Unless it is an unnecessary "level" of kashrut (why do these things have to come in levels?), in which case it is a shame that everyone is towing the line to take on stricter psika and more humrot.

Mehadrin Milk?

Is this a joke?

Ok, ok, go beat the dead horse (or cow) on the milking-on-shabbos issue.

Note: ALL CHALAV YISRAEL [read: mehadrin] MILK in chu"l is milked on Shabbos.

Wonder-of-wonders, in Israel (under the rabanut), it becomes 'assur' or at best 'non-mehadrin'.

D.A.

in America it is milked by goyim on shabbos. In Israel it is Jews (I assume). That could be the difference (if assumption is correct)

Rafi-

No. It is not that simple. The mehadrin in Israle doesnt even let that.

D.A.

AFAIK, all mehadrin milk in israel is milked by non-jews on shabbat.

and the milk is spilled out or put into distribution?

Note: ALL CHALAV YISRAEL [read: mehadrin] MILK in chu"l is milked on Shabbos.

Hard to believe. You're claiming that no milk which is milked during the week is sold as mehadrin in chu"l.

(Maybe you meant to say that no special care is taken in chu"l that milk sold as mehadrin is not milked on Shabbos?)

(Rafi not G)
Rafi, so are you saying that the Jews who milk on Shabbat using their Machon-Tzomet-certified milking machines are Mehallel Shabbat?

I know nothign about the milking process, and I am not saying those who milk are mechalel shabbos. If they are using Mechon Tzomet equipment, for sure not.

Do kibbutzim that milk on shabbos, and sell the milk as regular rabbanut milk, use machon tzomet equipment?

http://www.kashrut-tnuva.co.il/

The differences between mehadrin tenuva and regular are explicit on the above website with specific for different types of products. It isn't just shabbos milking, and majority of non-mehadrin isn't milked on shabbos if I remember correctly.

I take back my assertion about Mechon Tzomet equipment. I wasn't concentrating and misread.

However I still assert that the move to "higher levels of kashrus" is not necessarily a good thing. I also dispute the "higher levels" necessarily being higher. Bringing the nation to a condition of less Hillul Shabbat is a good thing but if it is entirely economically motivated it is hollow and especially when it is part of the blind headlong rush to make everything "mehadrin".

Rafi - what impressed me was that they are not doign it, or considering it, because they are being pushed by askanim or being pressured by kashrut organizations. All to often we hear of buisnesses that are "forced" to change hechshers because of kashrut mafia tactics.

Here, they decided on their own to switch, or consider switching, for purely economic reasons. They, on their own, have recognized that the demand from consumers for mehadrin milk has increased tremendously and from their perspective the change to such a system is easy enough to make it possible.

That is all I am saying. I was impressed that nobody forced them into this, but they decided on their own to do it because they see the marketplace justifies it.