39. Several months ago, mold mites were discovered on cartons of Tnuva milk and soy milk. They appear on the upper part of the carton, around the blue cap and also in the seams of the carton and within the triangular space at the two sides of the carton [site of infestation is marked off in box]. The bugs are extremely small, between 0.3 and 0.4 millimeters, with a translucent yellowish or whitish color. It is very difficult to spot them even by a skilled eye. They appear in both the Badatz Eidah Chareidis production line and the Tnuva Mehadrin production line.
40. The company is aware of the issue and attests that the source is in the filling/packaging plant, due to its humidity. They are spending great efforts and money in their work to eliminate the issue. The kashrus committee is also aware of the issue, and the Badatz recently published a message about it.
41. Prevalence. The prevalence of the mites on the outside of the carton is at the level of a significant minority/assumed infestation. Thus, the whole top section should be rinsed under a stream of water as soon as it comes into the house so that no mites fall into cups when milk is poured from the carton; fall into the milk after the carton is open; or get transferred to other products in the fridge or freezer.
42. After many inspections, virtually no mites were found in the milk itself, so the milk is classified as an almost completely insignificant minority rate of infestation. Thus, one may drink it and there is no need for alarm (מכתב של וועד הכשרות עדה''ח י''ט תמוז תשפ''ה ).
43. One who wants to distance himself from any concern can buy Tnuva milk in a bag, or cartoned milk from another company until the problem is resolved and you can have “milk under your tongue” (שיר השירים ).
