09 May KASHRUS QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK WITH RABBI MOSHE ELEFANT

May one buy cut fruit from a store that does
not have a Hechsher?
No! We get this question all the time. People are invited
all the time to meetings in non-kosher places and they
obviously know they can’t have the meat there, but
they’ll say “Why can’t I have the fruit salad?” Rabbanim who are involved
in certifications of restaurants say that the kitchen is very busy. When
the order comes in for a fruit salad, they grab the closest knife that
could’ve been
used a moment
ago to cut up
non-kosher meat.
Therefore, I can
not recommend
eating cut fruit
in a non-kosher
restaurant unless
youknow that

the knife used for
cutting the fruit is
definitely not used
for anything else.
Can a store
that’s open
on Shabbos,
be considered
Kosher?
Technically it can be
considered Kosher
if the store is owned by non-Jews. Non-jews don’t have to be
shomer shabbos so they can cook/bake on shabbos. However, they
still have to have supervision so there has to be a fear of supervision
on Shabbos. We at the OU never certify a retail establishment that’s
open on Shabbos unless all money that’s going to be made is
prepaid before shabbos.