[Avodah] Treifot question

[Dr. Josh Backon]

>The reason for my question was the milk issue. I heard a shiur which in
>essence posited (at least as I understood it since there were parts that
>I did not understand e.g. why the question would be any different for 1
>cow's milk versus 2 or more) that since we've always drank milk, it must
>be that chazal "allowed" us to go after rov [side point- and even if now
>rov were treifot , it would still be ok because they're only rov because
>we're machmir because of lack of knowledge]   To me this meant that
>lshitato  really we should be bodek if we could (just like we don't rely
>on rov for shechita since it's shiach that there are lung issues)so I
>was wondering whether now we really could be bodek live animals (and as
>Dr. Josh alludes to - at what cost)


Rav Ovadiah Yosef in Yabia Omer Chelek 8 Yoreh Deah Siman 2
gives a terrific summary of the inyan of a taarovet of chalav ksheira
with chalav treifa. He does quote the Mordechai and other Rishonim
that the issur of chalav treifa is d'rabbanan!!

See also Har Tzvi  YD 47  and Shach YD 14 s"k 12.

So, if chalav treifa is an issur d'rabbanan then taking into consideration
the Heichal Yitzchak ORACH CHAYIM 51 who permits "bedikot shel
yediot ha'teva" (even to check the status of an issur karet), then certainly
there wouldn't be an halachic problem to check for sirchot by use of
imaging technology. The "only" problem is the prohibitive cost. Do you
really want kosher beef to cost $100 a pound ??

If, however, the terahertz imaging devices plummet in price, then
IMHO it may be worthwhile to check sirchot in lungs (and the tzomet
ha'giddim in chickens) with the new technology.

Another possibility is computer assisted image processing of ultrasound
imaging with expert system pattern recognition. Some of these devices
are quite inexpensive. [Thinking out loud: on a 60 month lease @ $18/M,
the daily cost would be trivial, probably a few cents per cow checked]. I'm
going to send a copy of this message to R. Seth Mandel of the OU. This
could be interesting. It might even SAVE money to the slaughterhouse,
and as a result, to the kosher consumer.

KT

Josh