[Avodah] kashrus of milk

[Dr. Josh Backon]

>Actually, AFAIK the Cholov Yisroel farms check out the cows to
>ensure that they are not treif.
>This probably cannot be and is not done in the CA/S farms.

[Bounced from AREIVIM at the request of the moderators]


Let's not forget that milk you drink is pooled from many many sources 
(different
farms, different herds). And there's also a safek whether the "treif" milk is
actually treif [no documentation that the cow underwent any surgical
intervention] . The svara goes like this:


Even though the SHACH in Yoreh Deah Hilchot Sfeik Sfeika s"k 17-18
rules that a gezeira is similar to a d'oraita prohibition and thus
one isn't *meykil*  on this type of rabbinic prohibition if
there is a doubt, in Yoreh Deah 118 s"k 8, he indicates that a mixture
of kosher milk and non-kosher milk is in the category of *min b'mino".
Since m'Doraita  *min b'mino* is *batel b'rov* this type of
mixture would only be d'rabbanan. The Beit Meir rules like
the Shach. The Noda B'Yehuda (Orach Chaim 66) also indicates
that non-kosher milk is d'rabbanan.

The problem ? According to R. Akiva Eiger the mixture is
*min she'b'eino mino* and thus requires *bitul b'shishim*.

So there are basically two factors to consider: is non-kosher milk a
gezeira similar to a Toraitic prohibition, and is the mixture min b'mino
or min b'she'eino mino. And what possible proportion of non-kosher milk,
if any, was mixed into kosher milk.


So factoring in the above and seeing how huge 20,000 gallon vats of milk
are processed, even if some real treif milk entered the supply chain, it
probably wouldn't affect the kashrut status of the milk.

So go enjoy your Shavuot blueberry cheesecake and ess gezuntere
heit!

Chag Kasher v'Sameach

Josh [who being on a diet treats cheesecake like neirot
       Chanuka: ELA LIROTAM BILVAD ! :-) ]