The Case of the Dead Mouse in the Can of Monster Energy Drink

By Rabbi Yair Hoffman

It is parshas Shoftim and the pasuk tells us that we must appoint Shoftim – judges wherever we live.

What then, might a Beis Din pasken in a recent case of McKenzi Cain versus the Monster Beverage Corporation in the case of the dead mouse?

And now the case:  It was this past July.  McKenzie Cain, claimed to find a dead mouse in a Monster Energy drink can. McKenzie Cain says she bought a white Monster from a bagel shop in Grand Rapids and drank it all in her car. In a weird twist, it still felt heavy, and she smelled an off odor. When she peered in the can, her attorney, Zach Runyan says a mouse in her Monster. Monster Beverage Corp denies the allegation, calling it a hoax, and the case is still in its early stages with the woman seeking $25,000 in damages.

On a similar note and on a medical advice board, a number of months ago, a wife asked a pertinent question concerning her husband:

Wife: My husband drank a growler of beer before finding it had a dead mouse in it. What should we do?

Answered by Dr Oglesby

The alcohol in beer may help prevent bacterial growth, but it doesn’t fully remove the risk. Look out for symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, or fever, which may appear shortly after consumption. Remember to keep the growler sealed and retain any remaining beer for potential testing if necessary.

Our concern, however, is from a halachic standpoint. There is a a concept in cooking called marinating – wherein flavor from an item begins to soak through into a liquid.  In Hebrew this is called Kavush or Kvisha.  Kvisha has halachic ramifications on a Rabbinic level of both cooking on Shabbos, as well as Kashrus.  Not that the wife mentioned above is concerned about the Kashrus of the beer per se, but we can utilize this incident to examine the relevant halacha. The halachic discussion in Shulchan Aruch is found in Yore De’ah Siman 104:1.

The questions: Is this halacha limited to just beer and wine or does the issue of a dead mouse impart flavor in other liquids as well?  We will find, that it is a machlokes in Acharonim.  Just to point out that Monster is not a kosher beverage, but there have been cases in Coke, Pepsi and Mountain Dew.

The Original Case: Mouse in Beer

The Gemara in Avodah Zarah 68b tells a story about a mouse that fell into a barrel of beer. When this happened, Rav said that the entire barrel of beer was now forbidden to drink. The other Sages asked Rav Shaishes a question: Are we supposed to understand that Rav believes that even when something forbidden falls into food and makes the food taste worse, the food is still forbidden? They thought this was probably the case because a mouse would likely make beer taste worse, not better.

Rav Shaishes Explains the Special Rule for Mice

Rav Shaishes explained Rav’s thinking to them: Usually, Rav believes that when something forbidden falls into food and makes the food taste worse, then the food is still allowed to eat. However, when it comes to a mouse, this case is special. The Torah’s rule about mice is unusual because mice are disgusting and people naturally stay away from eating them, yet the Torah still forbids them. Since the Torah made this special rule about mice, even when a mouse makes food taste worse, the food is still forbidden.

The Sages Challenge Rav Shaishes

The Sages then challenged Rav Shaishes with another question: If the rule about mice is so special and strict like you say, then a dead mouse should make things ritually impure whether the mouse is wet or dried out. But we learned in a mishna in Nidda 54b that the dead bodies of small crawling animals only make things impure when they are still moist, not when they have dried out. How do you explain this?

Rav Shaishes Responds with Biblical Sources

Rav Shaishes answered them back: Using your same way of thinking, where you compare the laws about ritual impurity to the laws about forbidden foods, then zera (a type of bodily fluid), which is also disgusting, should make things impure whether it is wet or dried out. But we learned in a mishna in Nidda 54b that zera only makes things impure when it is moist, not when it is dried out. So your comparison doesn’t work.

Instead, Rav Shaishes explained it this way: When it comes to the ritual impurity of zera, the Torah says “The flow of seed” in Vayikra 15:16, which means it’s only talking about zera that is still capable of fertilizing. In the same way, when it comes to the ritual impurity of a mouse, the Torah says “When they have died” in Vayikra 11:32. The Torah means that dead crawling animals only make things impure when they are still in a condition similar to when they died, meaning when they are still moist. Therefore, there is no contradiction between saying that the rule against eating a mouse is special and strict, even when it makes food taste worse.

Rav Shimi’s Question About Whether Mice Are Really Disgusting

Rav Shimi of Neharde’a disagreed with the idea that mice are disgusting. He asked: Are mice really disgusting? Don’t kings serve mice at their tables as fancy food? Then Rav Shimi of Neharde’a explained that this wasn’t really a contradiction: The statement that mice are served as fancy food is talking about field mice, while the statement that mice are disgusting is talking about city mice.

[As a parenthetic note it is still considered a delicacy in Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, where they are hunted and sold in markets. Prepared roasted, salted, or dried, mice are a seasonal source of protein for local populations. They are also consumed as a delicacy in some parts of Southeast Asia, including Vietnam and China.]

Rava’s Summary and Uncertainty

Rava gave his opinion on the whole matter: The correct halacha is that when something forbidden falls into food and makes the food taste worse, the food is allowed to eat. However, regarding the case of the mouse that fell into the barrel of beer where Rav said it was forbidden, I don’t know what Rav’s reasoning was. I don’t know if Rav believes that when something forbidden makes food taste worse it’s still forbidden (and if so, the halacha doesn’t follow his opinion), or if Rav believes that when something forbidden makes food taste worse it’s allowed, but in this specific case he thought the mouse actually made the beer taste better.

The Question About Mouse in Vinegar

The Sages then raised a question: If a mouse fell into vinegar, what would be the law? Does a mouse make vinegar taste better? Rav Hillel told Rav Ashi about a real case that happened in Rav Kahana’s study hall, where a mouse fell into vinegar and Rav Kahana said the vinegar was forbidden. This seemed to prove that a mouse makes vinegar taste better. But Rav Ashi said this wasn’t really proof: In that case, the mouse had been cut into pieces, and Rav Kahana said the vinegar was forbidden because he was worried that someone might accidentally eat an actual piece of the mouse in the vinegar, which is forbidden regardless of how it tastes.

Different Opinions on How Much Liquid Is Needed to Nullify the Mouse

The Gemara then tells about Ravina’s opinion: Ravina thought that if you wanted to nullify the taste of a mouse in vinegar, you would need 101 times as much vinegar as the volume of the mouse. He reasoned that this case shouldn’t be treated more strictly than teruma (a portion of crops given to priests), which gets nullified when mixed with 101 times its volume of regular food. This is based on what we learned in a mishna in Terumot 4:7, which says that teruma gets nullified in a mixture when there is 101 times its volume of permitted food. But Rav Taḥlifa bar Giza said to Ravina: Maybe this case is more like when teruma spice falls into a pot, where the taste doesn’t get nullified even by 101 times its volume of permitted food, because spice has an exceptionally strong flavor.

Rav Aḥai calculated that you would need fifty times the mouse’s volume of vinegar to nullify the mouse’s taste. Even though forbidden food usually needs sixty times its volume of permitted food to be nullified, vinegar has such a sharp taste that it can nullify the mouse with less permitted food. Rav Shmuel, who was the son of Rav Ika, calculated that you would need sixty times the mouse’s volume of beer to nullify the mouse in beer.

The Final Ruling

The Gemara reaches its final conclusion: The halacha is that both vinegar and beer nullify a mouse when there is sixty times the mouse’s volume, and this same rule of sixty times the volume applies to all Torah prohibitions.

Rishonim

The Rif and the Rosh both write that a mouse that fell into beer or vinegar becomes negated in a volume of 60 to 1. We are concerned that perhaps the mouse improves the taste by imparting a flavor in these liquids. The baalei HaTosfos explain that it is only if the marination lasted for 24 hours. If not, then person can remove it and then consume the liquid.  The Shulchan Aruch ruled like Tosfos. 

The Shulchan Aruch does distinguish between a field mouse and a city mouse as the field mouse gives off a better taste and is eaten as a delicacy by princes. [See parenthetic note above.]

The Acharonim

So is it just with beer and vinegar?  Or is it with wine and oil and other liquids?  And what about Monster?

The Bach, the Shach, and the Aruch HaShulchan all understand the Shulchan Aruch as holding that it would improve the taste of all other liquids too!  However, the Pri Chadash understands the Shulchan Aruch otherwise – that it only refers to beer and vinegar.  Other Acharonim such as the Bach, the Shach and the Vilna Gaon all understand the Gemorah as improving the taste only for beer and vinegar but not for other liquids.  For other liquids it would impart a bad taste.

What is the final halacha? Who do we rule like?  The Pri Magadim (Sifsei Daas i), the Aruch HaShulchan (subnote 7) and the Kaf HaChaim all rule that it applies to all foods and liquids. Indeed the Kaf HaChaim writes that it even applies in a case of great financial loss.

So McKenzie Cain who would hold that the mouse gave a bad taste would hold like the Pri Chadash‘s understands the Shulchan Aruch otherwise – that it only refers to beer and vinegar, and like other Acharonim such as the Bach, the Shach and the Vilna Gaon.

The Monster Beverage Corporation would hold like the Bach, the Shach, and the Aruch HaShulchan who all understand the Shulchan Aruch as holding that it would improve the taste of all other liquids too! 

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