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Israeli produce Alert

December 30, from the cRc:

There has recently been an influx of produce coming from Israel, that people should be aware of in order to properly keep the Halachos of shemittah, terumah, and ma’aser. One such item is red peppers being sold at Costco and other supermarkets. Another item is pomegranates being sold at Jerry’s Fruit and Garden at 7901 N. Milwaukee Ave in Niles, IL.

December 28, from the Vaad HaKashrus of Crown Heights on https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/general/2045374/shemita-alert-red-peppers-sold-in-ny-supermarkets-are-product-of-shmita.html" target='yw'>YeshivaWorold

The Vaad HaKashrus of Crown Heights has issued an urgent warning over red peppers being sold in many kosher supermarkets that originate in Israel and are products of Shemitta.

"'We would like to inform the public that red peppers sold in the tri-state area and in the Crown Heights neighborhoods, or given out by some organizations giving out food are from shemitta and it’s forbidden to eat them,' the Vaad HaKashrus said in a statement.

"If you have these peppers, which are labeled 'Product of Israel' in your home, you should allow them to go bad before disposing them."

December 20, 2021 from Baltimore Jewish Life:

"It has been brought to our attention that peppers from Eretz Yisrael are being sold throughout the community in local supermarkets such as Costco and Safeway in particular. Due to kedushas shviis (Shmittah) these peppers should not be used."

December 6, 2021: Israeli peppers have been seen at Whole Foods

November 29, 2021 - From the COR Detroit:

BELL PEPPERS FROM ISRAEL (red, yellow and orange) will soon begin appearing in U.S. stores, and should not be purchased due to Shemitah restrictions. (If already purchased, consult your Rav.) Carefully check the fine print on the package, or the sticker on peppers sold loose, for the country of origin. Often the same brand has some peppers from Israel and some from other locations, so each individual package or pepper should be checked.

Whenever buying produce, one should be careful to check the sticker, bag label or original case for the country of origin, due to issues of Shemitah, or of Terumos and Maaseros if it is not Shemitah product. Some additional examples of Israeli produce commonly found in the U.S. include tomatoes, carrots, citrus fruit (oranges, grapefruit, lemons, mandarins, clementines and pomelos), persimmons (“Sharon Fruit”), pomegranates, mangos, dates, dill and parsley.

Information on schmitta can be found here

Information on tithing can be found here