The classical rabbis expressed the opinion that each of the food rules could be waived if the portion of food violating the regulations was less than a certain size, known as a shiur (Hebrew: size, שיעור), unless it was still possible to taste or smell it;[44][45] for the milk and meat regulations, this minimal size was a ke'zayit (כזית), literally meaning anything "similar to an olive" in size.[44][45][46] However, the shiur is merely the minimum amount that leads to formal punishment in the classical era, but even half a shiur is prohibited by the Torah.[47]