Selecting in a Plate on Shabbat
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Question
Hello, I wanted to know if it is permissible on Shabbat to move food that I do not want to the side of the plate. Thank you very much.
Answer
Hello,
If the food you do not want to eat is adjacent to other foods you want to eat, it is forbidden to move the unwanted food aside, as this is considered removing 'waste' from food [- unwanted from wanted].
You should do the opposite: take the desired food and eat it, leaving the other food in its place on the plate.
However, if the foods are separate and do not touch each other, you may move the unwanted food to the side.
Even when the foods touch each other, you can remove the entire 'mixture area' to the side, meaning both foods together where they touch each other, and in this way, the person is not 'selecting' the mixture but removing the entire mixture to the side. [For example, when there is rice and peas side by side on a plate, and the person does not want the peas, he can remove the peas with all the rice that touches them, leaving the rest of the rice on the plate].
Source
Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim, Siman 319