many insects.

In the light of Rabbi Vaye's extensive research, we cannot help wondering if previous generations were aware of what we know today.

Did they, inadvertently, 'stumble' and sin in this important area, out of ignorance? And if not, why must we be more cautious and stringent than they?

Rabbi Vaye: We certainly cannot say that previous generations were unaware of the stumbling blocks. I have researched a list of citations in the sources of scholarly works on the subject of insect infestation regarding all known fruit, beginning with the Mishna and through to the works of the Acharonim. One of these latter sages even mentions a certain Jewish community that failed to produce any Torah scholars, precisely because they defiled themselves by the eating of insects.

Throughout all the generations, our rabbis warned about this subject, so we cannot say that it is a matter of new stringencies or chumros. It is important to note that all the rulings which I state in my works in the names of contemporary rabbonim were presented to them for their approval after they were written down, word for word.

One of the first lectures which I gave on the subject was attended by the daughter of R' Shlomo Zalman Auerbach ztvk'l. Afterwards, she went home and told her father about this "new speaker who devotes himself to the subject of insect infestation." She wanted to know what he thought about the matter. He said that it was important to see if he forbade the eating of fruit or sought solutions to the problems involved. And that is truly our purpose -- to find the correct and permissible way of partaking of fruit.

In the past, for example, people were not accustomed to washing and scrubbing fruit with detergent.

Jewish communities lived for centuries in the same countries, and in each village and district the local inhabitants were familiar with the various types of prevalent infestations and pitfalls and how to avoid them. As the Pri Chodosh puts it, "Everything varies according to time and place." With the changes of the modernized world, Jews relocated to different places and people found themselves faced with new problems whose solutions were unknown to them.

There is another decisive factor that differentiates these times from the past, but first allow me to clarify why in Jerusalemite Yiddish, an orange is called 'portugal.' The source of this name lies in the fact that in the past, this fruit first came to this country via Portuguese merchants. Add to this the anomaly of a fruit called Washington coming from Brazil and the Valencia species brought from California and others. These facts lead us to a cornerstone in our attitude towards the subject of worms: every country suffers from its own agricultural infestation.

The orange, for example, which emigrated from country to country, took along the pests of each place, so that where a fruit might suffer from just one or two kinds in its home habitat, in the course of its travels many other pests latched on for the ride.

In addition, the export of fruit from country to country disturbs the ecological balance, since it comes with a new species of pest, but not with its natural enemy which was to be found only in that country of origin.

How can we avoid eating these insects?

1. Peeling. Study the peel. If the fruit appears completely clean, there is no reason to examine it further. If the peel looks infested, one must peel it off and also study the peeled fruit, one's hands and the knife to see if anything remained behind after the peel is removed. If you see anything suspicious, you must rinse it off well or remove it with the tip of the knife.

In order to avoid the transfer of any insects, it is advisable to scour the peel with a metallic scouring pad or with a firm bristle brush and a bit of detergent. Then rinse well. This is advisable for whole citrus fruit which children take along to school.

2. Cut the fruit. If you wish to cut up the fruit with the same knife, you peeled it, you must first examine both sides of the blade to see if anything adhered to it. If the knife was not examined, or the fruit was cut with its peel, one must study the area of the cut to see if anything transferred to it.

3. Squeezing. Before one squeezes fruit for its juice, one must examine it externally. If it seems to be infested, one must be careful that no insects get into the juicer or the juice. You can strain it with a fine mesh strainer.

Citrus fruit prepared industrially in a plant undergoes various preparation processes that allow us to assume that no insects fell in (partial insects are considered bottel in the mixture). Natural juice that was prepared in a small establishment, at home or in a kiosk should be strained with a fine mesh strainer.

4. Use of the peel. We will omit dealing with instructions of use of the peel since the shellac used on the fruit raises other questions of kashrus, especially regarding citrus fruit. As of this year, a kosher waxy application is being used to shine apples.

Rabbi Vaye -- are the black spots really worms? Creatures without head or feet? (Refers to scales on citrus fruit.)

What we see on the peels of citrus is the dark protective covering which the insect has and which is also considered halachically inedible, being termed "what is derived from something impure." This particular insect undergoes several stages of development, in one of which the legs of the female atrophy and drop off. At this point, it really is round. In order to actually view the pest, one must turn it over very gently and study it with a high-quality magnifying glass.

Very often, people are surprised to discover that the 'black spots' are actually living creatures! When the doctor of R' Shlomo Zalman Auerbach ztvk'l prescribed figs for his diet, the Rov sent a bag of figs to me for inspection via two Torah scholars. We opened up the figs and discovered a broad array of insects, including mites that resemble small dots. They were amazed to discover that what appeared to be tiny dots were actually walking creatures.

They returned with their findings and this product was forthwith removed from his diet. Just at that time, a G-d- fearing talmid chochom entered and they briefed him on what they had just learned. They gave him a fig, which he took outside to examine in the sunlight. He immediately returned, repeating in amazement, "Es geit, es geit (It walks)!"

*

Eight years ago, Rabbi Vaye was invited to a series of lectures in the U.S. In the course of his visit, he gave a talk to the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations (the O-U). Members of his audience were skeptical as to the relevancy of his points in the U.S. They felt his words only applied in Israel and argued it back and forth.

One enterprising person went out to the nearest greengrocer and bought fifty dollars worth of common fruits and vegetables to put an end to this theoretical argument. All the species were found to be infested to some degree. And when Rabbi Vaye opened up a package of California dates, which are considered to be of superior quality, a worm crept out of the very first one!

Is it always like that?

Rabbi Vaye: Certainly not.

I considered it especial siyata deShmaya to help illustrate the severity of the subject. Towards the end of the day, I was very tired and hungry. I took the bag of dates on the table and began examining them, one by one. Only the very first one was infested; the others were clean and I was able to eat my fill.

Internal Infestation

We have dealt with exterior infestation and now go on to the inner visitation of insects in citrus fruit.

This infestation comes from fruit flies which penetrate the skin and lay their eggs inside. In general, the site of the penetration is not visible from the outside. The worms which hatch from the eggs are very tiny and slowly penetrate deeper into the fruit, growing to a size of nine millimeters.

Fruit from an orchard, that is treated correctly, is generally clean and it is unnecessary to examine it since today, this subject is under national surveillance. In a year of scant rainfall and towards the end of the citrus season (in summer), the fruit is sometimes infested and one should examine it. On the other hand, fruit grown in private gardens or not properly treated and fumigated may very well be infested.

Last year, one of the experts called up Rabbi Vaye to say that there was a higher incidence of fruit flies because the summer heat ran well into the winter.

A description of internal infestation: an area that seems softer, or that is darker inside. One can sometimes discern a hole that penetrates to the interior, or a dark spot on the inner white peel. One should peel the fruit and study the white peel for any discoloration.

In the event of discoloration, one should cut open the segments and examine them for worms, which are a cream-white with a black spot on the head. Dead worms become darker, almost brownish. They may be difficult to spot when they are small and in grapefruit, they resemble the fruit itself. As they develop, the area of infestation becomes softer and turns a darkish hue.

If one squeezes juice from such a fruit, one must study the liquid carefully to see if anything is floating, but it is advisable to strain it well.

Are dark spots on a lemon problematic?

When a lemon turns old, it develops brown spots, which are not a sign of infestation. Lemons and esrogim which are marketed commercially are generally clean from inside infestation.

Sample Testing

If you suspect internal infestation, you should squeeze the juice from 2-3 fruits and study if worms float to the surface. If you do find worms, you should not eat the fruit of that purchase, though you may drink the juice after it is well strained.

Complain!

It is important to know that the greater the awareness, the quicker the problem is addressed. For example, about 15 years ago, one could hardly find a package of rice or dried beans that was not somewhat infested.

When the Tamir hotel was first opened, a certain Admor was scheduled to stay for Shabbos with his entourage. On Friday morning, the kashrus inspectors checked a sample of beans and found it to be infested. The second batch was also infested, as was the third.

That Shabbos, the Admor and his followers ate cholent without bebblach. Surely, his neshomoh yeseiroh enjoyed the fact. Today, however, the situation is greatly improved, which is why it is so important to register complaints when one does find infestation. This puts companies on the alert and causes them to improve the product.

Summary of citrus checking:

1. Peeling. After peeling, study the knife and the fruit for bugs. Remove.

2. Internal examination. If the fruit is soft and looks strange, and has brown spots or holes on the white inner peel, one must examine the fruit for white worms.

3. Squeezing. One must be careful not to squeeze insects into the juice. Examine the juice for floating white bugs. Juice that is strained with a fine mesh strainer can be drunk.


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