When Rav Shlomo Shmulevitz, head of the Department for
Mitzvos Ha'aretz at the Jerusalem Rabbinate set out to
eradicate non-kosher fruit waxes (shellac), few believed he
would ever achieve much success in his lofty goal. Now,
following a seven-year campaign backed by the Institute for
Torah-based Agriculture, the battle has finally been won
besiyata deShmaya. The following brief conversation
was held as he was making his way to another place where an
opportunity for zikui horabim in the area of kashrus
calls.
B. Yisraeli: Rav Shmulevitz, why didn't people believe
you would succeed?
From [the packaging companies'] perspective, the wax produced
good results. It lengthened the apples' shelf life and
prevented insects from boring in. The packinghouses have been
using it for many years and it has taken root in Israel and
abroad. There was no one who would have been willing to
exchange it for a different substance. Likewise the factories
that produce fruit wax considered the matter and informed me
that there was no alternative--this was the substance,
period.
B.Yisraeli: Did you fail to understand that you were
supposed to throw in the towel at that point? Since
Maran HaRav Yosef Sholom Eliashiv ruled that these apples had
to be peeled before eating, we took special note of the
matter and decided to try to stop this michshol in any
way possible. (See the upcoming edition of the periodical
Halichos Sodeh, which cites Kovetz Teshuvos of
HaRav Eliashiv, Siman 73.) I traveled to factories
abroad that manufacture these substances. Outside of Israel,
most fruits are covered with wax. We conducted searches and
inquiries until eventually we learned of a small factory that
uses an alternative substance to manufacture wax. We notified
the wax manufacturers in Israel that we (the Jerusalem
rabbinate) were converting to the alternative substance and
we would no longer be able to give a hechsher for
apples unless they are coated with a substance under our
supervision. Boruch Hashem besiyata deShmaya because
many wholesalers are under the supervision of the Department
for Mitzvos Ha'aretz at the Jerusalem Rabbinate, they applied
pressure on the packinghouses, and in the meantime
besiyata deShmaya other kashrus organizations joined
us and stood at our side.
We ran the first production abroad because in Israel there
was no approval to produce the new substance. We sent a
mashgiach kashrus to oversee all the details of the
production process of the new substance from close up, and
that paved the way. Little by little the factories in Israel
also began to use the alternative substance in the production
process--Amgal and Boydek, which markets domestically--until
recently the largest [packing] company in Israel, Sapack,
also began marketing only the new substances for apple
coatings. The kosher coating eliminates all concerns over
yotzei min hatomei, which was the root of the problem
with wax produced from insect secretions.
It should be noted that there is still a problem with
coatings on oranges when they are used for their juice, but
it is not such a problem when eaten because the peels are
discarded. There remains a major problem with various types
of candy, such as hard candies and chocolate, because
factories in Israel coat them and make them shiny using this
substance. The mehadrin lines avoid shining hard
candies and chocolate, but the general public eats candy with
the old substance, the problematic one.
At this stage we have succeeded in halting the problem with
domestically grown oranges. Therefore it should be added that
those who use imported oranges do have reason for concern
because outside of Israel there is no one to inspect the
factories. Only recently we discovered a certain production
line that mixes in a milk-based substance. There is also a
problem with alcohol.
