Cream Cheese and Cottage Cheese

Do cream cheese and cottage cheese need to be Gevinas Yisroel made with hashgacha temidis?

This is a point of machlokes. The Chochmas Odom (53:38) and Aruch Hashulchan (YD 115:16) maintain that even these and other “soft” cheeses, which are made with acid cultures rather than rennet enzymes, must be gevinas Yisroel in order to be permitted; Rav Moshe Feinstein, zt"l (Igros Moshe YD 2:48) provides the rationale to consider these cheeses exempt from a gevinas Yisroel requirement, yet writes that he cannot issue a leniency for it; Rav Yosef Eliyahu Henkin ruled that these cheeses are kosher even without fulfilling gevinas Yisroel requirements. Most national kashrus agencies follow Rav Henkin for cholov stam cheeses but certify cholov Yisroel cheeses only when gevinas Yisroel requirements are met.

The Gerald & Karin Feldhamer OU Kosher Halacha Yomis is dedicated to the memory of Rav Yisroel Belsky, zt”l, who served as halachic consultant for OU Kosher for more than 28 years; many of the responses in Halacha Yomis are based on the rulings of Rabbi Belsky. Subscribe to the Halacha Yomis daily email here.