The moment headlines revealed that the Food and Drug Administration would be halting federal testing of commercial milk, the Orthodox Union’s kosher hotline was flooded with concerned inquiries, JTA reports.
“The flood of inquiries was off the hook … crazy: emails, calls, WhatsApp, everything,” Rabbi Avrohom Gordimer, who leads the dairy division at OU Kosher, told JTA.
People were reaching out to express fears that the change in federal policy might jeopardize the kosher status of standard supermarket milk. Since 1954, many frum Jews in America have relied on a ruling by Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l that federal monitoring of the dairy industry suffices to ensure its kashrus.
Halacha dictates that milk can only be considered kosher if it originates from a kosher species. One way to ensure this is through direct Jewish supervision over the milking process—something that was once feasible but is impractical in modern industrial settings.
Rav Moshe, the posek hador, ruled that stringent government oversight could substitute for some elements of Jewish supervision. Given that U.S. law mandates that only cow’s milk can be labeled as milk, and that federal inspectors regularly visit dairies to enforce regulations, he concluded that this system was sufficient for Jews to rely on.
But the question now arises: if the federal framework changes or is rolled back, does Rav Moshe’s psak still stand?
According to Rabbi Gordimer, the answer is yes. After carefully examining what has and hasn’t changed at the FDA, the OU determined that the situation does not impact the kosher status of milk.
“This development has no impact whatsoever on the kosher status of ‘chalav stam’ that Rabbi Feinstein permitted in the US, as the primary oversight of farms and dairy factories is performed by state governments; the FDA is a mere secondary body for this purpose,” he said by email.
Furthermore, Rabbi Gordimer clarified that the testing recently suspended by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pertains only to identifying certain banned substances or contaminants. The actual physical inspections of dairy plants—which are central to Rav Moshe’s ruling—are still taking place.
“There has been no change in inspections, which are ongoing,” Gordimer said.
Additionally, the regulation that prohibits labeling anything other than cow’s milk as “milk” remains firmly in effect.
Nevertheless, reports about the regulatory changes have triggered anxiety in the kosher community. One user on the Facebook group Great Kosher Restaurant Foodies posted: “Are we seeing the first step in the end of chalav stam…”
Some segments of the Jewish community have never relied on Rav Moshe’s ruling and consume only cholov Yisroel, milk that is supervised by Jews throughout the process. However, cholov Yisroel milk is less widely available outside the tri-state area.
While OU Kosher and health experts insist there’s no immediate risk, the decision to scale back milk testing could be a sign that kashrus agencies will need to stay vigilant as broader reforms take shape under the Trump administration. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who holds unconventional views on several issues, has signaled he intends to overhaul policies touching everything from vaccines and water fluoridation to food safety regulations.
{Matzav.com}
Stop homogenized and pasteurized milk for kosher milk and bring in only raw milk which is much healthier and safer, as has well been proven for centuries before Big Pharma and their associates needed to fill their pockets.
The Milk Cure, 1910
• ANCIENT: Since ancient times, an exclusive raw milk diet has been used to cure many diseases.
• MAYO CLINIC: In the early 1900s, the “Milk Cure” was used at the Mayo clinic to successfully treat cancer, weight loss, kidney disease, allergies, skin problems, urinary tract problems, prostate problems, chronic fatigue and many other chronic conditions.
• ONLY WITH RAW MILK: The Milk Cure only works with raw milk; pasteurized milk does not have these curative powers.
Most people have no idea that cows are now treated surgically to cure illnesses that actually make the cow “treifah” so their milk is not kosher. That’s why inspections are still needed. This didn’t exist during Reb Moshe zatzal’s lifetime and must be dealt with according to innovations in the field. I was similarly shocked when I learned this from a frum dairy farmer.
As long as the milk carries a valid hashgocho it’s good for me.
However, cholov Yisroel milk is less widely available outside the tri-state area.
Really? Baltimore has Pride of the Farm CY milk which is better in many respects and lasts much longer than competitors and is widely available. Moreover the two Kosher supermarkets in Baltimore are fully stocked with CY cheeses, yogurt and other CY products of many brands.
don’t know for sure but I suspect that Miami and LA also have widely available CY milk and other products.
This article contains a few massive fallacies that have been circulating among the public for generations.
First off: Rav Moshe NEVER allowed general consumption of non-Cholov Tisroel milk. His ruling was issued in response to specific cases of people who needed milk FOR THEIR CHILDREN and were unable to get Cholov Yisroel milk.
Second: Rav Moshe NEVER used the term “Cholov Stam” – that is a marketing ploy coined by others. Rav Moshe refers to commercial milk as “Cholov HaCompanies”. This term was abandoned for various reasons, and the term “Cholov Stam” was coined so as not to use the actual term: “Cholov Akum (with specific leniences)”.
There is no such thing as “Cholov Stam”. Chazal had two categories of milk: Cholov Akum and Cholov Yisroel. That is all.
The claim that direct supervision “was once feasible but is impractical in modern industrial settings” is a complete fabrication, as clearly seen by the plethora of reliable, supervised Cholov Yisroel milk available in the tri-state are. Had the demand for Cholov Yisroel milk been a non-debatable one, the Kashrus agencies would have found the way to provide the supervision – as they do with meat products.
In addition, a completely different aspect to Cholov Akum has arisen in the years following Rav Moshe’s passing — the issue of cows which had been operated on for colic. According to many Poskim, such an operation (which involves puncturing the cow’s stomach) renders the cow Treif and invalidates its milk. Cholov Yisroel companies maintain records of those cows, and make sure that their milk is not included in the Kosher run. The OU and other agencies who rely on (too) many leniencies have their excuses as why this is not an issue, but again, that is only because the public has come to rely on the fabricated overreaching “heter” of Rav Moshe.
Plus the fact that Maran R’ Moishe z”l was only matir chalav hacompanies “be’shaas ha’dchak” when chalav Yisrael was not available, “not because of yokar me’at (costing a little more.)”
וז״ל באגרות משה יו״ד ח״ד סי׳ ה׳ ״איברא דאיכא טעמים להקל בחלב הלקוח מחברות, במדינה אשר מדיני המדינה אסור למכור חלב שיש בו עירוב חלב טמא הוא רק בשעת הדחק אף אם גם בטאראנטא איכא איסור מדיני המדינה, ולא בשביל יוקר מעט״ עכ״ל.
R’ Moishe z”l himself never relied on his own heter even in early years in America when chalav yisra’el was not available. His first cousin, R’ Hertzel Kantorovitz z”l, about once every 3 months, would go out to farms, watch the milking, and bring back to R’ Moishe z”l a barrel of milk to drink. However, that milk, before today’s pasteurization & homogenization, did not last more than a few days. R’ Moishe was not toi’eim milichigs (except perhaps butter) for 3 months at a time for many years. Not so easy. And he never relied on his own heter be’shaas hadachak.
In Sefarim Ha’kedoishim it says, for every takanah de’Rabanan, besides for the revealed reason, there are 80 other hidden reasons in the hashpa’ah min ha’Shamayim. The question is, R’ Moishe’s heter only responds to the revealed reason, but not to the 80 reasons be’nistar.
We must say, that obviously R’ Moishe z”l held that one need not be choishes for those in halachah le’maaseh.
Or we can say, those hashpa’ois are only where the revealed takanah deRabanan applies.