Status of Food Particles

QUESTION: If I ate meat and after several hours swallowed meat particles that were caught between my teeth, am I required to start counting 6 hours again before eating dairy?

ANSWER: Rav Belsky zt”l (Shulchan HaLevi 22:10) discusses this question. He points out that the Shach infers that one is required to wait another 6 hours. This is because the Shach (89:3) writes that if one removed meat from between the teeth, it is not necessary to wait 6 hours. Since the Shach writes that if the meat is removed one need not wait, this implies that if the meat was dislodged and swallowed, it would be necessary to wait. Nonetheless, Rav Belsky maintains that if the meat was between the teeth for three hours or more, there is no obligation to wait more than six hours from the original meal. This is because there was no intention to eat the meat (the meat was swallowed only to clean the mouth), and the strands of meat that are between the teeth for a few hours are partially digested and no longer have any taste.

____________________________________________________

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.