By Rabbi Moshe Elefant

Checking Eggs for Blood Spots – What is the issue with checking eggs for blood spots? If I buy a package of eggs which is certified kosher, is this necessary?

The Halacha is that an egg that has a blood spot is not kosher.

However, that is only if the egg was fertilized in a natural matter, with a male and female. That blood represents the formation of an embryo of a chicken so it is not kosher; it’s like eating a live animal. However, nowadays the eggs are not fertilized that way. They are fertilized by the egg being exposed to heat and that blood is not a real problem. However, the Minhag is to check the egg so we check it. But if you ate the egg with the blood spot or it was cooked in your pot, it would not make it not kosher.

Mushrooms: What is the kosher status and its bracha? Since mushrooms are fungi, they are not the seed-bearing plants the Torah allows man to eat. If so, how can they be kosher?

The bracha of a mushroom is shehakol because it does not grow from the ground.

Mushrooms are exposed to nutrients that make them grow, They do not grow from the ground and they do not grow on wheat. One of the questions concerning mushrooms is about Pesach. One of the nutrients used to grow mushrooms is wheat, but that wheat does not make the mushroom chametz.

It’s the same as a person eating a piece of bread; you don’t become Chametz, rather the chametz is a nutrient for you. The same is true of a mushroom. What you have to be worried about is the canning.

You have to make sure they’re not being canned in the same equipment that is used for meat or non-Kosher products. Therefore, canned mushrooms should only be purchased with a reliable supervision.