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Suppose a Mashgiach realizes that a store is selling Treif meat, however is unsure as to the source of the problem. If he announces immediately that this store is selling something not Kosher he may not be able to catch the one who is supplying the not Kosher product and thus it may continue elsewhere. Would the Mashgiach be allowed to wait, and cause those who use this store to continue to eat not Kosher, in order to catch the bigger fish and thus eliminate the problem completely or he would have to announce immediately his findings? (sources please)

HodofHod
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Gershon Gold
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    How could you know the meat is treif without knowing its source? – Double AA Feb 06 '13 at 17:55
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    Why not just switch kosher meat into the store but don't tell the original company? – Double AA Feb 06 '13 at 17:55
  • @DoubleAA: Regarding your 2nd question - it sounds good as a plan, however in a case where this is not possible as the owner is in cahoots with the distributer. – Gershon Gold Feb 06 '13 at 18:01
  • Thematically related: http://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/9709. – msh210 Feb 06 '13 at 18:17
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    It seems to me that the correct course of action would be highly dependent on the particulars of the situation and would therefore in every case require a careful ruling by the mashgiach's supervising rabbi, taking into account relevant Halachot, the history of this store, the communal context, and other factors. I doubt this can be answered meaningfully here. – Isaac Moses Feb 06 '13 at 21:06
  • @IsaacMoses, certainly what to do in a particular case would to be evaluated offline, but answers here can discuss relevant factors that might apply in a typical cases. I don't see this can be answered here less meaningfully than many of our other questions relating to practice. – msh210 Feb 06 '13 at 23:47

1 Answers1

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Rabbi Yitchok Zilberstain brings down from Rav Elyashiv Zatzal that you should immediately let everyone know.

C. Ben Yosef
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    This answer would be more valuable if you'd specify exactly what case is addressed in the source you cite, along with the source citation itself (rather than just a link). – Isaac Moses Feb 06 '13 at 21:27
  • I know someone who was in this position and as a result of doing just what R' Zilberstain suggests, the hashgacha faced a lawsuit from customers. Thus, I'm not sure if this is the best solution. – Noach MiFrankfurt Jun 29 '15 at 19:19