Someone asked recently….
If you buy fruits or vegetables in the U.S. from Costco or another major retailer that are labeled “Product of Israel,” do they need rabbinical certification, or do you need to separate Terumah and Ma‘asar yourself? What is the halacha?
The Answer is…
Terumah and Ma‘asar today are only d’rabbanan, even in Eretz Yisrael.
This is explicit in Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De‘ah 331:2, following the Rambam, because the obligation is biblical only when the majority of the Jewish people reside in the land.
In addition, produce today that is labeled “Product of Israel” is always, at most, a safek d’rabbanan, because we do not know from which specific area of the land it originated. Many areas included in the modern State of Israel were not sanctified by Olei Bavel in the time of the Second Beit HaMikdash, and produce grown there is not obligated in Terumah and Ma‘asar even rabbinically.
Therefore:
• If one lives in Israel and knows that the produce comes from an area clearly sanctified by Olei Bavel (for example, known agricultural regions near Yerushalayim or Tiveria), then Terumah and Ma‘asar should be separated, or one should rely on proper rabbinic supervision.
• But when produce simply states “Product of Israel,” with no way to determine its exact origin, it remains a safek.
Since the entire obligation today is d’rabbanan, this is a safek d’rabbanan, and the rule is lekula — no obligation to separate Terumah and Ma‘asar.