Dairy and Meat Utensils in the Dishwasher

Greetings,

According to the opinion of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, zt"l, if one is careful not to put any utensils with noticeable food residues in the dishwasher, and there is only dirt and grease on the plates and spoons, it is possible to use the dishwasher for both dairy and meat utensils, one after the other, even on the same day.

However, if one is not careful and places utensils with significant food residues, such as large pieces of meat or pizza, it is difficult to be lenient since these pieces may not be affected by the cleaning agents mixed with water, and there is no condition of taste giving taste that is permissible.

In principle, there is room to be lenient to wash meat and dairy utensils together, but it is preferable, whenever possible, to wash meat utensils separately and dairy utensils separately, one after the other. In hotels and public restaurants where it is difficult to maintain this separation, it is required that they have two dishwashers, one for meat and one for dairy (Responsa Yabia Omer, part 10, Yoreh De'ah, section 4, and Yalkut Yosef, prohibitions and permissions, section 480, paragraph 46).

Best regards,

Hillel Meirs