Cholov Yisrael and Rav Moshe

The Gemara talks about "Milk milked by a non-Jew, and a Jew is not watching" which is forbidden. The reason is that the non-Jew may have mixed in milk from a non-kosher animal. So that Cholov Akum is for sure forbidden.

R' Moshe's Heter was based on what he called (or may have been called before him, have to look) Stam Cholov. He basically says that since the government regulates the milk, and if it says milk from a cow on the bottle it has to be from a cow, we can rely on that.

The problem is, we know by now that the government lets a lot go by, and takes a long time to catch problems. It is one thing to rely on a hechsher for lets say sugar, and find out one day that the hechsher was there incorrectly. There are certain products that are less of a problem for Kashrus, because in all probability they are Kosher anyway. The hechsher lets us know FOR SURE that they are Kosher.

Cholov Akum, however, is Metamtem Halev Vehamoach. The ill-effects of drinking it will be much worse.

So, 2 reasons for Cholov Yisroel: A) If you want to follow the strict reasoning of the Gemara, that a Jew should always be present. B) You don't want to rely on our wonderfully honest government to make sure that your heart and mind are pure.

To clarify R' Moshe's position on Cholov Akum. There is a halachic concept of Anan Sahadei (We are witnesses), which means that we are so sure of the matter it is as if we witnessed it. This concept is used in many areas of halacha where we would otherwise need witnesses. R' Moshe was of the opinion that since there is government supervision it gives us enough confidence to be able to apply the concept of Anan Sahadei. Not that we relying on the government to supervise for us, but that once the government is involved it gives us enough confidence as if we were there. BTW the heter is not a new one in some shtetlach in Lithuania (Lita) they would drink such milk. Some of the questions on R' Moshe's shita are; Is the government supervision enough to create a state of anan sahadei? And even if it is, since this is a gezeirah (Rabbinic decree) do we say it applies even if the reason behind it is no longer valid? Which means that the Reason for the gezeirah is that we are afraid that the goy will mix in nonkosher milk. In the USA, according to R' Moshe, we can be sure that this does not happen. The question is, however, does the gezeirah nontheless apply? beacuse in many cases even when the reason is not applicable any more the Gezeirah still stands. Which is why those who don't drink cholov "Stam" consider it cholov akum which is treif. In other words it is not a disagreement over a hiddur but over kosher or not.