STAR-K Insect Checking Video

do so you finally decided to listen to your mother and eat your vegetables good for you you're fulfilling the mitzvah keep it out of the aim honoring your parents and by eating foods that everyone agrees are some of the best things for you on the planet you are fulfilling the mitzvah of the nismarthema's nation protecting your physical health as much as possible and best of all vegetables are naturally kosher and parv right no need to check for a kosher symbol or be concerned about what you eat them along with well not so fast before you bite into that salad you need to know that hiding in many fruits and vegetables may be bugs that you not only don't want to eat we assume but that the torah commands us many times not to eat the jewish code of law and halachic authorities throughout the ages provide us with guidelines on how to ensure that our veggies are halachically permitted to eat in this video the starkey classroom is going to demonstrate how to wash and check your fruits and vegetables to make sure they are free of unwanted bugs you will need to listen carefully and have a keen eye because these pests know how to hide and blend in pay attention because you're going to learn how to have your salad and eat it too bon appetit has three levels um when we talk about infestation and this you know three levels in many different issues but let's talk manifest we're talking about infestation here the first level is called muksuk which means something that most of the time is infested more than 50 more than 50 percent of servings of lettuce are infested so if i would have 10 servings of lettuce in front of me and i find a bug in about five or six of them so that would be considered mooks of bitter lime now an example of that is organic produce generally organic produce is considered to be on that level infestation because organics has less it's hard to say organic has no pesticides but it definitely has a lot less pesticides and is definitely much more highly infested than any other type of produce we generally don't recommend using organic produce i know that might sound strange especially the people who are more health conscious it's not that we don't have anything against organic per se it's just very simply actually we have a lot to do with organic as you know i'm sure it's not spoken about you know um but we deal a lot with organic industry um but organic produce is definitely much more you know has a lot more insect issues and is definitely harder to check now again if you're if you know how to check you can check organic produce also but you'll definitely you'll probably have a harder time and therefore we you know we we try to it's definitely at least places under our stuff we generally avoid organic products when you're talking about organic produce that it's prone to bugs prontobox yes you had organic celery right that wouldn't uh well those celery might be an issue but that's not like organic animals tomatoes organic apples things that don't have a bug issue which we'll talk later about which titans have issues which items don't have issues i'll actually talk in a few minutes um so items obviously don't have bug issues we have no problem with organic produce but only the items that have insect issues um is organic produce is definitely more prone to infestation and you know you'll definitely have a harder time dealing with it so that's as far as the muscle tellurium is concerned the second level is called mir hamatsu which means it's means less than fifty percent but it's still mod so it's still found you can still find um you know insects in these issues in in these um in these types of produce an example of that is most of our confection our conventional greens you know the romaine lettuce the iceberg the cabbages you know the the herbs in general these are all lines that are considered to be on muncie so the exact levels percentage of infestation in these in these items classically is defined as anywhere between ten and fifty percent um anything above ten percent up to fifty percent is in the in the level of mir hamas now the difference between moksu and miramatsu is significant something that's muksuk um mida raisa you have to check it before you eat it it's an it's a biblically mandated um biblically mandated requirement that you have to check that item before you eat it something that's harmony is only mediarabona the rabbis required you to check it and there's a lot of differences that we're not necessarily going to have time to get into exact differences between the rice and they're abundant but it's very important to note this difference um the third level is what's called miche eno matsu which is generally something anything that's below 10 percent um so then you get your questions about the cucumber right with a bug right exactly so unlikely so it doesn't necessarily mean that you're not you'll never want to be a channel i'm sorry i think you're like animals doesn't necessarily mean you'll never find in these items but it means it's below the level that did not require you to check so it could be you'll find but doesn't necessarily mean that now you're a requirement to check we get calls all the time people find you know in all types of things they find in cucumbers they'll find in a tomato they'll find in a pepper um so it can happen you can have a bad match definitely can happen but doesn't necessarily mean that now you'll now you have to start checking these items so examples of items that are concerned mia channel monsieur airline if it walks around and therefore you can see this little spec walking around that is considered an early knife right so you know once you have that aspect in the picture it really you know pushes the limits really down as far as what's considered nearly nine you know one recent example that we'll show you now is um is about pineapple mites which are actually very very small um but i'll show you in a second but one last one last based on a question also is that you know and have it on the slide here also the loops and light boxes are not you being used to find insects that you can't otherwise see it's just really to me tools to make it easier and more efficient to check the produce what about using a paper towel instead of a 16 micron mesh cloth probably not going to withstand the the water yeah where it's going to break and rip right through the pour through right through these the meshes that we sell are reusable by the way so yes definitely can be reused definitely can be reused so this is actually an actual picture of a mite um on a pineapple that's not the size that's a little bit um magnified um we have we have a video of it right yeah we have a video okay so we're gonna show you there right now so even if this bug might be a little bit too small but once you see once you see this suddenly you see it this is like this is this is on a piece of pineapple right okay so when you see it moving when you see moving obviously that's going to be considered nearly an item and therefore you know based on this is you know why we obviously we changed our policy on pineapple but we go through that when you look at it i mean this is much enlarged this is much enlargement this i don't know this was actually taking one of our mushrik from new york i'm not sure exactly what size he magnified it at i mean we have microscopes here that can magnify things up to times not that something that's only visible under that level of magnification is nearly nine but uh you know it helps you know it helps you know what we're talking about we're looking for um now the truth is is that as i uh as i mentioned that um one of you know it all as i mentioned now really you know all this you know no one's gonna walk out of this webinar being an expert right it's something that takes practice um it takes a decent set of eyes and it takes patience i always recommend people the only thing i recommend organic proteins for is practicing getting to know what the insects look like and if you practice enough you'll really develop with a tsi and develop a good eye to know exactly that you know this spec or whatever i used to think it was a piece of dirt but now i know that's an insect and you can see them very very clearly you know our masjid who are well trained they they have loops but they really can find the insects even without them because they know what they're looking for let's become used to it you get you come in you become an expert but the fact that that only an expert can see it if only an expert no it's not it's not the only expert can see it's just that you have to train you need something you need some practice you need some training there's a certain form of an insect like it has legs but you just have to learn what insects look like in the united states kosher consumers do not need to check flour for infestation at this time if signs of insect presence are noticed however the flower must be checked this tutorial describes the signs of flower infestation and methods to protect flower products from insects special care should be taken by those using flour that has been stored for some time such as yoshin or last year's matzo meal often insect eggs have matured and hatched by this time only insects that are visible with the eye present a cautious problem this is true even if the bug is not discernible without magnification but can only be seen as a speck insects that cannot be seen at all such as eggs that are common in flour and other foods do not present a cautious problem because of their microscopic size when opening the flower notice if there are small holes in the surface this would indicate the presence of the red or confused flower beetle these red beetles are easy to see on the surface of the flower but quickly burrow into the flower when exposed to light or activity also watch for small black spots these beetles are about half the size of the letters on a nickel it takes a strong magnifying glass or microscope to distinguish them from dirt particles often the flower will be speckled with these spots when infested look for webbing moth larva produce this webbing where they are feeding flower or meal stick to the webbing and is easy to detect by the stringy masses of material to prevent infestation many people keep flour in the freezer this may work if the temperature stays at zero degrees centigrade for four days at this temperature the eggs will die if infested flour is found scrub containers with soap and hot water make sure to remove all the flower particles that adhere to the sides of the container as these are commonly insect eggs which are coated with a sticky secretion and become covered with flour once cleaned in this way containers will be safe for use there are three main species found on lettuce and other leafy vegetables aphids thrips and flies aphids are small round green bugs very difficult to see with the naked eye their color and size allows them to become virtually invisible on the host leaf most aphids measure about one millimeter in length about the size of the letters on a nickel to properly check for aphids it is advisable to use a light box the thicker insect remains dark while light passes through the leaf thrips are small elongated brown insects roughly the same length as an aphid these pests are only half the width easily mistaken for a piece of dirt it takes some practice to recognize what is an insect and what is not in the beginning many find it helpful to have a magnifying glass or jeweler's loop on hand to confirm the actual identity of the spec thrips move very quickly and may run under curls in the leaf when exposed to light vegetable flies resemble houseflies about twice the size of aphids and thrips this black winged insect is the easiest to find strawberry insects are very small and difficult to see about one millimeter or a 25th of an inch in length to the naked eye these bugs resemble tiny white grains of rice a fraction the size of a strawberry seed these insects are usually found near the top of the berry they hide in places that match their own white color such as the base of the greens or in the depression created by a seed to properly clean strawberries wash them in soapy water vigorously agitate the water rinse off the strawberries well finally it is preferable to cut off the top with a small amount of the flesh i would like to demonstrate the proper way to do a thrip cloth check method more properly known as shimata bodica line is necessary are a light box and a 60 micron piece of mesh which is why it's called the shimata badika and the basin of water take the basin of water add some dishwashing liquid to the water now use soap for a dishwasher which does not cause any bubbles the water should be slippery take the produce agitate it into water for approximately 10 seconds shake off the produce and technically speaking you can check the water over a light box in the basin like this however the schmatte method is actually more effective and much easier it's helpful to have two strainers to sandwich the thrip cloth in between take the water pour it through the shimata then you take the shimata and put it on the light box and then you check the shmatter over the light box i have here a head of green leaf lettuce i'm using this variety and not the more common remain because of its curled leaves these are quite a bit harder to check but the actual method is the same for any lettuce it is advisable to first wash the lettuce this may remove many of the bugs checking a leaf is not an easy task lay the leaf on a light box and carefully check every inch for insects uncurling leaves and flattening bulges as you search make sure you see light pass through the entire leaf when the first site is done flip it over and repeat the process if no insects are found that leaf may be eaten if there are bugs present remove them before eating the leaf here we have some insects you can see it has a darker dot against the lighter leaf background when the light shines through it it's actually moving checking lettuce is time consuming and average head will take about 30 minutes but for people who want a variety of fresh lettuce especially those not offered by pre-washed lettuce companies this is how it can be done um asparagus has two issues there's two places where the insects can be found first place is in the side under the leaves on the side a lot of times you'll find thrips there that's usually the most common thing that's found in asparagus so the way you do the way you check with the so generally speaking all the sides have to be removed in a situation where you're going to be doing a sample check in large quantities if you check three servings which is generally about 15 spheres meaning you remove the sides from all 15 of them and check under them if they're clean and the rest of that lot again can be used the other area that has to be dealt with is the top take a bin of water again preferably cold water even though it might hurt your hands but um otherwise the produce will get wilted a dish washing liquid now the reason why i use dishwashing like really any soap can be used but regular soap dawn palmolive and bubbles are going to sort of be very difficult to deal with they have to wait for the bubble dissipate dish washing liquid has no bubbles so that's why it's preferred now this is going to be your checking water the way the way you check asparagus is the following get the heads in the water like that put the wind on a light box do the same thing for you know all this fragrance that you're going to use okay let's move right along let's talk about broccoli now um broccoli is difficult if you don't have the patience and the experience to deal with it um i don't recommend trying it buy one of the czech frozen brands even bodak whichever ones you prefer but it is this is how we understand how we do it a lot of avatar called me up and asked me you know how do you recognize us doing broccoli and i say i probably don't in baltimore we have a number of restaurants that do broccoli mushrooms they're actually very experienced and i'm constantly checking up on them and it takes a lot of time and a lot of effort and these restaurants will do broccoli machine do not do anything else they're not working in the restaurant also like the chinese restaurants we have in baltimore they're not working in the restaurant taking phone calls making orders packing up holders or anything like that they're only doing less about those are turning on fires check cracking the eggs checking in the orders no meat deliveries or things like that that are coming in and they're doing the vegetables so they have plenty of time to spend on broccoli um the way we do broccoli is that you do a pre-wash using warm water okay again the list is very specific where it's pre-washed there's no pre-wash warm water cold water generally speaking you should pre-wash and down these big issues cold water unless it says otherwise use warm water the reason i use warm water is because and cauliflower by the way is the same thing we treated the same even though it's probably not as bad as broccoli but we distribute it the same way um broccoli's break can be very tight when you wash it in more water it sort of loosens up not necessarily hot water but just warm water loosen up the tops a little bit we require them to do two pre-washes in soapy water before we even bother checking it it's both for practical consideration then they're just not going to get it to pass once they do that plus they do that first and um also from conscious consideration that we're not even willing to give it a shot you know from a conscious perspective unless they do that pre-wash so i'm assuming this is pre-washed so it's the same procedure as well take the cascade um put it in the water make sure the water feels soapy um you could take heads this big you can break you can break them down also a little bit if you want the difference with broccoli and any other vegetable is that we don't do any sample checking on broccoli broccoli every single piece has to be checked has to be put in the water and then check that way so it's the same thing um this is a good this is a good size head that we generally use so you take it you agitate it generally we use a bucket a little bit higher but agitated very strongly in the water and i'm making a little mess shake it off a few times knock it against the sides a few times like this and you'll know you're going to blend it out the water gets pc pieces of broccoli which is one of the reason why it makes it hard to check um then we let it sit in the water for about 15 seconds and then we do it one more time okay and then the same process check the water pour it for the third cloth check the third cloth okay um so again that's broccoli and you know it's it takes a certain level of expertise to broccoli properly and therefore if you're not you know you have to decide for yourselves you're ready to do it um scallions and leeks generally speaking the place where insects are found are inside the tube so all you have to do is slice open the tube on everything you're going to be using which usually is not much or you can do a kazakh check again that's up to your local price skin but do not pre-wash it because you're going to be trying to do a sample check out here slice it open as far down as you're going to use it using all the way down to the bowl slice it all the way down to the bowl and check the inside you don't necessarily need the light box you'll see it right away the insects found in there are generally white and they will very fit very fast so you'll see them right away um and that's the same thing for leaks it's the same idea let's want to grapes grapes um the issue of grapes seems to be some very small mites that are found really can be found anywhere in the great but generally around the stem area now the reason why you greet your interesting shadow is because there's another type of drip cloth suppose you think this looks like a piece of paper it's not it's a third cloth it's about 30 microns which is extremely extremely small and this is what you need in order to find these mics that are on grapes so they're very small i sat down with her behind them with a sample that someone brought us of these mites and thank you very much and um we're we are sure that there we are we're going to consider them they're like 9. you're welcome to hear our research on that we're going to consider nearly nine um but also because the method of dealing with it is not such a big deal basically have to be broken down into smaller clusters this which is fine like this it used to be the way i used to watch food you take the whole bag right under the sink for a quick second or swish it around the water behind your finish now what the require is take them take the clutch like this run it onto the string of water you don't have to separate every grape run under a string of water and that's all you have to do once you do that the according to all the experts that i spoke to did the research and to their credit they did a very good job on the research the old consensus was they all considered it to be the local level of monsoon once you do that process of washing you