Accidental Secondary Use of Carmine

Q. I made punch and accidentally used a cocktail mix that contains carmine and other artificial colors. Must I throw away the entire bowl of punch, or is there justification to be lenient?

A. As we explained previously, carmine is not botel because it adds color. However, when the carmine combines with other coloring agents, and the color of the punch is not attributable to the carmine alone, halacha views this as zeh v’zeh gorem (there are two causes), and in such instances, the carmine is botel. The Ran (Teshuva 70) rules similarly in a case of leather that was colored with non-kosher wine vinegar and dye. Although it is forbidden to benefit from non-kosher wine vinegar, he concludes that in this case it would be permitted since it is a situation of zeh v’zeh gorem. The Pri Chadash (102:5) disagrees with the applications of zeh v’zeh gorem to colors. However, the Pri To’ar defends the Ran, and Rav Belsky zt”l ruled that in cases of need one may be lenient.

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The Gerald & Karin Feldhamer OU Kosher Halacha Yomis is dedicated to the memory of Rav Yisroel Belsky, zt"l, who served as halachic consultant for OU Kosher for more than 28 years; many of the responses in Halacha Yomis are based on the rulings of Rabbi Belsky. Subscribe to the Halacha Yomis daily email here.