QUESTION: Does Rav Moshe Feinstein’s leniency of chalav stam (milk that is supervised by government inspectors) apply to cheese? Is there such a thing as gevina stam?
ANSWER: Shulchan Aruch (YD 115:2) writes that if a nochri makes cheese using herbs, even if one can tell that the cheese was made with herbs and not with rennet, it is considered gevinas Akum. The Rema writes that the general custom is like Shulchan Aruch. He adds that there were places (such as Narbonne) where they had a tradition to be lenient, but if one does not have this tradition it is forbidden to be lenient. In places without a lenient tradition, even if it is known that cheese was made with herbs, the Rema ruled that it is forbidden since a Yisroel did not supervise the cheesemaking.
The Shach (YD 115:20) is even more stringent. According to the Shach, if a Yisroel did not add the rennet, even if he watched the cheese being made, the cheese is forbidden. Even though he knows the cheese was made with all kosher ingredients, it is gevinas akum since a Yisroel did not actually make the cheese. According to the Shach, it is obvious that government regulations will not make a difference.
Although most poskim follow the ruling of the Rema, Rav Moshe Feinstein (Igros Moshe YD 1:50) writes explicitly that there is no substitute for a Yisroel supervising the making of the cheese. Government-regulated cheese would not be better than cheese of Narbonne, about which the Rema writes that the accepted custom is to be strict.
Rav Moshe writes that even if a nochri would have ne’emanus to say that his cheese was made with kosher rennet, this would still not be any better than the cheese of Narbonne and would be considered gevinas akum. This is a different standard than is required for chalav Yisroel. Regarding chalav Yisroel, it is sufficient for the mashgiach to stand outside the barn, since the farmer is afraid of being caught contaminating the milk. Since fear of getting caught is sufficient for chalav Yisroel, government inspectors work as well. For gevinas Yisroel, however, there is no substitute to having a Yisroel supervise (or, according to the Shach, make) the cheese.
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One Response
Gevinas Akum has an issue of the source of the rennet, which is usually a meat byproduct and therefore either treif or Basar Bechalav – a completely different issue than Chalav Akum. Phrasing a question regarding cheese as if it has any connection with Rav Moshe’s rulings on milk is highly misleading, and is (at the very least) inappropriate clickbait.