Leviticus 22:15 "And they shall not profane the holy things of the children of Israel, which they offer to the L-rd"

It is necessary to peel an orange before eating it, or cut it open so the fruit can be separated from the peel.

Did you ever try getting at the fruit without removing or cutting through the peel?!

In the same way, the Torah teaches us that we must we must "peel away" - set aside the Terumah and Ma'aser to be given to the Priests and Levites.

Only after we "peel away" the portion that we may not eat, can we enjoy the rest of the fruit, which is our portion.

Produce which has not had the Terumah and Ma'aser separated from it, is called "Tevel".

We are forbidden to eat such food until the Terumah and Ma'aser are separated.

Today, even though the Beit Hamikdash has not yet been rebuilt, this Negative Mitzvah still applies in Eretz Yisrael.

We must still separate the amount that we would have been required to give to the Priests and Levites, and only then are we are allowed to eat the food.

In Eretz Yisrael, many food products are stamped with the seal of the Rabbinate or Beit Din, which assures us that the food is not Tevel.

The food industry hires Rabbis to fulfill this Negative Mitzvah by separating the portions required from the large amount of food brought straight from the farms before it is sold or packaged.

This makes it easy to shop in the supermarkets and grocery stores, because we no longer need to separate the portions of Terumah and Ma'aser from each package, since it has already been done for us.

However, in order to be sure, remember to look on the package for a stamp or seal from the Rabbinate or Beit Din.