Can Ashkenazim eat passionfruit ice cream (and other imported passionfruit products)?
Question
I heard that passionfruit is treated like a tree by Ashkenazim and thus obligated in orlah laws. So, my question is if we're allowed to eat passionfruit products (not the fruit - the products), like ice cream, juice, and the like when they are imported from outside Israel?
Answer
Fruit grown abroad and imported to Israel is halachically considered fruit from outside of Israel. For this reason, all industrial goods such as jams and juices are permissible to use in Israel—although they include fruit that might possibly be orlah—when the raw materials are imported. For this reason, even those who hold that the passionfruit vine is a tree (and therefore orlah laws would apply) can drink passionfruit juice in Israel: since the fruit concentrate is imported and it is considered a safek orlah, it is permissible.