Bitul B’shishim, Fish & Meat (pt. 3)

QUESTION: A piece of fish fell into my meat stew. It is more than 1 part in 60, and therefore the fish and meat both are forbidden. If I remove the fish and the meat, can I eat the rest of the food?

ANSWER: The Gemara (Pesachim 76b) states that there is a sakana (danger) to eat fish and meat that were roasted together. The same applies to meat and fish that were cooked together. Poskim compare the mixture of fish and meat to poison. Once there is a mixture of fish and meat, not only may the fish and meat themselves not be eaten, but if any of the fish or meat is absorbed into other foods, those foods are forbidden as well. Just as it is forbidden to endanger oneself by eating poison, so too it is forbidden to eat foods that absorbed the poison.

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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.