Rav Moshe Feinstein’s seminal teshuvot (Shu”t Iggerot Moshe YD 1:46-48) on chalav stam, permitting non-chalav Yisrael milk, hinged on the reliability of governmental oversight. However, recent FDA actions have prompted a reevaluation of this heter.
Hazal (Mishnah Avodah Zarah 2:6) mandated Jewish oversight of milk production due to concerns about non-kosher milk adulteration; this later became known as chalav Yisrael. The Shulhan Arukh (YD 115:1) broadened the scope of what qualifies as oversight, permitting verification of the milk’s source if a Jew was nearby (אפילו אינו יכול לראותו כשהוא יושב אם יכול לראותו כשהוא עומד מותר) and aware of the herd’s composition. This allowance rested on the producer’s fear of detection, which would deter substitution.
Rav Moshe argued that modern governmental oversight for consumer safety provides an analogous deterrent. The threat of substantial fines and license revocation, he posited, mirrors the mir’tat described by the Shulhan Arukh, thereby allowing and permitting chalav stam.
In a subsequent teshuvah (47), he further noted the economic impracticality of adulterating cow’s milk with costlier non-kosher milk and the difficulties of concealment given modern production’s complexity.
Rav Moshe then argued that generally speaking, “established facts” often possess the halakhic weight of testimony (Gemara Shevuot 34a), particularly for derabanan matters. Therefore, taken together, even though it might be argued that there needs to be some positive identification or verification of the milk or the milk’s source, these reasons serve to sufficiently establish / testify that the milk in question is truly cow’s milk.
(Note: Importantly, while permitting chalav stam, Rav Moshe strongly advocated for chalav Yisrael when possible and suggested that it is proper to be machmir for it.)
The recent FDA suspension of certain milk quality and safety testing raises questions about chalav stam’s continuing permissibility. However, Rabbi Avrohom Gordimer (chair of the dairy committee at OU Kosher) clarified that the primary oversight of farms and dairy factories are performed by state governments and are therefore unaffected by any changes at the FDA. Additionally, the FDA cuts primarily affect safety testing, not the physical farm inspections.
This last point reflects the OU investigation into the nature of the farm inspections, where they explained that in addition to testing the milk, each farm is also visiting 2-6 times per year. The inspection protocol specifies that only cows can be in the milking parlors and cow yards, effectively mitigating any possible means of introducing non-kosher milk into the production line.
Nonetheless, safety concerns persist. While state inspections continue, the FDA’s dismantling of proficiency labs compromises the consistency and accuracy of state testing. This undermines federal oversight even as downstream testing continues.
These budgetary cuts, divorced from any safety justifications, fit a pattern of the dismantling of various aspects of the pubic health apparatus (“USDA withdraws a plan to limit salmonella levels in raw poultry”; “Amid series of rapid-fire policy reversals, Trump quietly withdraws proposed limits on PFAS”), much of it without much rhyme or reason.
Given the capricious nature of these decisions — all seemingly under the veneer of somehow “making America healthy” — there is really no telling what may come next that may have more significant halakhic impact. Specifically when it comes to milk production, with the beginning of the dismantling of the oversight structure, it may not take much for the downstream testing and inspections to also become more lax, if even remaining extant. This yet remains to be seen and requires kosher consumers to be vigilant in carefully following these changes and updates.
