K A S H R U T . C O M_©

The following notice concerning fruit imported from Israel is from the Beth Din of Johannesburg on February 20, 2009.

Fruit imported from Israel (avocados, mineolas and possibly others) are now available in South Africa. These fruits are produce of the previous year (5768) which was a shmitta year, and are therefore classified as having kedushat shvi’it (sanctity of the seventh year). The following rules apply to fruits and vegetables having kedushat shvi’it:

• Fruit normally eaten by humans should not be given to animals.
• Vegetables, such as potatoes, which are normally cooked, may not be eaten raw.
• Fruits and vegetables normally eaten raw should not be cooked.
• Fruits and vegetables that are eaten both raw and cooked can be eaten either way.
• Juice may only be extracted from such fruits or vegetables where this is normally done, e.g., oranges and apples. It is not permissible to extract juice from, for example, bananas.
• Leftovers, peels and husks which are normally eaten or have remnants of food attached, must be wrapped first, and then disposed of in the normal manner.
• If a food with kedushat shvi’it is cooked with other food, all the food must be regarded as having kedushat shvi’it.

Purchasing such fruits with cash poses a halachic difficulty which is beyond the scope of this notice to elaborate on. Therefore, one may either purchase them with a cheque or credit card, or if one wishes to use cash, then other non shmitta items (not necessarily fruits) should be included in the purchase.

The London Beth Din has a list which is reprinted below of when fruits and vegetables stop being of shmitta status at www.kosher.org.uk/shemittaalert.htm dated October 10, 2008. Please note that the dates are in European notation, which is date/month/year.

Vegetables: Unless otherwise stated vegetables will become permitted from Chanukah (22.12.08)
The following are exceptions to this rule:-

Butternut Squash	15th Sivan	07.06.09
Chickpeas	1st Sivan	24.05.09
Courgette	1st Cheshvan	30.10.08
Cucumbers	1st Kislev	28.11.08
Dill	20th Cheshvan 18.11.08
Garlic	6th Adar	02.03.09
Lettuce	15th Cheshvan	13.11.08
Onions	1st Nisan	26.03.09
Paprika	3rd Elul	23.08.09
Pumpkin	10th Sivan	02.06.09
Radish	27th Cheshvan	25.11.08
Spinach	23rd Cheshvan	23.11.08
Spring Onions	20th Cheshvan	18.11.08

Fruit: The following fruits have kedushat shevi'it until the dates specified below:

Apricots	1st Iyar	26.03.09
Avocado	1st Av	22.07.09
Cherries	10th Sivan	02.06.09
Dates	20th Elul	09.09.09
Figs	15th Nisan	09.04.09
Grapes	1st Elul	21.08.09
Lychee	1st Sivan	24.05.09
Mango	1st Tamuz	23.06.09
Melon	25th Kislev	22.12.08
Nectarine	1st Nisan	26.03.09
Orange	1st Elul	21.08.09
Peaches	1st Nisan	26.03.09
Sharon Fruit	15th Elul	04.09.09
Plums	1st Av	22.07.09
Pomegranate	15th Av	05.08.09
Strawberries	1st Tevet	28.12.08
Water Melon	25th Kislev	22.12.08

Kashrut.com has information on shmitta at www.kashrut.com/consumer/vegetables/#SCHMITTA.