2,444. We Do Not Nullify Biblical Prohibitions at the Outset

Maachalos Assuros 15:24

When we calculate the ratio of permitted things to prohibitions, whether the necessary volume is 60, 100 or 200 times, we include the broth, the spices, everything else in the pot and what we estimate the pot has absorbed after the prohibited thing fell into it. This last calculation is an estimate because we can never know for sure how much a pot absorbed.

Maachalos Assuros 15:25

We are not permitted to intentionally nullify something that is Biblically prohibited but if someone did so, it is effectively nullified and the mixture is permitted. However, the Sages imposed a penalty on one who does so by prohibiting the mixture. The Rambam opines that since it’s a penalty, it’s actually only prohibited to the one who violated the law by improperly nullifying the prohibited thing. The mixture is therefore permitted to others.