“What if the food had not been eaten yet?” asked Mr. Siegel. “Can the customer return it?”
“Non-kosher food that was sold as kosher is considered defective merchandise and can be returned,” replied Rabbi Dayan. “This is true regardless of whether the prohibition is biblical, rabbinic, or even on account of a widely accepted minhag [practice] or stringency.” (C.M. 232:11-12).
Rabbi Meir Orlian is a faculty member of the Business Halacha Institute, headed by HaRav Chaim Kohn, a noted dayan. To receive BHI’s free newsletter, Business Weekly, send an e-mail to [email protected]. For questions regarding business halacha issues, or to bring a BHI lecturer to your business or shul, call the confidential hotline at 877-845-8455 or e-mail [email protected].