Israeli Produce Information
February 27, 2023 from the editor:
Israeli Persimmons are in season and are being sold at Restaurant Depot and elsewhere. These fruits are shimitta.
January 5, 2023 from the KVH Kosher:
Various produce items from Israel, including peppers, carrots and citrus fruit are being sold at local markets including Costco, Stop & Shop, Wegmans, Restaurant Depot and possibly other locations in the Greater Boston Area, as well as on Instacart.
Currently, all citrus fruits from Israel are from Shemitah and should not be used. If already purchased, please consult your Rabbi.
Information on Tithing and Shmitta are found at https://www.kashrut.com/consumer/vegetables
December 23, 2022 from the COR Detroit:
BELL PEPPERS FROM ISRAEL (red, yellow and orange) are now being sold in the U.S. and require taking of Terumos and Maaseros. (They are no longer subject to the Shemitah restriction of "sefichin".) 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 (consult your Rav for details), or of Terumos and Maaseros if it is not Shemitah product.
CITRUS FRUIT FROM ISRAEL will soon appear in U.S. stores, and will be Shemitah product well into 2023. This includes oranges, grapefruit, lemons, mandarins, clementines, pomelos and “Sweetie”. Some additional examples of Israeli produce commonly found in the U.S. include tomatoes, carrots, persimmons (“Sharon Fruit”), pomegranates, mangos, dates, dill and parsley.