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Given the fact that both Mehadrin and Non-Mehadrin exist, what are foods that can be safely eaten in non-mehadrin places? I.e. they would not be problemaic.

(also, assuming Shemittah is not a problem)

Edit: Sorry for not being clear. I meant assuming the worst possible situation (i.e. the stuff that are absolutely kosher with minimal hechsher). Or to put it another way: stuff that don't have any "questionable" problems - only "universal" problems.

Obviously stuff that never need a hechsher (e.g. water) would be included in this category. But I'd prefer those stuff that are normally non-kosher without any Hechsher, but by having just a minimal standard of Hechsher, everyone would eat it.

If such things do not exist, then that would be a valid (although, disappointing) answer too.

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Doesn't that entirely depend on which stringencies you're interested in keeping? I'd imagine that for some people, all food with a reputable hechsher is not problematic, while for others, even standard mehadrin from a given hechsher is still problematic for at least some foods. – Isaac Moses May 26 '11 at 1:33
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And (to add to Isaac Moses's comment) doesn't it depend on which m'hadrin or other hechsher one's talking about? They don't all have the same standards. – msh210♦ May 26 '11 at 2:29

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Aside from Rav Moshe Feinstein's responsa permitting govt-supervised milk as Chalav Yisrael, there are other traditions that milk from non-kosher animals will not curdle (no citation, sorry), so any curdled milk products (yoghurt, cheese) would be kosher with non-mehadrin hechsher according to those opinions. Likewise powdered milk - but again I can't give a citation.

The Rabbanut always puts a warning on "heter mechira" products, so if fruit/veg products have a Rabbanut hechsher but no such warning, you can assume that there's no shemita issue. If you're concerned about teruma and maaser (tithes) - you can take tithes yourself as demai (possibly untithed produce) - i.e. without a beracha.

Bread products - if you're worried about challah, you can take challah yourself. Once the Rabbanut has approved it without a heter mechira warning, I can't imagine anything else going wrong with the ingredients. In any case, I heard that almost all Israeli wheat is exported, and the flour used for baking our bread is low-grade imported stuff (without any issues of shemitta or tithes).

AFAIK all Scotch whisky is kosher without any hechsher.

That's what I can think of for now; may edit later as I think of other things... :)

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Re Scotch whisky, I think it makes a difference if it was aged in an oak cask or sherry cask. – jake May 26 '11 at 14:47
"other traditions that milk from non-kosher animals will not curdle" - I once heard from a rabbi that Chacham Ovadiyah Yosef says in reference to consumption of non- chalav yisrael butter that it is permitted, because it is impossible to create butter from milk of other animals. – Adam Mosheh Jun 27 '12 at 23:31
@Jake As do I. Many people will not drink it if it says on the bottle explicitly that it has been aged in Sherry casks. – andrewmh20 Mar 21 at 2:06
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There are some things that according to everyone you would be able to eat/drink even without a hechsher, so in light of Isaac Moses's comment, I guess that must be what you mean.

Examples are: plain beer (unflavored, no additives), bourbon, milk in the US i.e. milk that was milked in the US (according to rav moshe, but there is some discussion if there is still meertas (a fear of the USDA that they will shut the plant down) so some do not hold by it).

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Milk: only domestic cow's milk, I believe. Sources for the other claims, please? I've heard domestic unflavored beer, never beer generally. – msh210♦ May 26 '11 at 2:30
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Apologies, I should have written plain beer as opposed to non-plain. I should also have been more careful about my phrasing with the milk. Apologies. – soandos May 26 '11 at 2:33
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I believe that the source for bourbon is that it is always made in new casks, and it has no problems with yaiin nesech as it is not a grape product. (kashrut.com/articles/liquor2) I do not know where this shows up in any halachik work though. – soandos May 26 '11 at 2:35
Not a problem; thanks for editing the post, and for the link to kashrut.com. – msh210♦ May 26 '11 at 2:41

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