Chosomos - Food Delivery

Q. May I ask a co-worker who is not Jewish to pick up my lunch order from a restaurant?

A. Shulchan Aruch (Y.D. 118:1) rules that one may not entrust a person who is not kosher observant to deliver kosher food. For this reason, kosher restaurants generally seal deliveries with tape bearing the kosher symbol of the certifying agency. If for some reason the food was not properly sealed, an alternate valid method of verification would be to send a picture of the food to the Mashgiach who supervises that store. If the Mashgiach is certain that the food was prepared in his establishment based on visual identification (this is known as “tevi’as ayin”), the food may be consumed.

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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.