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Bugs in dishes

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Rabbi David Sperling

Shevat 17, 5775
Question
Shalom dear Rabbi, if a salad made made by cutting lettuce and vegetables, adding a dressing of oil and vinegar and everything was thoroughly mixed and some time later an insect (a bug or a fly) is found in the salad, am I right to assume that the salad is treif but the dishes do not have to be kashered? If a dish was cooked and later it was found that an insect had been inside the dish, is the dish also treif but the pot does not have to be kashered? Is the concept of 1 in 60 in any way applicable, or is the concept of 1 in 60 only meat and milk (or rabbinic prohibitions)? Can 1 in 60 also be applied in other situations? What if for example due to a mistake an ingredient was used that had contained a pork ingredient? I was thinking that on Pessach, a dish must not have even one sixtieth of Chametz and we are also told that whoever eats Chametz on Pessach, his soul will be be cut off from Israel. Is this the reason why there is no leniency in this case? (obviously, in all cases there was no intention or knowledge that there would be insects inside the dish) Thank you very much!
Answer
Shalom, Thank you for your questions. Let's take them in order – 1 -if a salad made made by cutting lettuce and vegetables, adding a dressing of oil and vinegar and everything was thoroughly mixed and some time later an insect (a bug or a fly) is found in the salad, am I right to assume that the salad is treif but the dishes do not have to be kashered? -- If the ingrediants were checked for bugs as requires before making the salad, then finding one or two bugs do not make anything unkosher, and the rest of salad may be eaten. If three (or more) bugs were found, the salad is forbidden, but the dishes do not need to be koshered. 2 - If a dish was cooked and later it was found that an insect had been inside the dish, is the dish also treif but the pot does not have to be kashered? -- The same as above. If the ingrediants were checked for bugs as requires before cooking the dish, then finding one or two bugs do not make anything unkosher, and the rest of dish may be eaten. If three (or more) bugs were found, the food is forbidden, but the dishes do not need to be koshered. 3 - Is the concept of 1 in 60 in any way applicable, or is the concept of 1 in 60 only meat and milk (or rabbinic prohibitions)? -- Yes, you are correct that the concept of nullification of something smaller than 1 part 60 applies in other situations, and not just milk and meat. This is one of the factors that permits the cooked food that the bug was found in. 4 - Can 1 in 60 also be applied in other situations? What if for example due to a mistake an ingredient was used that had contained a pork ingredient? I was thinking that on Pessach, a dish must not have even one sixtieth of Chametz and we are also told that whoever eats Chametz on Pessach, his soul will be be cut off from Israel. Is this the reason why there is no leniency in this case? -- Passover is an exception (there are other exceptions also) where the rule of nullification is not based on less than one in sixty, but any amount of chametz is forbidden. I hope this is of some help. Blessings.
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