Bal Teshaktzu - Awareness

Q. If food fell into a filthy or putrid area, most people would not eat the food even if washed clean with no residual taste and no lingering health concern. Can the food be sold or served to an unsuspecting individual who does not know what transpired? Does the prohibition of bal teshaktzu apply in this instance?

A. Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l (Igros Moshe YD 1:31) was asked whether a butcher may sell meat that was splattered with blood and then washed clean. He ruled (based on Tosfos, Kesubos 30b) that the butcher may sell the meat even though most people who would have seen the blood-soaked meat would consider it disgusting. There is no prohibition of bal teshaktzu for someone who is unaware. However, Rav Moshe asks, if so, why are bloodletting utensils muktza on Shabbos because they have a foul function? Aren’t these utensils suitable for one who does not know how they were used? He answers that these types of utensils are distinct in their appearance, and everyone knows they were used for bloodletting. The Shoel U’meshiv (Kama 3:115) makes the same point as Rav Moshe, that bal teshaktzu does not apply for someone who is unaware.

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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.