The Department for Mitzvos Hateluyos Ba'aretz of the Chief
Rabbinate of Israel has issued a warning to the public about
problems of orla in raisins sold throughout the
country.
The department explained that most of the raisins on the
market today are made from leftover grapes which remained in
the fields after the better grapes had been sorted by
agriculture workers. Because these residues, which are left
behind in small amounts, are gathered by farmers and
manufacturers in an unorganized and unsupervised manner, it
is very difficult to identify the source of these grapes,
which are marketed, in essence, without supervision for
problems of orla.
During the past two years, difficult problems were created in
two large raisin manufacturing firms, as a result of
unidentified grape shipments.
The Department for Industry and Manufacturing of the
Rabbinate, in conjunction with the Department for Mitzvos
Hateluyos Ba'aretz, has adopted a number of procedures to
correct the problem. The primary ones are: A supervisor must
be present during grape harvesting on every settlement where
farmers grow and market orla produce, in order to
identify grapes earmarked for use as raisins. Farmers who
already have kashrus supervision will also have this
added supervision. Drying of the raisins will take place in
factories and not on the farmer's premises, in order to
ensure full supervision.
A convention will soon be held for those who grow grapes for
use as raisins and for raisin manufacturers, in order to
explain the new procedures to them and to urge them to be
cautious in this area.
