Q. A fly was found in a bowl of soup from which some of the soup was poured into plates. Did the fly contaminate the soup, the bowl and the plates? A. The fly contaminated neither the soup, nor the bowl nor the plates. For the fly probably fell into the bowl when the soup was no longer boiling. Moreover, the law stating that a creature is never neutralized in a mixture, is applicable only to cases where the creature is not removed from the mixture. In this case, however, after the fly is removed from the soup, its taste is neutralized and the soup is fit to be eaten. SOURCES: L. 143; Tashbetz, 350; Orhot Hayyim II, p. 309.